The Union of Journalists of Germany called on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to lift all the bans that were imposed on the German media holding Deutsche Welle in response to the ban on broadcasting the RT DE TV channel in Germany.
According to the head of the Union, Frank Iberall, such retaliatory actions by the Russian authorities are a “cheap reaction.” He believes that there is no justification for these radical censorship measures.
He argued his position by the fact that RT DE is a propaganda resource, while Deutsche Welle distributes independent and critical journalism.
Recall that earlier the German Commission for Licensing and Supervision decided to ban satellite and online broadcasting of the RT DE TV channel from February 1. The media regulator referred to the lack of the necessary license for the channel.
In Russia, a symmetrical response was prepared for this: satellite and other broadcasting of Deutsche Welle was stopped. Also, the accreditations of all employees of the Russian bureau of Deutsche Welle were canceled and the correspondent office of the Deutsche Welle television and radio company in the Russian Federation was closed. In addition, the State Duma of the Russian Federation banned Deutsche Welle journalists from attending plenary sessions. According to Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Russia will not disregard hostile actions against the country.
