MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th April, 2022) A Latvian court overturned the decision of the National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) to ban five Russian entertainment tv channels, including TNT Comedy and Friday International, NEPLP head Ivars Abolins said on Friday.
"The court decided to apply a temporary settlement and return to the Latvian information space the programs TNT Comedy, TNT4 International, Friday International, KHL TV channel and TNT Music," Abolins said, adding that the council does not agree with the court's decision and is going to challenge it.
According to Delfi web portal, the NEPLP has decided to temporarily ban these TV channels due to the fact that US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on Gazprombank, the owner of Gazprom-Media Holding, which is the direct or indirect owner of TV channels banned in Latvia (in addition to the 5 listed, the decision included 13 more TV channels, mostly entertainment content).
During the court proceedings, it was found that these TV channels are not subject to OFAC sanctions and the distribution of these programs does not pose a threat to national security or the public interest. NEPLP's decision was challenged in court by SIA Global Media, which has the right to distribute TV programs, the Delfi portal reported.
The authorities of the Baltic countries have repeatedly obstructed the work of the Russian media. The Russian Foreign Ministry saw clear signs of a coordinated policy of these states. Cases of harassment of the media in the Baltic states "clearly demonstrate what demagogic statements about the adherence of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn to the principles of democracy and freedom of speech are worth in practice," the ministry said.
