The Riga District Administrative Court upheld the decision of the Latvian National Board of the Electronic Media Council (NEPLP) to revoke Dozhd's license for European broadcasting. This is reported by the TV channel.
The decision was made on July 4, Dozhd commented on it today. The channel's management intends to appeal against it «in all instances — including the European Court of Human Rights, if necessary.»
The TV channel received permission for European broadcasting from NEPLP in June last year. For the first time since being banned for covering the war, «Rain» aired on July 18, 2022. Seven months later, the Latvian authorities deprived the channel of this license. The decision was explained as a “threat to national security and public order.”
The reason for this was three administrative cases against the TV channel — because of the map with Crimea as part of Russia, the wording “our army” regarding Russian troops and the words of host Alexei Korostelev that the airs of «Rain» help the Russians «with equipment at the front.»
In early December, the presenter was fired from the TV channel. He himself wrote that his words were taken out of context. Korostelev, who was broadcasting from the Dozhd studio in Tbilisi, was banned from entering Latvia. After the dismissal of a colleague, several journalists stopped working with the channel.
The channel's management called the revocation of the license «unfair and disproportionate.» In January, Dozhd received a new permit for European broadcasting — in the Netherlands.