RT Bank Accounts Frozen in France at Paris' Behest, Broadcaster's Head Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Bank accounts of the RT France broadcaster's desk have been frozen in France, Ksenia Fedorova, the broadcaster's editor-in-chief, said on Friday, adding that the bank refers to the authorities' order.

"We have received a letter from our bank regarding the freezing of RT France accounts by order of the French authorities in connection with the ninth round of sanctions adopted in December. Despite the fact that RT France is not on the list and has the right to operate in France, such a decision effectively paralyzes our activities," Fedorova said in a statement.

Earlier, the head of the European Federation of Journalists, Ricardo Gutierrez, said that banning Russian media in the EU, including RT and Sputnik, "created a dangerous precedent that threatens press freedom".

Commenting on the ban the Russian Embassy in Paris warned that the entire French-speaking population of Europe will suffer from the persecution of the RT France channel.

"We are convinced that the main losers in this situation are the residents of France and other French-speaking countries of Europe, who are deprived of access to a high-quality and reliable source of information," the diplomatic mission said.

The embassy also noted that the decision of the French bank to freeze the accounts of RT France infringes on the rights of the French citizens employed by the channel.

"It is doubly cynical that this decision also harms French citizens working for RT France, who, at the behest of their own authorities, will be thrown out into the streets in these difficult times. There is reason to doubt that the initiators of the persecution of RT France will be engaged in their employment," it said.

The embassy expressed the hope that RT France would continue to broadcast in French for the benefit of French-speaking audiences around the world.

The embassy noted that even before the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, France pursued a "restricting freedom of speech, discriminatory policy" against RT France, which was considered unacceptable in Russia.

"We consider the last step — blocking the accounts of the TV channel, which actually puts an end to the continuation of its work in France — a flagrant violation not only of fundamental democratic principles and international norms and rules regarding freedom of the media. It even goes beyond the restrictive measures imposed by the European Union against Russia, which do not apply to RT France," the diplomatic mission said.

In early December, the French Council of State ordered the media regulator Arcom to reconsider its decision to continue broadcasting Russian TV channels Rossiya 1, NTV, and Channel One in Russia and Ukraine by the French satellite operator Eutelsat at the request of Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Relations between Russian media and the West have become increasingly difficult in recent years. In November 2016, the European Parliament adopted a resolution stating the need to counter Russian media, with Sputnik and RT cited as the main threats in the document.

A number of western politicians, including US senators and congressmen, as well as the French president, accused Sputnik and RT of interfering in the US and French elections, but did not provide any evidence. Russian officials said such allegations were unsubstantiated.