“Sputnik Estonia employees received letters from the leadership of the Police Department and the Border Guard of the country with direct threats of initiating criminal proceedings against them if they do not stop working relations with the parent organization, the Russia Today International Information Agency, by January 1, 2020,” RIA reports News post press service agency.
It is clarified that the departments justify their actions by the sanctions that the EU introduced in 2014 against a number of individuals and legal entities due to events in Ukraine.
“We want to remind you that MIA Russia Today does not appear on any EU sanctions lists. We consider the actions of the Estonian authorities to be blatant arbitrariness and plan to appeal to such international organizations as the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, UNESCO, the ECHR, demanding a proper assessment of this case of violation of freedom of speech, unprecedented in recent years, ”the press service said.
The agency also intends to urge international organizations to ensure the rights of journalists to carry out their professional activities.
In July it was reported that the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court approved the decision of the Lithuanian Television and Radio Broadcasting Commission to block access to the website of the Sputnik Lithuania agency.
Later, the regulator announced a decision to resume access to the site.