VILNIUS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th October, 2020) The Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK) may suspend the broadcasting of the Swedish-registered Russian RTR-Planeta channel over alleged violations of the EU directive on audiovisual media services and the country's law on public information, according to the LRTK statement.
The Russian broadcaster is accused of "incitement to war, discord and national hatred."
"The LRTK has established that on September 17, 2020, the position of [leader of Liberal Democratic Party of Russia] Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who took part in the '60 Minut' tv program broadcast by the RTR-Planeta, was aggressive toward Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Poland," the LRTK statement read.
The commission warned that this was the Russian channel's second violation this year and if there was another such incident reported, the authority would temporarily suspend broadcasting by the channel.
Russian media in Baltic states have been frequently targeted by authorities. Moscow has accused Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, which have also banned the broadcasting of some Russian channels, of a coordinated crackdown on the media, which is not in line with the principle of freedom of expression.
