Russia's RT Deutsch Draws Up Lawsuit Against Bild Over Espionage Accusations

The Berlin-based RT Deutsch (RT DE) broadcaster said on Tuesday it was preparing to sue German tabloid Bild over "absurd" espionage accusations

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th March, 2021) The Berlin-based RT Deutsch (RT DE) broadcaster said on Tuesday it was preparing to sue German tabloid Bild over "absurd" espionage accusations.

The decision to file a suit was prompt and came hours after the tabloid published an article claiming that RT DE spied on now-jailed Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, RT's German newsdesk said on Telegram.

According to the media outlet, RT DE and Ruptly, a sister agency, have recently had their accounts in Germany's Commerzbank frozen, while the German Association of Journalists accused the broadcaster of exerting "pressure on politics and journalism.

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RT DE added that the so-called witch-hunt started after it had announced its plans for expansion.

Navalny returned to Moscow from Berlin in January after receiving medical treatment for an alleged poisoning. The activist was arrested on arrival and referred to a court, which in early February rescinded his suspended sentence in the 2014 Yves Rocher fraud case over multiple probation breaches and replaced it with a 3.5-year term behind bars.