Moscow reacts to Germany’s arrest of couple for ‘illegal’ RT broadcasts

Berlin has apparently opted to celebrate the International Day for Universal Access to Information with arrests, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, after a couple in Germany was taken into custody on suspicion of broadcasting RT and other Russian TV channels via the internet.

Almost all Russian media organizations were banned in the EU in March 2022 after the conflict between Moscow and Kiev broke out.

The couple was arrested last week on the eve of the International Day for Universal Access to Information, marked annually on September 28. Speaking during a press conference at the UN on Saturday, Lavrov suggested the arrest was a questionable way to celebrate the occasion.

“I would like to speak of how this day is celebrated in Germany. It has been reported that a married couple has been arrested in Germany, they are suspected of organizing the broadcast of several Russian television channels on the internet,” Russia’s top diplomat stated.

According to German authorities, the couple has been offering “several sanctioned Russian TV channels to their customers via an IP-TV service since at least the beginning of 2022.” Police in the city of Karlsruhe raided the couple’s apartment, seizing “extensive technical equipment, written evidence and 40,000 euros ($44,686) in cash.”

A district court has also issued an asset seizure order against the couple for some €120,000 ($134,000) in “illegal income” from the alleged activity. The two are now facing at least one year in prison, should they be found guilty of violating the Foreign Trade Act. The investigation is still ongoing and additional charges could potentially be brought against them.