Ukrainian authorities should “immediately” cancel an order banning a prominent independent Russian television station from broadcasting in the country, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says.
The National Radio and TV Council (NRTC) on January 12 ordered Ukrainian broadcasters to stop airing reports by Dozhd (Rain) within about a month, the Moscow-based channel said.
“This ham-handed censorship will deprive Russian-speaking Ukrainian viewers of a counterpoint to Russian state-controlled media,” CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said in January 13 statement.
Dozhd cited an official from the channel’s Ukrainian partner, Volya, as saying the reason for the ban was that Dozhd had violated a prohibition on advertising.
The Interfax news agency, however, cited a council member as saying Dozhd had failed to recognize Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity when it aired an image showing the boundary with Crimea as the state border, suggesting that Crimea is part of Russia.
Russia seized control of Crimea in 2014, although Kyiv considers the Black Sea peninsula still part of Ukraine. Only a handful of countries in the world recognize Crimea as part of Russia.
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
Putin Fires Longtime Ally Shoigu As Defense Minister In Cabinet Shake-Up
2Slovak PM's Condition Reportedly Remains Critical After Shooting, But No Longer Life-Threatening
3Georgian Government Defiant As Protests Against 'Foreign Agent' Bill Continue
4Amid Pressure From Baku, U.S. Diplomat Tours Nagorno-Karabakh
5Dubai Unlocked: How Yanukovych-Era Ukrainian Officials Poured Millions Into Secretive U.A.E. Real Estate
6Former Kazakh Minister Gets 24 Years In Prison For Wife's Murder
7Interview: Putin Has Not Given Up On Erasing Ukraine 'As A State, A Concept, And A People'
8Inside Russia's Improvised System For Mobilizing Men For The Ukraine War: An RFE/RL Investigation
9Live Briefing: Russia Invades Ukraine
10Heavy Fighting Continues In Kharkiv As Russia Tries to Stretch Ukrainian Forces
Subscribe