Russian media channel shut down

The National Electronic Mass Media Council has decided to restrict the rebroadcast of Russian television channel Rossiya RTR in Latvia for a period of three months, NEMMC spokesman Andris Kenins told the business information portal Nozare.lv.

The council has not revealed the arguments for such a decision, promising to make this public in the upcoming days.

Previously, the Public Consultative Council of the Electronic Mass Media Council said it believed that several television channels controlled by the Russian government were disseminating tendentious and grossly misleading information hostile toward Latvia.

Pursuant to Article 24 of the Law on Electronic Mass Media, the electronic mass media must ensure that their broadcasts present true and unbiased information about various facts and events, encourage opinion exchange, and conform to the generally-accepted journalistic and ethical principles.

The Latvian Electronic Mass Media Law also states that the mass media may not disseminate misleading information, be involved in kindling ethnic hatred, or advocate military conflicts or war.