Russian Nobel winner Muratov loses challenge against 'foreign agent' status

FILE PHOTO: Dmitry Muratov, editor of the now-banned independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, attends a court hearing of the case of Russian veteran human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov, accused of discrediting Russia's armed forces, in Moscow, Russia October 11, 2023. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo

(Reuters) - Russian editor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov failed on Tuesday in a legal bid to overturn his designation by the authorities as a "foreign agent".

Russia has applied the label extensively to journalists, human rights activists, opposition figures and organisations it accuses of accepting foreign support in order to engage in what it deems unacceptable political activity.