Who is seeking the termination of the Red Line Internet channel?

Baku/10.05.23/Turan: The  Red Line Internet Channel (RLC) has suspended broadcasting since May 5. The owner of the rented RLC premises demanded to vacate it. He said that a certain government agency demanded that he evict the RLC, allegedly because of the emergency condition of the building.

RLC, which broadcasts programs on socio-political topics, has been operating since 2019. The founder and editor-in-chief of RLC Samira Gasimli tells about all this in the "Difficult question" program.

The  pressure on RLC, though not as strong as it is now, has been exerted before, she said.

"We have already been forced to leave the rented premises once. Then the owner of the premises did not admit that he was doing it "by an order". He stated that he was doing this on his own initiative. Allegedly, after watching our broadcast and in particular the "Essence of the Matter" program, he was worried that he might have serious problems because of the Internet channel. Later it turned out that this person was called with warnings," Gasimli said.

The journalist also reported that in the period from March 20 to March 23, the RLC Facebook page was subjected to a cyber-attack, as a result of which video materials for the last year were destroyed.

!These were exactly the materials that had hundreds of thousands of "views," Gasymova admitted.

According to her, in the last three months, the RLC staff has been switching to a new format - daily news, live broadcasts with an operational analysis of the latest events in the country. At the same time, work was underway on the transition to financing through "donations" (Donat (Internet) is a valuable gift or a monetary donation for any purpose, in support of someone - Ed.).

"In a country where freedom of the press is being stifled, it is very difficult to find financial sources for the existence of independent media. Therefore, RLC decided to switch to financing by receiving "donations" For this purpose, we conducted the necessary technical work and decided to start broadcasting on the new system from May 1. But on the day of this decision, we were required to vacate the premises by May 1," the RLC editor explained. In her opinion, the possibility of funding the RLC through donations has become a red line for the government.

"The demand to leave the building was made after the transition to a new format. After what happened, it is obvious that it will be impossible to rent a new room. Hardly anyone will agree to rent us a room. And they will not let you do it," Gasimli stressed.

The state polyclinic room and apartments are located in the same building. However, the talk is not about the relocation of the medical facility and the residents of the building.

She noted that earlier the channel had already been deprived of an office because of its programs. "In March, our Facebook page  were subjected to hacker-attack, and all materials were deleted. Some of them had up to a hundred thousand views.

The RLC has been in effect since 2019. The founder and editor-in-chief of the publication is Samira Gasimli. The channel was known for political and analytical programs.-03B06-