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Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the European Union

Submitted on 2017-06-20 13:02:56

Comment by the Information and Press Department on the EU General Court ruling in the case of Kiselev v Council

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We have taken note of the June 15 ruling of the General Court of the European Union in the case of Rossiya Segodnya Director General Dmitry Kiselev v Council of the European Union.

The court has gone to great lengths to justify the illegitimate restrictions imposed on the journalist for the presentation of his political views. It is shocking to see the European Union, which has posed as a defender of media freedom and expression around the world, permit and, worse still, encourage this kind of censorship within its borders.

Seeking to attain some questionable goals, the EU not only sways the provisions of its fundamental treaties to current political objectives but also violates fundamental rights, such as the right to defence for individuals and companies on the sanctions lists. Dmitry Kiselev was denied the right to attend the hearing of the case he had lodged against the Council of the European Union.

The EU is clearly apprehensive of the unbiased assessments and presentations of events around the world, including in Ukraine, which differ from those provided by European mainstream media. By the way, these mainstream media have been found to use unverified and unreliable data and even proved to falsify information, for example, about the situation in Syria. By doing this, these media violate the rights of EU citizens to access the facts and alternative views.

We would like to know what the OSCE and the Council of Europe, whose responsibilities include the protection of media freedom, think about this interpretation of freedom of the media.