The channel's director, Viktor Titov, told RIA Novosti that the inspectors claimed Orsent violated Article 25 of the law on language, which reads that a television channel may broadcast no more than 10% of its programs in Russian without translation into Estonian.
According to Mr. Titov, this legal violation (other small cable channels have done the same) is only a pretext, while the real reason for shutting the station down is politically motivated.
Mr. Titov said that Orsent aired several programs this year that raised issues about the reemergence of fascism in the country, the desecration of cemeteries and the state of democracy in Estonia. None of them made pleasant viewing for the authorities.
"After the program about the reemergence of fascism in Estonia, the channel started to receive anonymous threatening phone calls," Mr. Titov said. "The language inspectorate soon sent us notification about the violation of the language law."
Experts from the Tallinn Center of Human Rights Information, say that article 25 of the language law contradicts an entire series of international human rights norms.
