Armenia suspends Sputnik radio license for a month

The Armenian Television and Radio Commission suspended the broadcaster license of radio station Sputnik for a month, the Sputnik Armenia Telegram channel says.

“The Commission on Television and Radio of the country (Armenia) revoked the license of our rebroadcasting transmitter, the Tospa radio station, for 30 days,” the statement reads.

The reason was the broadcast of the program “Friday with Tigran Keosayan” on the radio station, in which, according to the Commission, the author made “ironic and degrading statements to the honor and dignity of Armenia and its people”.

In addition, it transpired that the rebroadcasting transmitter was fined 500,000 drams (approximately 112,000 rubles) for the original program of former MP Arman Abovyan “Abovyan Time”. The regulator saw in the programme statements that “spread panic and are based on unverified and unreliable sources”.