CHISINAU, Dec 21 prohibited even after the state of emergency in the country ends, Justice Minister Sergei Litvinenko said.
The Moldovan authorities on December 16 suspended the license of the opposition and leading Russian-language TV channels Primul in Moldova, RTR Moldova, Accent TV, NTV Moldova, TV6, Orhei TV, which allegedly cover information about events in the country and Ukraine in bad faith, which leads to the risk of disinformation . The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow views Chisinau's decision as an act of political censorship. The Russian Foreign Ministry added that such actions are an outrage against the principle of media pluralism and a gross violation of the right to freedom of access to information, and Moscow also qualifies this as «a cynical infringement of the rights of national minorities.»
«It is possible that the state of emergency will be extended, on the one hand. On the other hand, it is obvious that it is necessary to find internal mechanisms for making certain decisions regarding these TV channels,» Litvinenko said on the air of the Jurnal TV channel, noting that the license to broadcast these channels may also be terminated after the end of the state of emergency.
The Minister noted that the authorities may amend the Audiovisual Media Services Code or change local legislation when international sanctions are postponed.
Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Justice of Moldova, Sergei Litvinenko, said that the country's government had developed a draft law «Magnitsky-Moldova Law», which provides for the imposition of sanctions against individuals and legal entities, as well as against the media. According to the project, the Council of Television and Radio of Moldova will be able to revoke licenses from companies owned by or associated with persons affected by the sanctions. Also, the council will be able to revoke the license if the TV channel promotes the image of those included in the list of sanctions.