MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Threats against journalists, their imprisonment and even killings have become standard practice in Western countries, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in connection with World Radio Day.
"Threats targeting journalists, prosecuting them on politically motivated charges, imprisonment and even killings have become the norm in the West," the diplomat said in a commentary. "Such actions not only ultimately destroy the myth of the infallibility of the Western model of neoliberal democracy, but are actually directed against the interests of the citizens of these countries, making it difficult for them to get access to objective information about what is going on in the world," Zakharova said.
"At the same time, such punitive measures are certainly unable to block the inconvenient truth from coming out, judging by the growing audiences of Russian radio broadcasters even in those countries where their activities are banned," the diplomat emphasized.
According to her, Russian radio broadcasters are now "facing problems in delivering information to foreign audiences, which are artificially politicized and are related to the desire of the countries of the 'collective West' to isolate their societies from sources of alternative viewpoints."
"In violation of the international commitments undertaken to guarantee media pluralism and the right of citizens to freedom of speech and expression, rolling blockades of Russian media operators are carried out there, broadcast bans are imposed and a whole range of unilateral illegal sanctions are adopted against the management of radio holdings as well as prominent representatives in the media sphere," Zakharova stated.