A resident of Latgale asked a TV technician to help bypass the ban on Russian TV. Now she faces punishment. The irony is that the conversation was conducted… in Latvian, which is the native language for both.
This remarkable story was shared on social media by public figure and lawyer Olga Petkevich.
From her account, it appears that the woman wants to watch quality health programs. She is dissatisfied with what is shown on Latvian television, so she asked a TV technician to come up with something to watch the blocked Russian channels. They discussed installing a special device over the phone that would allow her to bypass the ban. And – it must be noted – this conversation somehow ended up being recorded and is now being used as evidence of their crime.
Now the woman faces a fine of 700 euros. The technician, who discussed the installation details with the client, will also be severely punished.
"It’s so nice when two Latvians get fined for one watching and the other installing Russian channels. This only shows how out of touch with reality the authors of the law are who came up with all this. Because people just want to watch quality content – concerts, shows... And the process I am currently involved in, the woman wanted to watch health programs. This means that both Russians and Latvians want to watch quality shows. But for some reason, we haven’t learned to make our own cool ones, and we’ve banned the foreign ones," Petkevich summarized.
Her post caused a significant resonance, and battles erupted in the comments. Latvians living abroad reported that in the UK, Germany, and Italy, they can watch Russian TV without any issues, as it is not blocked there. Latvians remaining in Latvia stated that they had never watched any Russian propaganda programs but miss shows like "The Voice. Kids," "Field of Wonders," and would like to watch Russian series. Of course, there were also those who angrily defended the need for the ban.
People also lamented that the ban mainly affected elderly individuals who are not adept at using modern gadgets. After all, many of the blocked programs can be easily watched on YouTube – the same program "Health" is definitely available there.
