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Summary EU Union Monday deplored targeted jamming of EU and US satellite news services in Middle East.
In a statement comparing the interference to an attack on media independence, the EBU said broadcasters hit included the BBC, France 24, Deutsche Welle and the Voice of America.The union -- an alliance of public service media organisations in 56 countries -- said the problems may link to French satellite provider Eutelsat taking 19 Iranian channels off air recently, to comply with tougher EU sanctions against the Islamic state.Eutelsat, which broadcasts more than 4,250 television channels to more than 200 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said last week that the deliberate and intermittent interference came from Syria and Iran.Iran has jammed a number of broadcasters in recent years, the EBU said, citing the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which bans such action.In February 2012 the ITU appealed for a halt to intentional interference with satellite transmissions after complaints that international satellite TV programmes in Farsi and Arabic were being targeted.Access to information is a universal human right and an essential component for democracy. We deplore this attack on media freedom, said EBU director general Ingrid Deltenre.
