Russian Foreign Ministry Slams Latvia's Ban Of 7 RT Channels As Illegal

The ban of seven RT channels in Latvia is outrageous and illegal, Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd July, 2020) The ban of seven RT channels in Latvia is outrageous and illegal, Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Thursday.

The Latvian media watchdog said it was banning these channels because they are owned by Dmitry Kiselev, who is under the EU sanctions. Kiselev is the director general of Rossiya Segodnya international information agency, while the editor-in-chief of the RT is Margarita Simonyan, who is not under any sanctions. The two companies are separate legal entities. The information about them is open to public.

"We hope that Latvia took these outrageous and illegal steps only because the relevant agencies were not competent enough to figure out that Dmitry Kiselev is not and has never been connected to what Riga has said.

I would like to say to our colleagues that this organization's legal status is an autonomous non-profit and is headed by Simonyan," Zakharova told a briefing.

The spokewsoman added that this was not the first time Latvia attempted to influence the media in the country and called on relevant international organizations to check Riga's decision to see if it complied with political and legal commitments of Latvia on ensuring the freedom of speech and free access to information.