Latvia bans all Russian TV channel
The Ukrainian flag flutters on top of the Daugavpils TV and Radio tower during a rally staged to demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine on April 3, 2022 in Daugavpils, a southeastern Latvian city with an overwhelmingly Russian-speaking population and situated close to the borders with Belarus and Lithuania. AFP
RIGA, Latvia—All Russia-based TV channels will be banned from broadcasting in any form in Latvia, the Baltic state’s broadcasting regulator said on Monday.
The decision, which comes into effect on Thursday, will affect around 80 channels available in Latvia through certain cable or streaming operators.
“TV or radio channels registered in a country that aggressively threatens the territorial integrity and independence of another country are not allowed to operate in Latvia,” Ivars Abolins, head of the National Electronic Mass Media Council, told AFP.
The decision will remain in force until Russia withdraws from Ukrainian territory.
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Latvia’s regulatory agency had already banned several major Russian TV channels from broadcasting in Latvia.
Meanwhile, the agency granted a broadcast license to the Russian independent channel Rain (Dozhd), whose staff have relocated to Latvia.
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