Russia on Saturday accused Moldova of “political censorship” after the small eastern European country suspended the broadcasting licenses of six TV channels accused of disinformation. Moldova justified this decision on Friday with the “lack of correct information” in its coverage of national events and in particular Russian military operations in Ukraine.
Some of the blocked channels carried Russian TV programs that were banned from within the European Union on Friday under fresh sanctions against Moscow. The Russian language is widely spoken in Moldova.
“Blatant violation of the right to free access to information”
“We believe that this ban constitutes an unprecedented act of political censorship, a violation of the principle of media pluralism and a flagrant violation of the right to free access to information,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded.
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The measure by the Moldovan authorities comes into force on Monday and applies during the emergency situation that was declared in Moldova after Moscow deployed troops to Ukraine at the end of February.
Bordering Ukraine and Romania, this small country of 2.6 million has been granted candidate status to join the European Union, but the process can take years.