In Latvia, the broadcasting license of the TV channel “Rain” was canceled
The National Council for Electronic Mass Media (NEPLP) of Latvia canceled the broadcasting license of the Russian TV channel “Dozhd”, the head of the council Ivars Abolinsh said on Twitter.
According to him, the decision to cancel the permission to broadcast the TV channel has been made because of the “threat to national security and public order”.
Abolinsh noted that the management of the TV channel “does not understand and is not aware of the significance and seriousness of the violations, therefore it cannot act on the territory of Latvia”.
Broadcasting the TV channel will be discontinued on December 8.
Read also: “There is a line between freedom of speech and support for war” – Rinkevichs about the “Rain” TV channel in Latvia
2 In December, the National Council for Electronic Mass Media (NEPLP) of Latvia fined the TV channel “Dozhd” 10,000 euros for airing a map with the occupied Crimea as part of Russia and the words “our army” in reference to the Russian army. A day earlier, calling on viewers to write about violations during the mobilization and war crimes, host Oleksii Korostelov said: “We hope that we were able to help many military personnel, including, for example, with equipment and basic amenities at the front.”
The editor-in-chief of “Dozhdya” Tikhon Dzyadko said after the incident that the TV channel is not engaged in the transfer of equipment to any army, including the Russian one. According to him, the presenter slandered on the air, for which he was fired. Dzyadko called the image of Crimea as part of Russia a “designer's mistake.” The head of “Dozhdya” expressed his belief that “there are no grounds for depriving the TV channel of its license”. The TV channel closed its office in Russia after the start of a full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022. A few months ago, “Dozhd” resumed broadcasting, the office moved to Latvia. This media showed the map of Russia with the occupied Crimea before, when it worked in Russia. At that time, such ideas about the political map of the world were explained on the TV channel by the need to comply with the requirements of Russian legislation.