After the start of the war against Ukraine, the Russian broadcaster shifted its business abroad.
(Photo: imago/Russian Look)
Riga Latvia revoked the broadcasting license of the independent Russian television channel TV Dozhd. The move was made “in connection with the threat to national security and public order”. This was announced by the National Council for Electronic Mass Media (NEPLP) on Tuesday in the capital Riga. Doschd had to stop broadcasting his program from Latvia on Thursday night.
The reason for the decision was, among other things, a statement by a moderator in support of the Russian military. In Latvia it is now a criminal offense to provide assistance to the Russian military. Editor-in-chief Tikhon Dsjadko later apologized for this. According to the broadcaster, the moderator of the show was fired.
In addition, the Russian armed forces were referred to in the program as “our army”, as criticized by NEPLP chairman Ivars Abolins. Previously, the broadcaster had also shown a map showing the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea as part of Russia.
On Friday, the authorities had already imposed a fine of 10,000 euros on the broadcaster and announced that proceedings would be opened against Doschd.
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Latvia granted a broadcasting license to Dozhd, which means ‘rain’, in June after the TV station in Russia had to cease broadcasting in early March due to authorities’ crackdown on the media. The broadcaster is considered an opposition medium and has made a name for itself in the past, among other things, through its open criticism of the Kremlin and the Russian war against Ukraine. Ironically, because of its reporting on the Ukraine war, the broadcaster in Latvia was recently targeted by the authorities.
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“The NEPLP believes that TV Rain’s management fails to understand and recognize the nature and seriousness of each individual violation as well as the aggregate of violations,” tweeted NEPLP CEO Ivars Abolins.
Doschd announced on Twitter on Tuesday that they wanted to continue working on YouTube in the future. All allegations against the channel are “unfair” and “absurd”.
Latvia is home to a large number of Russian journalists who are no longer able to work in their home country due to media restrictions imposed by Russian authorities. However, Latvian security authorities warned in the summer that there could be spies among the several hundred Russian journalists who moved to the Latvian capital Riga after the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine in February.
Since the Baltic States have made it more difficult for Russian citizens with Schengen visas to enter the country, some Russian media representatives have also complained about difficulties in issuing visas.
During the year, Latvian authorities severely restricted access to information from Russian state sources, for example the websites of Russian news agencies are no longer accessible via the Latvian Internet. Even state TV channels can no longer be received.
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The international journalist organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) criticized Latvia’s actions. “TV Dozhd is one of the few independent channels with Russian journalists broadcasting to the Russian-speaking public,” said Jeanne Cavelier, head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Unit.
The broadcaster could “be criticized for the crimes it is accused of”, but the withdrawal of the license would be “a serious blow to journalistic freedom, independence and pluralism”. They wrote to the regulator asking them to keep the broadcaster’s license.
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