Latvia bans broadcast of 12 Russian channels
Latvia has banned the rebroadcasting of 16 Russian channels, including REN TV Baltic, NTV Mir Baltic, Karusel International, NTV Serial, NTV Style, NTV Right, Kinomix, Our New Cinema, Native Cinema, Cinema Comedy, Cinema, KVN TV, Kitchen TV, Box TV and HD Life.
The newspaper Delfi reports, citing the chairman of the National Council of Electronic Media (NEPLP) Ivars Abolins, that the council had not found an official representative of these channels in Latvia who could agree to their distribution.
The previous representative, Tem LV, said that, since February 1, the company has not been eligible for broadcasting these channels. Tem LV is part of Baltijas Mediju Alianse, whose beneficiary has been accused of violating international sanctions.
"In order to protect the Latvian information space, NEPLP will strenuously check all programs in the registry of relay programs, and if such cases are found, it will act accordingly," the regulator said.
Council member Janis Eglitis said that the ban is not related to the content of the channels and will be temporary until a new holder of the rights to distribute them is announced.
Earlier, Latvia banned the Russian TV channel "RTR Rossiya" for hate speech against Ukraine in the program "60 Minutes."
Participants of the program, as well as the presenter Olga Skabeeva called Ukraine a terrorist state, and former President Petro Poroshenko, a terrorist. During the discussion, Skabeeva suggested deploying Russian troops to Ukraine to calm down both sides of the conflict.