OREANDA-NEWS. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian lider Alexander Lukashenko have entered the new list of «enemies of free press» prepared by the international non-governmental organization «Reporters Without Borders». The list also includes for the first time the prime minister of one of the EU countries, the head of the Hungarian government Viktor Orban. In total, 37 heads of state and government are listed in the register, published on Monday, July 5, who, according to the compilers, exert the most severe pressure on journalists in their countries.

«New defendants have appeared in all regions of the world. Their methods of repression are different, but they serve one goal — to prevent critical coverage of events at any cost», Christian Mihr, head of the «Reporters Without Borders» in Germany branch, said in connection with the publication of the new list.

«This affects journalists, who, nevertheless, courageously continue their investigations, but also the population, which is thus deprived of access to independent information, which is so important, especially during a global pandemic», Mir said.

Putin and Lukashenko were included to the previous versions of the list for about 20 years. Since Vladimir Putin took office as president of the Russian Federation, «at least 37 reporters have been killed for their work, and almost none of these crimes have been solved», the authors of the list note.