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Russia urges OSCE to focus attention on Latvia’s violations of freedom of press

On October 22, Latvia’s National Electronic Mass Media Council levelled a fine against the First Baltic Channel broadcasting in Russian for presumably one-sided coverage of events in Ukraine

MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/. Russia’s Foreign Ministry expects that international profile bodies, including the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), will focus their attention on how Latvia delivers a clear snub to basic principles of media, the ministry said in a commentary posted on its website on Saturday.

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On October 22, Latvia’s National Electronic Mass Media Council levelled a fine against the First Baltic Channel broadcasting in Russian for presumably one-sided coverage of events in Ukraine.

"We expect that Riga’s snub to basic principles of media will not be left unnoticed by international profile agencies, in particular by the OSCE representative on freedom of the media," the ministry said.

"Repressive steps against the media outlets clearly demonstrate what Latvian authorities’ demagogic statements on their adherence to democratic values and freedom of expression actually mean," it said.

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