OREANDA-NEWS. The editors-in-chief of Russian independent mass media have appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, his press secretary Dmitry Peskov and Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuichenko with a demand to abandon the current list of «foreign agents», as well as to amend the legislation on «foreign agents». The full list of 12 proposed changes was given on Wednesday, September 1, by the «Dozhd» TV channel.

According to the proposal of the signatories of the appeal, the inclusion of the media in the relevant list on the proposal of the Ministry of Justice should take place «exclusively in court». There should be a warning procedure that precedes entry into such a list.

The editors-in-chief are sure that it is necessary to clearly define the concepts of «political activity» and «lobbying» in the legislation. In addition, the signatories called on the Ministry of Justice to determine in the framework of the court proceedings in whose interests the activities of the «foreign agent» media are carried out, as well as to prove the connection between the presence of foreign funding and «political activities» in the interests of a particular government or organization.

The «minimum permissible share of foreign media financing at the level of 30%» should be established, the signatories are sure. They believe that reporting for the persons involved in the list should be simplified. In addition, according to the authors of the appeal, the authorities need to legislatively provide for the procedure and timing of the media's withdrawal from the list, subject to specific conditions.

The indefinite status of a «foreign agent» should be canceled, and the Ministry of Justice should annually prove that the media continues to perform the function of a «foreign agent», the appeal says.