Lithuania’s Radio and Television Commission (LRTK) has decided to suspend the reception of the Russian channel RTR Planeta for a period of 12 months.

In a statement, the regulator says that this is due to repeated violations of the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive and Lithuania’s Law on Public Information.

It adds that violations were detected on three occasions in 2017 and thoroughly investigated.

The LRTK immediately contacted the broadcaster and the institution that registered it in Sweden, as well as informed the EC about the situation. However, it received no feedback from RTR Planeta, while the Swedish Broadcasting Commission has no competence to take the necessary measures to ensure RTR Planeta does not repeat the violations.

The LRTK has now instructed re-broadcasters in Lithuania, as well as others providing TV programmes or distributing internet services, to stop carrying RTR Planeta from February 23.