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A photo of the old Doschd headquarters in Moscow from 2021 – the broadcaster has been working out of Latvia since June
Photo: Denis Kaminev / REUTERS
Latvia has revoked the broadcasting license of the independent Russian television channel Dozhd, also known internationally as TV Rain.
This was announced by Ivars Āboliņš, the chairman of the National Council for Electronic Mass Media (NEPLP).
Āboliņš wrote on Twitter that the country's laws "must be respected by everyone" and published a graphic with details of the decision.
Accordingly, the Council justified its decision with a “threat to national security and public order”.
The council came to the conclusion that "the management of TV Rain did not understand the nature and seriousness of each individual violation or a number of violations." According to Āboliņš, the decision applies from this Thursday.
Latvia granted Dozhd a broadcasting license in June after the TV station stopped broadcasting in Russia in early March due to harsh crackdowns by the Russian authorities.
Editor-in-Chief apologizes
The council had previously fined the TV channel €10,000 for showing a map showing the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in violation of international law, as part of Russia.
There is also an appeal to the viewers of the Dozhd news program "Here and Now" to provide information about the conditions of the Russians at the front.
The moderator expressed the hope that the station had already been able to help many soldiers with equipment and basic equipment.
Editor-in-chief Tikhon Dzyadko, on the other hand, asserted that the opposition channel was not providing any help to the Russian army.
Much more information would be gathered about Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
He apologized on Twitter for the moderator's "misinterpreted" call, which the broadcaster says has since been fired.
kko/dpa/AFP
