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Novaya Gazeta Europe
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Novaya Gazeta Europe
Latvian court annuls decision to strip Dozhd of broadcast licence after 2-year legal proceedings — Novaya Gazeta Europe
A regional appeals court in Latvia has overturned the decision of the country's national TV regulator to strip independent Russian TV news channel Dozhd of its broadcast licence, two and a half years after it was first revoked, Latvian news agency LETA reported on Wednesday. Founded in 2010, Dozhd operated in Russia as an independent broadcaster until it was forced into exile following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, receiving a broadcasting licence in Latvia in June of the same year. However, in December 2022, the National Council for Electronic Mass Media (NEPLP) rescinded Dozhd's licence for a series of regulatory violations that constituted a 'national security and public order threat', including the absence of a Latvian audio track, the depiction of Crimea as Russian territory on a map, and referring to the Russian army as 'our army', LETA wrote. One month later, Dozhd received a new broadcasting licence from the Netherlands, where its operations have since been based. According to LETA, the appeal was likely granted as the NEPLP's decision to revoke Dozhd's broadcasting licence was primarily based on statements of a single employee, Alexey Korostelyov, which have since been 'refuted and removed'. Additionally, Korostelyov has since left the TV station. On Wednesday, Ivars Āboliņš, chairman of the NEPLP, responded to the decision on X, announcing his intention to appeal the court's decision while maintaining that the verdict did not mean Dozhd would return to Latvia. 'We will appeal and I am sure that his verdict will never come into legal force and will be overturned,' Āboliņš said. Dozhd editor-in-chief Tikhon Dzyadko has welcomed the decision on his Telegram channel, noting that 'after two and a half years, justice has been restored' and expressing hope that Dozhd could resume broadcasting in Latvia and other Baltic states.
Russia Today
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
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.'
