Russian state channel sues
RT wants to take legal action against the ban on broadcasting
02/09/2022 10:29 am
Due to a lack of a broadcasting license, the German media regulator banned the Russian channel RT from broadcasting in Germany. The state medium is now suing the Berlin administrative court. The broadcaster wants to enforce the broadcast of its German-language TV program.
The Russian channel RT DE wants to take legal action against the ban on broadcasting in Germany. The company RT DE Productions has turned to the administrative court in Berlin with the request to lift the ban on broadcasting, the state television station in Moscow said. The medium wants to win permission for the German-language TV program RT DE, which started in mid-December, by the Russian state medium RT.
The lawsuit is directed against the German media regulators, who banned the broadcasting of RT DE last week due to a lack of a broadcasting license. RT – formerly Russia Today – hopes that the court will overturn the decision of the Berlin-Brandenburg media authority and allow the program to be broadcast. In Germany, a broadcasting license is required for nationwide TV programs. RT DE Productions pointed out that it only produces content. Rather, the television program was broadcast by the Moscow company TV-Novosti from the Russian capital – and not from Germany.
In response to the broadcasting ban on Thursday, the Moscow Foreign Ministry revoked the broadcasting license in Russia of Deutsche Welle, Germany’s foreign broadcaster. The DW office in Moscow was closed and journalists’ accreditations were revoked. For the DW reporters, this amounts to a ban on working, while the RT representatives are allowed to continue working in Germany. The conflict is also likely to play a role in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Moscow. Scholz will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 15.