London (AFP)
Russian media RT and Sputnik will not be able to attend an international conference on media freedom in London because of their "active role in spreading misinformation," the British government said on Monday.
Several ministers and a thousand journalists and civil society representatives are expected to take part in this conference co-hosted by Canada, which will be held Wednesday and Thursday in the British capital.
But "we have not accredited RT and Sputnik because of their active role in spreading misinformation," said a spokesman for Britain's foreign ministry.
Commenting on RT's case, the Russian Embassy in London said it was "political discrimination".
The refusal of accreditation follows a "multi-month defamation campaign" by the British authorities against RT, the embassy accused, citing the attitude of the British audio-visual cop, Ofcom, to the Russian channel.
Last December, the regulator had ruled that RT had violated the rules of impartiality in its coverage of the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, South West England, in March. 2018.
The "International Conference on Freedom of the Media" aims to strengthen international cooperation on issues related to media freedom and the "fake news" phenomenon.
Lebanese-British lawyer and human rights activist Amal Clooney will be present as the UK's special envoy on media freedom. She will attend a meeting of a group of independent experts to examine ways to strengthen the protection of journalists.
The only three countries that have not been invited to the conference are North Korea, Syria and Venezuela, according to the organizers.
? 2019 AFP