RT DE Productions files lawsuit with Berlin court urging lifting ban on RT DE Broadcasts

• 

According to RT, RT DE Productions has launched a complaint in Berlin, requesting that the German regulator's decision to restrict RT DE broadcasting in Germany be overturned.

"RT DE Productions GmbH appealed to the Berlin Administrative Court with a demand to cancel the unlawful decision of the German regulator MABB, which banned the broadcasting of RT DE in Germany," the company said on its Telegram channel.

MABB claims responsibility for RT DE transmission, according to RT DE Productions, even though the channel is transmitted by the Moscow-based Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization TV-Novosti. "We expect the Berlin Administrative Court to revoke MABB's unlawful decision," the statement added.

On February 2, the German media regulator MABB officially prohibited RT DE broadcasts in Germany, saying that the organizers lacked the requisite authorization. Later, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that punitive steps against German media accredited in Russia have begun.

Germany bans Russia's German-speaking RT

Earlier, Germany's broadcasting regulator said Wednesday Berlin had banned the transmission of Russia's RT  Deutsch-speaking broadcaster in the country.

The transmission of RT DE was "prohibited because it does not have the necessary broadcasting license," the authorization and oversight commission claimed.

Moscow vowed retaliation, saying this step left Russia no choice "other than to start implementing retaliatory measures against German media accredited in Russia," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement following its ban in Germany.

Similar measures would be taken against "internet-intermediaries" that have deleted the channel from their platforms, in a nod to YouTube.

"The verdict of the German media regulator is an unambiguous sign that Russian concerns were demonstrably ignored," the statement said.