EU state blocks Communist Party website
Latvia has blocked access to the website of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) within its territory. The country's media watchdog has also restricted several Russian media outlets, citing security threats.
Latvia's National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) justifies the decision by stating that the blocked sites distribute content that has been deemed 'contrary to the security and national security interests of the Latvian information space.'
According to the official gazette of the Baltic state, Latvijas Vēstnesis, the affected websites also include the Vechernyaya Moskva newspaper, the Gorod 55 and Chelyabinsk Today publications, and the Donetsk News Agency, as well as the Saint Petersburg, Vesti GTRK Murmansk, and Krasnodar TV channels. The NEPLP claims that, while promoting a Russian perspective on global events, these outlets may create a 'false impression' of Russia's actions in the Ukraine conflict and justify the annexation of former Ukrainian territories.
The Russian Communist Party has condemned the move as 'unacceptable,' arguing that it undermines freedom of speech and democratic values.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Latvian authorities have taken a number of measures to limit Russian media influence within its territory and restricted the use of the Russian language in nearly all spheres of life, despite it being the second-most spoken in the country.
Moscow has repeatedly criticized Riga's de-russification policies, calling them a violation of Russian speakers' rights. Last year, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced that Moscow has filed pre-trial claims against Latvia, as well as Lithuania and Estonia, for systemic discrimination against Russian compatriots, arguing that these practices violate the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
According to Zakharova, Russophobia 'has reached a qualitatively new level, particularly in the Baltics.' She vowed earlier that Moscow would seek to 'take proactive measures to hold states accountable that violate their international obligation to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.'
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