MOSCOW, September 18 - RAPSI. Russia's telecom watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has urged communication operators to block its subscribers' access to the "Innocence of Muslims" film before the court deems it extremist.
On Monday, the Prosecutor General's Office prepared a lawsuit to recognize as extremist "Innocence of Muslims", a film that has led to Islamic protests all over the world.
The service has also recommended that founders and editors-in-chief of print and internet media to exclude publications with links to Internet resources, containing clips or the film in its entirety. The agency also said that the corresponding measures (up to suspension of activity) will be applied to organizations and editorial boards in cases of failure to comply with the requirements of laws on combating extremist activity.
"As a law-abiding operator, we are obliged to block access to any information declared extremist by the courts," VimpelCom press secretary Anna Aybasheva told RIA Novosti.
Mass demonstrations have broken out in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Sudan, as well as in other predominantly Muslim countries. U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens was killed, along with three colleagues, when rioters attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on September 11.
A 14-minute US-made film trailer released last week on YouTube portrays Muslims and the Prophet Muhammad in a negative light.
The United States is strengthening the security of its diplomatic staff in countries where they may be subject to attack, while a number of Eastern countries have blocked the access to the film. At the same time, Google has dismissed the request to completely remove clips of the film from its video-hosting sections.