The National Electronic Media Council (NEPLP) has fined the Russian TV channel Dozhd for 10,000 euros. This was announced on Twitter by the chairman of the council, Ivars Abolins.
Dozhd's editor-in-chief Tikhon Dzyadko, in a conversation with The Insider, confirmed the information about the fine: "[It's] true."
According to Delfi , the fine was imposed due to the fact that the TV channel designated the occupied Crimea as part of Russia and called the Russian army "our army."
Earlier today, Dzyadko published a post in which he apologized for the incorrect wording on the air of Dozhd (however, it was not about Crimea, and not about “our army”, but about the phrase uttered by host Alexei Korostelev on the air: “Send us messages to mail or write to us in our Telegram bot.<…> We hope that many military personnel, including, we were able to help, for example, with equipment and simply with basic amenities at the front").
“In this regard, it is important to note the following: the Dozhd TV channel has not been, is not and will not be engaged in assistance with equipping the Russian army – at the front or beyond. The mailbox army@tvrain.tv was created to collect personal evidence about the crimes of the Russian army in Ukraine and about violations during criminal and senseless mobilization in the Russian Federation.”
“Since the phrase heard on the air misleads our viewers, we have decided to immediately remove it from the replays and from the recording of the air. We apologize to our viewers," Dzyadko wrote.
Later, on the air of Dozhd, it was reported that the channel was ceasing cooperation with the presenter.
The head of NEPLP stressed that for three serious violations, the board has the right to revoke the broadcasting license of the channel. This case is the second violation of the "Rain" in recent months.