The Latvian Communications Council revoked the license of Dožd, the television channel that fled Russia to Latvia, in December.
Elsa Osipova,
Ilmari Reunamäki
Russian independent news channel Dožd confirms In Telegram (you switch to another service)that it has received a business license from the Netherlands for five years.
Formerly a Russian news site Meduza (you will switch to another service) reported that the Dutch media regulatory authority has made a decision to grant a license to Dožd.
The decision was made on December 22.
According to the statement published by the channel on Tuesday, it plans to move part of its delivery to Amsterdam as soon as the TV channel employees receive a work permit to the Netherlands.
Dožd also says that he challenged the Latvian authority’s decision to revoke the channel’s license on Monday.
Part of the delivery will remain in Latvia, the statement says.
Flee from Russia in March
TV channel Dožd gained attention last spring when the Russian administration forced it to stop its operations.
In Russia, Dožd was accused of criticizing the attack on Ukraine.
Doždi’s delivery fled to Latvia at the beginning of March.
At the beginning of December, the Latvian Communications Authority announced that it has started an investigation into the operation of the Russian channel together with the country’s security authority.
According to Latvian authorities, Doždi is suspected of financing terrorism.
The investigation was launched after the presenter Alexey Korostelev said in a TV broadcast that the channel managed to help many Russians avoid subpoenas during the campaign launch.
The investigative decision of the Latvian authorities states that the TV channel is suspected of urging the public to get equipment for the Russian soldiers at the front.
Dožd editor-in-chief Tikhon Dzyadko has denied the charges and said that Dožd does not provide any kind of support to the Russian military.
In December, Dožd was fined 10,000 euros because the channel had used a map in its story showing the Crimean peninsula as part of Russia.
According to Latvian law, a TV channel can lose its license if it breaks the law three times in a year.
Source: AFP