MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has signed a document, which paves the way for holding cable operators liable if they continue broadcasting banned Russian channels, the website of the ministry reported Tuesday, citing Avakov’s aide Anton Herashchenko.
The document says that the Ukrainian Interior Ministry and the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council will jointly identify cable providers that did not switch off Russian channels and hold them liable in accordance with the law. In addition to channels which had previously been suspended by a series of court orders, the list now includes RT, RBK-TV and Life News, thus bringing the total number of banned Russian channels to 14.
“Ukraine, as an independent and sovereign state, can and should defend its media space from Russia’s information aggression,” Herashchenko stressed.
Major providers have been banned from carrying Russian channels, including Russia’s Channel One, following Crimea’s reunification with Russia in March.
In late July, a court in Ukraine upheld a claim issued by the National Council and ruled to suspend the broadcasting of another four Russian channels. The companies in question were RTR-Planeta, NTV-Mir, Russia-24 and TVC.
The ruling elaborated that the content of the TV programs broadcasted by these companies did not comply with Ukrainian and European laws.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called the move a serious violation of international norms and an infringement of press freedom. Konstantin Ernst, the head of Channel One, urged Ukrainian authorities to revoke the court decision, which “goes against international law and viewers' interests”.
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović voiced concern over the National Council’s request to shut down the broadcasting of Russian channels. She called the ban “a form of censorship without legal basis.”
