Russia to further examine inflammatory interview on BBC website

MOSCOW, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Russian federal media regulator said on Tuesday that it would further examine a provocative interview published on BBC's local website in which an activist urged people to attend a march in support of giving the Siberia region more rights within Russia.

The examination is aimed at confirming an apparent violation of the federal law, the Itar-Tass news agency quoted Russian telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor's press service as saying, which added that it was premature to talk about any possible measures against the BBC Russian Service until the investigation was completed.

In the BBC interview with Artem loskutov last week, the activist urged people to attend the demonstration in support of the Siberia region, remarks which Roskomnadzor viewed as extremist and accused BBC of purposely ignoring state orders.

Roskomnadzor "repeatedly sent" notices to the BBC Russian Service demanding the removal of the audio interview. The request was rejected by the BBC, who said it had "no plans" to remove the material from the website.

In a statement, Roskomnadzor said: "If the editorial staff of the BBC Russian Service continues assuming an unconstructive stance, Roskomnadzor will have no alternative ... but to block the BBC Russian Service website."

According to the Itar-Tass, BBC editors added an introduction to the interview featuring the artist's own description of the event as nothing more than a "parody" that in no way promoted Siberia's independence from Moscow.

The modification of Russian federal law on information, which came into force in February 2014, allows Roskomnadzor and other relevant executive authorities to immediately take actions 
[cntv.cn]
6/8/14
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