Germany’s media regulator has banned Russia’s German-language TV channel claiming that it lacks a valid licence to operate in the country.

RT Deutsch (RT DE) should have applied for a licence to broadcast in Germany, the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement also stressed that the channel's operations in the country should be subject to German laws and regulations,

German authorities have asked RT DE to cease its broadcasting in the country via satellite, live stream on the internet, and mobile and smart TV apps.

Russia's international TV station started broadcasting in Germany via satellite last year.

The station had secured a broadcasting licence in Serbia, benefiting from the provisions of European Convention on Transfrontier Television (ECTT).

'Nervous and desperate'

Germany’s media authority insisted that RT DE mainly operates in Germany, and it should obtain a licence from national authorities.

RT DE disputed the claim and stressed that its licence in Serbia allows it to broadcast in Germany under the ECTT, as both Berlin and Belgrade are signatories of this convention.

Anna Belkina, RT’s deputy editor-in-chief, heavily criticised German authorities for banning the TV channel’s broadcasts in Germany, saying they had abandoned "principles such as freedom of speech.”

“It is ironic that just the idea of a new TV news channel with a different voice appearing in Germany has made the local authorities, including the regulator MABB, so nervous and desperate,” she said in a statement.

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