Latvia shuts down exiled Russian broadcaster due to national security threats

Latvia has shut down a Russian independent television station after it was described as a threat to national security, the state media regulator said.

The National Electronic Media Council (NEPLP), Latvia's media regulator, said the decision to cancel the licence was taken “in connection with threats to national security and public order”.

“Everyone must follow Latvian laws and respect them,” said the regulator's chairman Ivars Abolins, adding that the broadcasts would cease on Thursday.

TV Rain, or Dozhd as it is known in Russian, began broadcasting from Latvia in July after it was forced to shut its Moscow studio following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The liberal-leaning station was fined €10,000 (£8,613) on Friday for airing a map that labelled occupied Crimea as Russian territory and for calling Russian troops “our army”. TV Rain apologised to its viewers and fired one of its presenters as a result.

The channel has called the accusations “unfair and absurd”, while stating that it will continue to air its programmes on YouTube where it gets most of its viewership.

The ban comes nine months after Russia announced that it was blocking the station's output, accusing it of spreading “deliberately false information about the actions of Russian military personnel” in Ukraine.