Bank Account Of Baltnews Head In Latvia Frozen Amid Crackdown On Russian Media

The bank account of Andrey Starikov, the editor-in-chief of Baltnews, a Russian-language news portal covering the Baltic states, was frozen in Latvia as part of a criminal case against Russian-speaking reporters, the press service of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency said on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2021) The bank account of Andrey Starikov, the editor-in-chief of Baltnews, a Russian-language news portal covering the Baltic states, was frozen in Latvia as part of a criminal case against Russian-speaking reporters, the press service of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency said on Monday.

In early December, several Russian-speaking journalists working in Latvia, including those who wrote articles for the Baltnews and Sputnik Latvia outlets, were accused of violating EU sanctions. Their apartments were searched, while they were restricted from leaving the country in their own recognizance. Sputnik Latvia and Baltnews are part of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, whose director general, Dmitry Kiselev, is on the EU sanctions list.

"The Latvian [bank] account of Baltnews editor-in-chief Andrey Starikov was frozen as part of a criminal case against reporters who allegedly violated the anti-Russian sanctions regime by cooperating with the Rossiya Segodnya media holding," the press service said in a statement.

The move was taken as the Latvian authorities claim there is a "real possibility that the funds in the current account of Andrey Starikov were obtained illegally, in violation of the prohibitions of the Council of the European Union."

The asset freeze is just another episode in a long string of restrictions imposed on Russian media in the Baltic countries in recent years. Moscow slammed Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia for ganging up against Russian journalists despite their formal pledge of commitment to the freedom of expression.

Earlier in March, Kirill Vyshinsky, the executive director of the Rossiya Segodnya, sent a follow-up letter to various international organizations, to draw attention and elicit a response to the persecution of writers working for the agency's Baltnews and Sputnik Latvia news outlets.