09-04-2014

Latvia and Lithuania Ban Russian TV

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    Governmental bodies in both Latvia and Lithuania have banned broadcasts of Russian state TV channels.

    A three month ban began on 8 April 2014.

    Lithuania first issued a three month ban of the Russian channel NTV Mir two weeks earlier over broadcast of the documentary The Convicted. It later suspended broadcasts of RTR-Planeta (Russia) also for a period of three months.

    Latvia issued a three-month suspension of rebroadcasts of the channel Rossiya RTR over reports of biased coverage reflecting military propaganda.

    One-third of Latvia’s population is native Russian-speaking, and 8 percent of Lithuania’s population is comprised of native Russian language speakers.