Exclusion of TV channel Dozhd poses serious threat to media freedom in Russia, says OSCE media freedom representative

VIENNA, 5 February 2014 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed her concern about the exclusion of the independent television station Dozhd by major cable and satellite operators.

“This orchestrated effort by operators to exclude Dozhd from their networks might create a chilling effect and seriously undermine media pluralism in Russia,” Mijatović said.

Dozhd was excluded from networks, including Tricolor TV, Beeline, Akado, NTV+ and Rostelecom, at the decision of their owners.

“I hope that this act limiting media plurality will be reversed and that Dozhd will be able to resume its broadcasting soon,” Mijatović said.

She noted that both the Prosecutor’s Office and Roskomnadzor, the federal telecommunications regulator, investigated Dozhd’s activities but found no legal grounds for any sanctions, which raises concerns about the reasoning behind the decisions.

Mijatović also noted that the Civil Society and Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation and the Union of Journalists of Russia, as well as many other civil society and media organizations also expressed their concern about the operators’ action.