#7
Russians Rally in Moscow Against Closure of TV Station
Interfax

MOSCOW, Jan 14, 2002 -- A rally in support of TV6 organized by the youth branch of the Yabloko party was held in downtown Moscow, near the Griboyedov monument, today.

Taking part in the rally were some 80 people, more than half of them members of the press, an Interfax correspondent has reported from the scene.

The participants of the rally carried signs protesting about the liquidation of the TV company and calling on the state to become more "transparent".

A number of Yabloko members and human right advocates spoke at the rally. In particular, State Duma deputy Sergey Mitrokhin said, "We are outraged by the disbanding of the outstanding creative personnel and are greatly alarmed by what is happening to the media in Russia."

Another speaker, head of the Yabloko youth branch Ilya Yashin, noted that the new slogan of his organization is now "The state behind a glass!" He noted that "civil society can appear only when the Kremlin's walls become transparent".

The rally lasted for about an hour, and no incidents were registered.

On 11 January the presidium of the Russian Higher Arbitration Court left unchanged a ruling by the first instance court on the liquidation of the Moscow Independent Broadcasting Corporation (MNVK, the owner of the TV6 channel).

The presidium reversed a ruling by the federal arbitration court of the Moscow judicial district (the appeal instance) of 29 December, which had invalidated the rulings of the lower courts on TV6's liquidation.