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U.S. urges Russia to keep embattled TV6 on air
By Elaine Monaghan
WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday urged Russia to respect media freedoms by ensuring that the country's only independent national television channel, TV6, wins a legal battle against closure.
"In this case, there's a strong appearance of political pressure in the judicial process against the independent media," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said, adding that the court order to shut it was based on a "flawed" law.
"There have been unusually rapid developments in the TV6 liquidation case at high judicial levels where legal action normally takes months," Boucher told a news briefing.
He said the case raised issues of media independence, fair and transparent application of business law and freedom of Russia's judiciary from political pressures.
Secretary of State Colin Powell, during a visit to Russia in December, raised the issue in talks with the Russian leadership and demonstrated his support for TV6 by granting its General Director Yevgeny Kiselyov an interview, Boucher noted.
"We continue to urge Russian officials to ensure that TV6 gets a full and fair hearing and ensure that press freedom and the rule of law can be best served by keeping TV6 on the air," he added.
Kiselyov said on Tuesday he was confident TV6 would win the battle sparked by a Moscow lower court ruling in November that it should be shut down because of alleged statutory irregularities.
He has dismissed the charges, saying they could be applied to almost any Russian company, and accused the Kremlin of trying to stifle alternatives to official propaganda.
Boucher said the law was flawed in the first place and that it had lapsed on Jan. 1.
He also pointed out recent rapid developments in the case, saying: "On Dec. 29, the Moscow District Federal Arbitration Court suspended the lower court's order to liquidate TV6. On Jan. 4, which effectively was the next business day, the Supreme Arbitration Court ordered the liquidation continued."
TV6 enjoyed a surge in ratings with its recent broadcast of "Behind the Glass," the Russian version of the popular reality show "Big Brother." It has traditionally come fourth in television ratings behind three channels owned partly or wholly by the state -- ORT, RTR and NTV.
TV6 became a refuge for veterans who quit the independent NTV network -- which Boucher said was also a victim of the law applied to TV6 -- when it was taken over by a branch of the state-backed natural gas monopoly Gazprom last April.
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