Tags: European Broadcasting Union, Eutelsat, Broadcasting
Publication: Reuters.com
Publication Date: 10/22/2012

"Access to information is a universal human right and an essential component for democracy," said EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre Image credit: European Broadcasting Union

The European Broadcasting Union supported suspicions that Syria has been jamming broadcasts by the BBC, the Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, and France 24.

On October 4, Eutelsat had already claimed that Iran was deliberately jamming satellite signals, and now the EBU is including Syria in those claims as well. The Union’s Director General decried the blockage as a universal human rights violation.

It is possible that the jamming might be a response to European Union sanctions toward Iran, to which Eutelsat complied by deciding to stop broadcasting 19 Iranian-operated channels. However, both Iran and Syria are members of the International Telecommunication Union, which bans purposefully interfering with broadcast signals.

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