Ukrainian sanctions against opposition TV channels a ‘massacre,’ lawmaker says
“Five TV channels shut down in one year is a special characteristic for any authority,” Viktor Medvedchuk noted
MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. Ukrainian sanctions against the First Independent and Ukrlive TV channels are a crime, says Viktor Medvedchuk, Chairman of the Political Council of the Opposition Platform – For Life (OPFL) political party.
“Five TV channels shut down in one year is a special characteristic for any authority. Nobody will be able to beat this record. A broadcasting license can only be recalled through a watchdog organization and under a court order. This is a massacre. Yesterday’s TV channels have been illegally shut down due to criminal actions of the authorities,” Medvedchuk said.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky enacted the decision of the National Defense and Security Council of Ukraine to impose sanctions against three companies: Novosti, owned by OPFL lawmaker Taras Kozak (which includes the 112 Ukraine, News One, and Zik opposition TV channels); Time Media, which owns the First Independent TV Channel, and Teleprostir, which owns the Ukrlive TV channel. The latter two companies are owned by OPFL lawmaker Nestor Shufrich. The imposed sanctions will remain in effect for five years and effectively bar the channels from operating. Ukrainian carriers have already started taking these channels down.
Published at tass.com
We remind our readers that publication of articles on our site does not mean that we agree with what is written. Our policy is to publish anything which we consider of interest, so as to assist our readers in forming their opinions. Sometimes we even publish articles with which we totally disagree, since we believe it is important for our readers to be informed on as wide a spectrum of views as possible.
