Russia bans Deutsche Welle’s broadcasts in Russia. This step is a reaction to the ban on the German program of the Russian state broadcaster RT DE.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also ordered the closure of the DW correspondents’ office in Moscow and lifted the accreditation of DW journalists. According to the ordinance, the broadcasting of Deutsche Welle’s Russian-language program via satellite and on all other broadcasting channels is prohibited, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced. In addition, a process will be launched to declare Deutsche Welle a “foreign agent”. Further information will be provided soon.
Limbourg protests
DW CEO Peter Limbourg said:
“The measures taken by the Russian authorities are not at all understandable and constitute a completely exaggerated reaction. Here they hold us hostage in a way that the media only experiences in autocracy. We protest vigorously against this absurd reaction of the Russian government and will use the channels. Until these measures are officially notified to us, we will continue to forward news from our office in Moscow.Even if we are eventually forced to close (the office), this will not affect our reporting “On the contrary, we would significantly strengthen our reporting.”
Retribution from Moscow
With this broadcast ban, Russia reacts to the ban on broadcasting in German of its state broadcaster RT DE. The Moscow government considered the ban on German-language broadcasts of the Russian state channel an attack on freedom of thought and the press and threatened that there would be consequences. “The situation is quite clear: a Russian media company, I would even say an international media company, is banned from broadcasting in Germany. This is nothing short of an attack on freedom of expression,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. , quoted by the Interfax news agency.
In Germany, regulators of the Competent Authorization and Supervision Commission (ADR) on Wednesday banned the broadcast of the RT DE television channel to media authorities. The reason was the lack of a broadcasting license.
During a meeting with her counterpart Sergei Lavrov in January in Moscow, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made it clear that no state radio station was allowed in Germany.
RT – formerly Russia Today – broadcasts international programs in six languages and says its German-language program contributes to a variety of opinions in Europe. Critics, on the other hand, accuse RT of being the Kremlin spokeswoman by spreading misinformation and propaganda.
