Moscow Calls Media Freedom Violation Moldova’s Blocking of 2 Russian-Language Portals
A general view shows the Soviet era skyscraper on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment of the Moskva river, Foreign ministry headquarters, Radisson Royal Hotel Moscow, the Christ the Savior cathedral and the Kremlin, with the Moscow International Business Centre, also known as “Moskva-City”, seen in te background, in Moscow, Russia
InternationalIndiaAfricaMOSCOW (Sputnik) – Moldova’s decision to block two Russian-language news outlets is a violation of media freedom and the rights of Russian-speaking residents of the country, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday. “[Moscow considers the decision] as yet another gross violation by the Moldovan authorities, under frankly far-fetched pretexts, of the principle of ensuring pluralism of opinions and freedom of the media, as well as the right of Russian-speaking residents of Moldova to have access to information,” Zakharova said in a statement. Moscow also called on Chisinau to lift “the discriminatory bans on broadcasting for Russian and Russian-language media” in the country, the statement read.On Thursday, Moldovan Information and Security Service head Alexandru Mustiata issued an order to block the websites of the Eurasia Daily news agency and the Russian portal Bloknot under the pretext of spreading propaganda that allegedly incites hatred.
