Russia’s independent radio station "Echo of Moscow" announced Thursday it will be closing down following authorities’ decision to take the station off-air.
“By a majority vote of the Board of Directors of Echo of Moscow, a decision was made to liquidate the radio channel and the website of Echo of Moscow,” reads a statement on its website.
On March 1, the Russian authorities moved to block the websites of Echo of Moscow and another outlet named TV Rain, and took Echo of Moscow off the air due to their coverage of the war in Ukraine.
In a statement, the Prosecutor General accused the Echo of Moscow and TV Rain of disseminating what it called “information known to be false regarding the actions of Russian servicemen, as part of a special operation to protect the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic.”
The Prosecutor General also said the two outlets had been posting information which the statement said calls “for extremism, violence against citizens of the Russian Federation, mass violations of public order and public security.”
Authorities in Russia forbid rallying without a permit and may consider broadcasting or reporting specific information on unauthorized rallies as organizing illegal protests.
The Echo of Moscow website appeared to be inaccessible in Russia on Thursday.