Latvia fined TV channel Dozhd

The Council of Electronic Media of Latvia has fined the Dozhd TV company for 10,000 euros. The reason for this was the broadcast of a map on the air of the TV company, where Crimea is part of Russia, and the host of the channel called the Russian armed forces “our army”.

As the head of the council, Ivars Abolins, said, Dozhd  violated the rules in Latvia for the second time, and for the third violation, his broadcasting license could be revoked.

An administrative case against the channel was also initiated for a story that refers to possible support for the Russian army. Abolins stated that Dozhd must respect local Latvian laws.

Statements by the Latvian authorities regarding Dozhd began after TV host Alexei Korostelev turned to viewers on December 1 and asked them to provide information about violations committed during the mobilization.

“We hope that we can help the soldiers who are at the front and help them improve their living conditions,” the host said.

On December 2, Dozhd issued a statement about the termination of cooperation with this journalist.

The editor-in-chief of Dozhd, Tikhon Dzyadko, said that Korostelev's words mislead the audience and create the impression that Dozhd is providing some kind of assistance to the Russian army. “The TV channel did not help and is not going to help the Russian army in the future,” Dzyadko said.

The Latvian Security Service also launched an investigation into this fact. For his part, Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said the broadcaster should be sent back to Russia and its employees deprived of the right to live in Latvia.

For information, the Russian authorities closed the broadcast of Dozhd shortly after the start of the aggression in Ukraine. In June, it was reported that Dozhd received a license to broadcast in Latvia.