Judge Royce Lambert of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who issued the decision, gave U.S. authorities a week to comply with the ruling and get Voice of America back on the air, the BBC reported.
The publication recalls that a few weeks after the start of his presidential term, Trump ordered the closure of the “Voice of America”. Officials of his administration accused the broadcaster of bias and coverage of news from left-wing positions.
The White House also ordered that the work of other US media outlets that receive federal funding be curtailed as much as possible.
Voice of America journalists filed a lawsuit claiming violation of their constitutional right to free speech.
In Tuesday’s ruling, a federal judge called the firing of the journalists “arbitrary and unreasonable,” adding that the government failed to take into account laws that determine in which languages and for which regions Voice of America must broadcast.
Before the shutdown, Voice of America produced television, radio and digital content in nearly 50 languages.
The U.S. administration has not yet said whether it intends to appeal the court’s decision.
