Romania: Renewed call for action after fresh smear campaign…

Romania: Renewed call for action after fresh smear campaign against Emilia Șercan

Today, 17 February 2023, marks one year since journalist Emilia Șercan filed a police complaint about cybercrime and violation of privacy after she discovered five stolen personal pictures taken about twenty years ago had been published on 34 porn websites. The next day, Șercan found that a Moldovan website had published an article containing the five stolen pictures and a Facebook Messenger screenshot she had provided to the Romanian police.

One year and multiple criminal complaints later, investigations have failed to identify either the perpetrator or the source of the alleged leak from within the police force, despite repeated calls for accountability from press freedom organisations and European bodies.

Accordingly, our organisations today renew our call on the Romanian authorities to designate the investigation a priority and dedicate sufficient resources to it. We also ask that the prosecutorial services merge the cases to improve efficiency and speed up the investigations and urge the Prosecutor General to receive Emilia Șercan, as she has requested on multiple occasions. We continue to have serious concerns about the implications of the case for media freedom in Romania more broadly, especially given the context. In January 2022, Șercan had revealed that Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă plagiarised his doctoral dissertation, after which she received several threats to her safety.

Not only have the Romanian authorities yet to respond meaningfully to concerns about the investigation’s lack of progress, including after local and international experts disproved the police’s claim that the leak must have taken place before the journalist reached the police station, but Șercan now faces another coordinated smear campaign aimed at discrediting her public interest journalism, which appears to have been directed by the governing National Liberal Party (PNL). It follows the publication of two articles, in September and November 2022, in which Șercan revealed that former Minister of Education Sorin Cîmpeanu and Home Affairs Minister Lucian Bode, a member and the general secretary of the PNL respectively, also plagiarised.

On 9 January, online outlet Hotnews published information it obtained showing that PNL leadership instructed the party’s politicians to discredit Șercan if they were asked about the issue in media interviews. At the same time, two ghost media websites with opaque ownership, dezvaluiri.net and oradestiri.net, published anonymous articles attempting to discredit Șercan that also appeared as sponsored posts on Facebook. Misreport, a Romanian platform specialised in tackling misinformation, conducted an analysis showing that the promotion was paid for by Green Pixel Interactive, an advertising agency registered as having contracts with PNL in the campaigns for the parliamentary and local elections in 2020. After Misreport called Green Pixel Interactive, the two ghost websites were deactivated, and their Facebook pages were deleted. Green Pixel Interactive did not answer questions about whether it was operating on behalf of PNL or its representatives.

This renewed harassment of Șercan is unacceptable and, given the prominent players apparently involved in its coordination, has a chilling effect beyond the case at hand. Accordingly, the undersigned organisations call on the leadership and members of the PNL to immediately condemn the smear campaign and to issue clear instructions not to discredit Șercan any further.

Meanwhile, we also call on the EU institutions to continue to follow the case closely and to consider its implications for media freedom and the rule of law in Romania in relevant regional-level processes. Specifically, the European Commission’s 2022 Rule of Law report considers intimidation of journalists as a press freedom concern in Romania. Considering no progress appears to have been achieved in the investigations, and in light of the new smear campaign against her, we call on the European Commission to ensure that this is reflected in the forthcoming publication of the 2023 Rule of Law report chapter on Romania, as it is testament to the lack of adequate commitment to press freedom by Romanian public officials.

We call on the authorities and politicians to show they respect Romania’s European commitments and obligations to press freedom by effectively prosecuting the harassment of Emilia Șercan and condemning any politically-sponsored smear campaign.

Signed by:

ActiveWatch
ARTICLE 19 Europe
Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ)
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Free Press Unlimited
International Press Institute (IPI)
OBC Transeuropa (OBCT)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

This statement was coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and candidate countries.

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Slovakia: Press freedom groups to visit Bratislava for Ján…

Slovakia: Press freedom groups to visit Bratislava for Ján Kuciak murder anniversary

Between 20 and 21 February 2023, a delegation of international media freedom organisations will conduct a joint mission to Bratislava to mark the five-year anniversary of the killing of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová.

The aim of the mission is twofold. Firstly, to take part in the anniversary events and express solidarity with the families and the Slovak journalistic community as the retrial of the alleged mastermind at the Specialised Criminal Court reaches its final stage.

Secondly, five years after the assassination, to evaluate the security of journalists and the legal framework for their work, to understand the challenges facing independent journalism in private and public media, and to take the pulse of overall press freedom in the country.

The main question the delegation will seek to answer is: five years on from the killing, have the changes in Slovak politics, legislation, law enforcement, media industry and society been systemic enough to ensure the murder of a journalist never happens again and that media professionals can work freely?

The mission will be joined by the International Press Institute (IPI), European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU) and ARTICLE 19 Europe. The mission is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR).

During the visit, the delegation will meet with editors and journalists of the major Slovak media including the public broadcaster RTVS. The organisations will discuss their proposals for the improvement of press freedom at meetings with representatives of the government, the opposition, the police presidency, chief prosecutor’s office and other public officials. Members of the delegation will speak at the conference “Media Freedom 2023” organized on 20 February in Bratislava by the Ministry of Culture under the auspices of the Media Freedom Coalition.

Interim findings for the mission will be shared via press conference at 15.00 on 21 February at the European Information Centre, Palisády 29, 811 06 Staré Mesto, Bratislava.

Press contacts

For more information and press contacts, please contact:

Flutura Kusari, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom flutura.kusari@ecpmf.eu +383 49 236 664.
Pavol Szalai, Reporters Without Borders pszalai@rsf.org, +33 7 82 31 50 98.
Jamie Wiseman, International Press Institute, jwiseman@ipi.media

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Call on Turkish authorities to abstain from further restrictions…

Call on Turkish authorities to abstain from further restrictions on media in the aftermath of devastating earthquakes

The partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) express their condolences with the victims of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and reiterate the need for a free media atmosphere as a crucial element of all disaster relief processes.

Turkish translation available here.

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes with epicentre in the province of Kahramanmaraş in Turkey on Monday 6 February 2023, MFRR partners have received multiple reports of press and media freedom violations including detentions of journalists and media workers, investigations for incitement to hatred in society, limitations on access to impacted areas, as well as throttling of bandwidth for social media platform Twitter.

On 7 February, the Turkish government’s Communications Directorate launched the “Disinformation Reporting Service”, encouraging citizens to report accounts that share “manipulative” news reports and social media posts.

Later in the day, as President Erdoğan declared State of Emergency Rule for three months covering the ten affected provinces, he made a statement concerning the news coverage of the disaster, saying that “we are closely monitoring those who are trying to polarise the nation through false news … and our prosecutors will do what is necessary against those who aim to incite social chaos through disinformation and fake news.” Turkish broadcast regulator Radio & TV Higher Council (RTÜK) president Ebubekir Şahin also warned against “demoralising” media coverage of the destructive earthquakes and announced that they are monitoring TV networks for such reporting.

At least two journalists were arrested on Tuesday: Evrensel journalist Volkan Pekal was detained while taking photos in an earthquake-hit area in Adana and in Istanbul; and Daktilo1984 political commentator Özgün Emre Koç was taken into custody for his comments on social media stating that earthquake regulations are not properly implemented. He spent the night in jail accused of “incitement to violence and hatred”. Criminal investigations were also initiated against journalists Merdan Yanardağ and Enver Aysever for their criticism of islamist groups’ chanting when search and rescue teams required silence, and of the rescue efforts, respectively. Yanardağ was also the target of trolling by pro-government social media users. Furthermore, there were multiple reports of journalists being blocked from covering the rescue efforts in Diyarbakır.

On Wednesday 8 February, Mesopotamia News Agency reporter Mehmet Güleş was detained together with the person he was interviewing in Diyarbakır, as the interviewee criticised the rescue efforts. In Şanlıurfa’s Birecik, another Mesopotamia News Agency reporter, Mahmut Altıntaş, and Jinnews reporter Sema Çağlak were detained while covering the news for not having government-issued press cards, as required under the State of Emergency rules. These oblige local journalists to obtain turquoise press cards and international media to obtain accreditation from local offices of the Communications Directorate. The two journalists were later released but the press cards issued by their outlets were confiscated. Multiple other journalists in Diyarbakır reported that they were blocked by police and the local Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) officers from reporting from the field for not having government-issued press credentials. On 9 February, local Communications Directorate officers told Media and Law Studies Association that local journalists would now be allowed to work on the basis of their corporate press cards or assignment letters.

In the afternoon of 8 February, amidst an already problematic information landscape due to damaged infrastructure, widespread reports emerged that access to Twitter was limited from Turkey for six hours. Social media platforms have been playing a key role for victims to share their exact location and to amplify their voices, as rescue and relief teams coordinate efforts on a digital disaster-map. In this context, limiting access to Twitter prevents journalists from informing their audiences, hinders people’s right to access information and creates a major additional and unnecessary challenge for emergency support and relief.

While the country suffers through the impact of these devastating earthquakes, we underline the importance of an independent and pluralistic media landscape, also in the light of the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections reportedly scheduled for May 2023. The MFRR partners call upon the Turkish authorities to immediately lift the restrictions on access to information and freedom of expression, and to ensure that journalists and media workers are not blocked from covering the news.

Signed by:

ARTICLE 19 Europe
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
International Press Institute (IPI)
OBC Transeuropa (OBCT)

Türkiye yetkililerine, yıkıcı depremlerin ardından medyaya yönelik daha fazla kısıtlamadan kaçınmaları çağrısı

Aşağıda imzası bulunan Medya Özgürlüğü Acil Müdahale (MFRR) ortakları, Türkiye’de meydana gelen yıkıcı depremlerin mağdurlarına başsağlığı dilemekte ve tüm afet yardım süreçlerinin önemli bir unsuru olarak özgür bir medya ortamına duyulan ihtiyacı yinelemektedir.

6 Şubat 2023 Pazartesi günü Türkiye’nin Kahramanmaraş ilinde meydana gelen yıkıcı depremlerin ardından, MFRR ortakları, gazetecilerin ve medya çalışanlarının gözaltına alınması, toplumda kin ve nefreti kışkırtmaktan soruşturma açılması, etkilenen bölgelere erişimin kısıtlanması ve sosyal medya platformu Twitter’ın bant genişliğinin daraltılması da dahil olmak üzere basın ve medya özgürlüğü ihlallerine ilişkin çok sayıda ihbar aldı.

7 Şubat’ta Cumhurbaşkanlığı İletişim Başkanlığı, yurttaşları “manipülatif” haberler ve sosyal medya paylaşımları yapan hesapları ihbar etmeye teşvik eden “Dezenformasyon Bildirim Servisi“ni tanıttı.

Günün ilerleyen saatlerinde, Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan depremden etkilenen on ili kapsayacak şekilde üç ay süreyle Olağanüstü Hal ilan ederken, felaketle ilgili haberlere ilişkin bir açıklama yaparak “Devlet ve millet el ele vermiş, bu tarihi felaketin üstesinden gelmeye çalışırken yalan haberler ve çarpıtmalarla insanımızı birbirine düşürmeye niyetlenenleri yakından takip ediyoruz. […] Günü geldiğinde şu anda tuttuğumuz defteri de açacağız. Savcılarımız bu tür insanlık dışı yöntemlerle sosyal kaos çıkarmaya tevessül edenleri belirleyip gereken işlemleri süratle yapıyor.” dedi. Radyo ve Televizyon Üst Kurulu (RTÜK) Başkanı Ebubekir Şahin de yıkıcı depremlerin medyada “moral bozucu” şekilde yer almasına karşı uyarıda bulundu ve bu tür haberlere karşı televizyon kanallarını izlediklerini açıkladı.

Salı günü en az iki gazeteci gözaltına alındı: Adana’da Evrensel muhabiri Volkan Pekal depremin vurduğu bölgelerde fotoğraf çekerken gözaltına alındı; Istanbul’da ise Daktilo1984 siyaset yorumcusu Özgün Emre Koç sosyal medyada deprem yönetmeliğinin gerektiği gibi uygulanmadığı yönündeki yorumları nedeniyle gözaltına alındı. Geceyi “kin ve nefrete teşvik” suçlamasıyla polis gözetiminde geçirdi. Gazeteciler Merdan Yanardağ ve Enver Aysever hakkında da, İslamcı grupların arama kurtarma ekiplerinin sessizlik talep ettiği sırada slogan atmalarını ve kurtarma çalışmalarını eleştirdikleri için cezai soruşturma başlatıldı. Yanardağ ayrıca hükümet yanlısı sosyal medya kullanıcılarının çevrimiçi tacizlerinin de hedef oldu. Buna ek olarak, gazetecilerin Diyarbakır‘daki kurtarma çalışmalarını takip etmelerinin engellendiğine dair çok sayıda haber yapıldı.

8 Şubat Çarşamba günü Mezopotamya Ajansı muhabiri Mehmet Güleş, Diyarbakır’da röportaj yaptığı kişinin kurtarma çalışmalarını eleştirmesi üzerine röportaj yaptığı kişiyle birlikte gözaltına alındı. Şanlıurfa’nın Birecik ilçesinde de Mezopotamya Ajansı muhabiri Mahmut Altıntaş ve Jinnews muhabiri Sema Çağlak haber takibi sırasında OHAL kuralları gereği devlet tarafından verilen basın kartları olmadığı gerekçesiyle gözaltına alındı. Bu kurallar yerel gazetecilerin turkuaz basın kartı almasını, uluslararası medyanın ise İletişim Başkanlığı’nın yerel ofislerinden akreditasyon almasını zorunlu kılıyor. İki gazeteci daha sonra serbest bırakıldı ancak çalıştıkları kuruluşlar tarafından verilen basın kartlarına el konuldu. Diyarbakır’daki çok sayıda başka gazeteci de polis ve yerel Afet ve Acil Durum Yönetimi Başkanlığı (AFAD) görevlileri tarafından devlet tarafından verilen basın kartlarına sahip olmadıkları gerekçesiyle sahadan haber yapmalarının engellendiğini bildirdi. 9 Şubat’ta İletişim Başkanlığı’nın yerel yetkilileri Medya ve Hukuk Çalışmaları Derneği‘ne yerel gazetecilerin artık kurumsal basın kartları veya görevlendirme mektupları ile çalışmalarına izin verileceğini aktardı.

8 Şubat öğleden sonra, hasar gören altyapı nedeniyle zaten sorunlu olan bilgi ortamının ortasında, Türkiye’den Twitter‘a erişimin altı saatten uzun bir süre boyunca sınırlı olduğuna dair yaygın raporlar ortaya çıktı. Sosyal medya mecraları, kurtarma ve yardım ekiplerinin dijital afet haritası üzerinde çalışmalarını koordine etmek adına, mağdurların tam konumlarını paylaşmaları ve seslerini duyurmaları için kilit bir rol oynamaktadır. Bu bağlamda, Twitter’a erişimin sınırlandırılması gazetecilerin okurlarını bilgilendirmesini engellemekte, insanların bilgiye erişim hakkını sekteye uğratmakta ve acil durum destek ve yardımları için fazladan ve gereksiz büyük bir zorluk yaratmaktadır.

Ülke bu yıkıcı depremlerin etkilerini yaşarken, Mayıs 2023’te yapılacağı bildirilen milletvekili ve cumhurbaşkanlığı seçimleri ışığında da bağımsız ve çoğulcu bir medya ortamının öneminin altını çiziyoruz. MFRR ortakları, Türkiye makamlarını bilgiye erişim ve ifade özgürlüğü üzerindeki kısıtlamaları derhal kaldırmaya ve gazetecilerin ve medya çalışanlarının haber yapmalarının engellenmemesini sağlamaya çağırmaktadır.

İmzalayan,

ARTICLE 19 Avrupa

Avrupa Basın ve Medya Özgürlüğü Merkezi (ECPMF)

Avrupa Gazeteciler Federasyonu (EFJ)

Uluslararası Basın Enstitüsü (IPI)

OBC Transeuropa (OBCT)

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Nataliya Gumenyuk announced as keynote for MFRR Summit 2023

The MFRR partners are delighted to announce that Ukrainian journalist and author, Nataliya Gumenyuk, will deliver the keynote speech at the 2023 MFRR Summit.

Nataliya Gumenyuk is a well-known Ukrainian journalist and author specialising in conflict reporting. She is the founder and CEO of the Public Interest Journalism Lab which promotes constructive discussion around complex social issues. Since the Russian invasion, PIJL pivoted to frontline media reporting and launched “The Reckoning Project: Ukraine Testifies” which documents war crimes.

Nataliya is the author of several documentaries and books, including “The Lost Island: Tales From The Occupied Crimea” and “The Maidan Tahrir”. Nataliya is based in Kyiv and regularly writes for The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Rolling Stone, Die Zeit, and The Atlantic, and provides commentaries for CNN, MSNBC, Sky News, etc.

Gumenyuk co-founded Hromadske TV and Hromadske International where she served as head for 5 years, and is currently a Board member.

Reporting the War in a Democracy: Freedom, Security, Responsibility

The state of Ukrainian media landscape, its conditions for reporting during war, as well as safety and protection of journalists in the country will be the central focus of Gumenyuk’s keynote.

Nataliya will raise the issues of the challenges and resilience of the Ukrainian media. She will draw parallels in covering the war and covering natural disasters, and how it differs from reporting war in a democracy. During her speech, Gumenyuk will draw links to security, responsibility, and free expression in times of conflict; as well as the dehumanisation caused by propaganda and how this enables war crimes.

MFRR Monitoring Report 2022 – 813 media freedom violations…

MFRR Monitoring Report 2022

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) has published the latest edition of its annual Monitoring Report, outlining the state of press freedom throughout Europe in 2022. This year, the MFRR recorded 813 media freedom violations in EU Member States and candidate countries.

The Monitoring Report – produced by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and the International Press Institute (IPI) as part of the MFRR – gathers and analyses all media freedom violations recorded on Mapping Media Freedom throughout the year 2022.

The report is divided into the following chapters: an overview offering data and graphics about the press freedom situation in the EU and candidate countries in 2022, four thematic sections with quantitative and qualitative analysis regarding the aforementioned topics, and country reports offering a summary of the most relevant threats in the following EU countries: Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Sweden; and in the following candidate countries: Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey.

You can download the report in full using the button below or keep reading for an overview of the 2022 edition.

Download the report

Throughout 2022, 813 media freedom violations were recorded in EU Member States and candidate countries, involving 1,339 individuals or media outlets. This marks an increase from 654 in 2021, although it must be noted that Ukraine and Moldova were not included in the previous year’s analysis.

EU Member States

In the EU Member States, verbal attacks were the main type of incident (involving 42.4% of all alerts) – such as intimidation and threats (24.6%) or insults (13.3%) – followed by legal attacks (27.2%). After legal incidents, physical attacks were the third most common type of attack against journalists and media workers in the EU (20.5%), followed by attacks to property (15.7%), and censorship incidents, which rose from 8.6% of the total attacks in 2021 to 14.5% in 2022.

Monitoring Report types of attacks EU MS

Private individuals remained the main perpetrators of attacks against journalists in the EU (37.8% of cases), representing a decrease from 50% of cases in 2021. Government and public officials were the second most common source of attacks (17.1%), followed by police and state security (11.3%).

In terms of contexts in which the violations occurred, attacks taking place online rose from 14.1% in 2021 to 20.7% in 2022. Attacks at protests (the most frequent context in 2021) fell from 39.8% to 21% of the total.

EU Candidate Countries

The Monitoring Report also covers the media freedom situation in candidate countries, where the MFRR registered the most severe violations of media freedom: 10 deaths of journalists. Nine of them took place in Ukraine and affected media workers covering the war, and another one in Turkey, where Güngör Arslan, managing editor of the Turkish newspaper Ses Kocaeli was murdered.

Out of the 813 alerts recorded in 2022, 398 took place in candidate countries. Legal attacks were the most common type, making up 38.3% of the total, followed by verbal attacks (35.5%), physical (19.8%), censorship (11.3%), and damage to property (8.9%).

Monitoring report - types of attacks in candidate courts

Private individuals were the most frequent perpetrator of media freedom violations in candidate countries (37.8%), followed by public officials (17.1%), and police or state security (11.3%).

Reflecting the high number of legal violations, 25% of attacks in candidate countries took place at court. This is followed by attacks occurring online (18.5%), at demonstrations (16.5%), and in public or on the street (11.7%).

Click the button below to download the full 2022 Monitoring Report, including the thematic analyses and country-specific breakdowns.

Download the report

This report was coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and candidate countries.

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Montenegro: After a new acquittal, the hopes and projects…

Montenegro: After a new acquittal, the hopes and projects of journalist Jovo Martinovic

After over seven years of judicial ordeal and after spending fifteen months in pre-trial detention on drug trafficking charges, investigative journalist Jovo Martinovic was acquitted for the second time by the Supreme Court on 17 January. We interviewed him while waiting for the final verdict.

Interview by Paola Rosà

One last step is still missing, but the trial of Jovo Martinovic, investigative journalist tried, convicted, acquitted, reconvicted, and acquitted again for criminal association and drug trafficking, seems over after almost eight years of authentic ordeal. Under the international spotlight since 2015, for over 15 months in pre-trial detention, the protagonist is now simply tired and eager to go back to doing his job in a country where journalism faces corruption and threats, and where reports of violence are ignored and even cases of murder often go unpunished.

A few days ago the second acquittal arrived in a process that the Supreme Court has asked to be redone twice. In all there were two convictions and two acquittals, with almost 15 months in pre-trial detention. How do you feel about this last decision?

The sentence is not final, it must be confirmed by the Supreme Court. At the same time I recognise that it will be a formality, as it was the Court itself that sent everything back to the sender, establishing that in the new trial other elements had to be taken into consideration and some gaps filled. So, it’s a formality, but to celebrate I have to wait a few more months.

In this last trial, your activity as a journalist was considered, acknowledging that those contacts with the criminal group were aimed at journalistic investigations. So, good news. But I guess you’re exhausted by now from telling your case: a journalist is more used to asking questions than receiving them, right?

That’s right!

If you had to find an explanation for what happened, would you mention revenge, punishment, injustice, or rather the will to control and silence journalism?

It’s just the legacy of the communist system. Unlike in all other countries, communists continued to rule in Montenegro until 2020. It was the same political party that came to power in 1945, and just changed the name after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

So, nothing personal?

The new communist system did all it could to retain control of each aspect of life. And if you work for international outlets, then you are automatically a foreign agent, a suspect. I have been treated as such for years. This is not my first incarceration: in 2004 I was in detention for the denigration of the good name of the country. It’s a charge that had not been used since 1974. But in 2004 they charged me for denigration of the good name of Montenegro because I happened to be a photographer for the British guy who wrote the story on the sale of Roma children in the country. The funniest thing is that when I was arrested I wasn’t questioned about the story at all. I was questioned about who was assisting Italian and German press coverage of the secret smuggling, that was the main topic of my interrogation, not the actual story that was used as a pretext for taking me in.

This episode tells us a lot about journalism in the country, isn’t it?

Exactly, if you don’t cooperate, if they can’t force you to submit, or to do whatever you are told by the secret service, be prepared for consequences.

Your case received a lot of solidarity and support from international organisations, including MFRR. What did you experience with your colleagues from Montenegro?

It must be said that they are not really my colleagues, in the sense that we don’t deal with the same things and I don’t work for Montenegrin newspapers; I also deal with other countries as well. So, it’s not like they knew me that much. Furthermore, at the beginning it was also difficult to let people know what was happening to me: the news of my preventive detention only came out after three months. In any case, I must say that they then made up for it, several journalists’ associations made themselves heard, as well as some independent newspapers, and even colleagues who work in state broadcasters showed empathy, some publicly, others privately.

So, there is hope for journalism in Montenegro. What do you think?

I think so! Since former communists no longer control the government, people are slowly getting rid of that legacy. It’s not just about massive surveillance, but also self-censorship, because even now, journalists are aware of what they can cover, or how far they can go in terms of certain issues.

Is the situation in Montenegro influenced by the fact that it is a small country?

What makes it unique is that the same political party ruled for 75 years, without interruption, from 1945 to 2020. It’s a small country, 600,000 people, which is easy to control and which is not strategically important to any big power, and the big powers were not that bothered with internal reforms, they just wanted stability and no big commotion, like in Bosnia or in Kosovo.

In the end, what is the outcome of your story? What have you lost, and what have you learned?

The consequences were bad, I’ve been marked. But on the other hand, when you have a clean conscience and you know that you were just doing your job, it just gives you strength to carry on. And I continue to do my work as before and even more. But secondly, I just won’t compromise, I mean, this is not the first time that I have encountered warnings and threats. I rather believe that this came as a result of me ignoring early warnings and threats. Eventually, it’s good for freedom of speech and the press, because giving in is something that backfires.

It seems you had no other choice.

I just carry on. I know it’s not pleasant, but it’s real. You find yourself under such charges, and of course in detention it’s like science-fiction meets you in a way, you have the feeling it’s happening to someone else, you’re just a by-stander, it’s surreal but it’s a reality at the same time.

What kind of message does your story hold for the rest of the country?

Well, the country is known for many unsolved attacks against journalists, there are many cases of physical assaults, threats, there’s a case when one editor-in-chief, Dusko Jovanovic, was killed in 2004, and it is still unsolved. So, freedom of the press has been constantly mentioned in many EU reports, the country was at the bottom of the Index by RSF, so it is something that has been known for years and remained unaddressed by the former government, except for promises.

If things go well in your case, are you expecting compensation?

Yes, once the verdict is final, I can claim compensation, but the main compensation is the clearing of guilt. I don’t believe money can compensate what I have been through. The main thing is just to clear my name. Having a pile of dirt thrown upon, a criminal record against someone who has fought all his life against injustice and crime and corruption, is a lot. Clearing my name is my main satisfaction, the rest comes after.

Will it be possible to name the perpetrators?

It depends. Recently, the deputy chief of the special prosecutor’s office was arrested for abuse of his office, and some other things have changed in terms of the abuse of the previous special prosecutor office. So it may come a day when the prosecutor is not only involved in abuse of office or cooperation with the criminal cartels that were operating in the country, but some other evidence may come up that they were complicit in covering up attacks on journalists. Actually, recently a former police official accused the former attorney general of being complicit in covering up of the murder investigation of Dusko Jovanovic killed in 2004. It’s reasonable to conclude that there will be new details on how the former prosecutors worked, or failed to work in accordance with the law and the Constitution. But this is not my task, it’s up to the new prosecutors in power to deal with.

It must be quite hard to continue to believe in justice.

Thanks to the EU there are certain changes in the justice system. Unfortunately, all comes with big external pressure, but nevertheless it’s happening. And of course it will take some time. Well, it will take probably a lot of time till we have a judiciary which is on pair with the European Union. But it’s a process, and we’re all aware that it takes time.

Your plans for the future?

For the time being, I carry on with my work. After so many years, and after being incarcerated nearly 15 months, you just learn to live with that. You just carry on with your life despite all the difficulties. And I think that’s a good attitude to take, because if we cave into resentment and hard feelings, that’s bad, that backfires. My approach was to remain open, to take it easy and to just move on. And this gives you more strength than being resentful and bitter, blaming people and lashing out. It’s something that I have always wanted to avoid.

This interview was conducted Paola Rosà for OBC Transeuropa as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors, and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and candidate countries.

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Albania: MFRR and Safe Journalist Network condemn attack on…

Albania: MFRR and Safe Journalist Network condemn attack on journalist Elvis Hila and his wife

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and the Safe Journalists Network today condemn the shocking physical attack on Albanian journalist Elvis Hila and his wife in Lezhë and urge state law enforcement authorities to swiftly detain the suspected perpetrators and ensure that all those responsible face justice.

The violent attack took place at around 4.40pm on Wednesday 25 January, one day after Hila had reported for shqiptarja.com and Report TV about a local court case in Lezhë in which a defendant had been sentenced to a year in prison for forgery of a court document.

Soon after publication, Hila said he received a phone call from an individual connected to the defendant who insulted and threatened him about the report. An hour later, another individual then called Hila and demanded that he meet him outside a bar in the city.

When the journalist arrived in the car with his wife, two men approached and insisted he get out of the vehicle to explain the article. During the incident that followed, the men allegedly punched and kicked Hila and punched his wife in the neck. Both required medical treatment following the assaults.

Speaking to media after being released from hospital, Hila publicly identified his alleged attackers and said the violence would not silence his reporting. Specialists for the Investigation of Crimes in Lezhë opened a criminal investigation and are currently searching for two male suspects.

Our organisations welcome the swift action by police and urge them to now conduct a thorough investigation to confirm the motive and quickly detain the alleged perpetrators. All those responsible for ordering, orchestrating and carrying out this serious attack must face justice.

We also welcome the swift condemnation of the attack by the country’s President, Bajram Begaj, and stress that vocal denunciation by political leaders in cases involving violence against the press should be the standard response in all such incidents, now and in the future.

This attack is a worrying indication of the continued threats that journalists in Albania reporting on the actions of organised crime groups continue to face. Hila was attacked simply for carrying out his public interest mission of covering the verdict of a court case.

As many of our organisations noted following a recent media freedom mission to Albania, while serious physical assaults such as this thankfully remain rare, cases of violence against journalists underscore the dangers and climate of distrust that journalists face due to their work.

Swift prosecution of those behind this attack by judicial authorities is vital for discouraging potential acts of violence against the media in the future and ensuring justice for the victims. Moving forward, our organisations will continue to closely monitor this case and hope to see positive developments in the coming days and weeks.

Signed by:

ARTICLE 19 Europe
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Free Press Unlimited (FPU)
International Press Institute (IPI)
OBC Transeuropa (OBCT)
Safe Journalist Network

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Bosnia and Herzegovina now covered under MFRR mandate

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) mandate covers all EU member states and candidate countries.

Click here to read the statement in Bosnian.

On 15 December 2022, the leaders of the European Union voted unanimously to grant EU candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina. With this development, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) can now include the country in its activities – including monitoring, support projects, and advocacy work.

Journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been appearing frequently in reports related to attacks and threats against them. Reporters who focus on corruption, minority rights, LGBTI+, radicalism, and war crimes have been working under pressure from politicians and criminal groups. Politicians in the country have also been targeting journalists frequently and their influence over public media and regulatory bodies has been worrying. We are glad that our mandate now covers Bosnia and Herzegovina so we can help to protect journalists and strengthen media pluralism in a country that badly needs it.

As well as monitoring all media freedom violations that take place in Bosnia and Herzegovina and recording them on Mapping Media Freedom, the MFRR partners will now also be able to offer practical support to journalists and media workers in the country. This includes both legal support and practical support such as medical assistance, subsistence costs, psychological support, work provisions, family support, and preventative safety measures. Journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina facing harassment or threats as a direct result of their work will also be eligible to apply for the Journalists-in-Residence programme.

Read more about the MFRR’s support offerings here and monitoring work here.

MFRR organizacija će monitorisati kršenja medijskih sloboda u BiH

Mandat orgamozacje Brzi odgovor na meidjske slobode ( MFRR) pokriva sve zemlje članice EU i zemlje sa kandidatskim statusom

Čelnici Evropske unije su 15. decembra 2022. godine su jednoglasno su usvojili kandidatski status Bosni i Hercegovini za članstvo u EU. Sa ovim napretkom, Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) sada može uključiti Bosnu i Hercegovinu u svoje aktivnosti kroz praćenje, projekte podrške i zagovarački rad u oblast meidjskih slbooda I sigurnosti novinara.

“Novinari u Bosni i Hercegovini se često pojavljuju u izvještajima vezanim za napade i prijetnje protiv njih. Reporteri/novinari, čiji je rad fokusiran na otkrivanje korupcije, prava manjina, LGBTI+, radikalizamu i ratnim zločinima rade pod pritiskom političara i kriminalnih grupa. Političari u zemlji također su često napadali novinare, a njihov utjecaj na javne medije i regulatorna tijela je zabrinjavajući. Drago nam je što naš mandat sada pokriva Bosnu i Hercegovinu, kako bismo mogli pomoći u zaštiti novinara i jačanju medijskog pluralizma u zemlji kojoj je to istinski potrebno.”, izjavili su iz MFRR –a.

Osim što će pratiti sva kršenja slobode medija koja se dešavaju u Bosni i Hercegovini i bilježiti ih na platoformi Mapiranje medijskih sloboda, partneri MFRR-a sada će moći ponuditi i praktičnu podršku novinarima i medijskim radnicima u zemlji. Ovo uključuje i pravnu pomoć i praktičnu podršku kao što su medicinska zaštita, troškovi života, psihološka podrška, radna zaštita, podrška porodici i preventivne sigurnosne mjere. Novinari u BiH, koji su suočeni sa uznemiravanjem ili prijetnjama kao direktnim rezultatom svog rada, također će imati pravo da se prijave za Journalist-in-Residence program.

Pročitajte više o podršci MFRR-a i monitoringu rada ovdje.

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Hungary: Investigative media Átlátszó targeted in latest smear campaign

IPI analysis: Few remaining independent media face increasing hostility over funding sources.

In January 2023, Hungarian investigative media outlet Átlátszó and its editor-in-chief, Tamás Bodoky, became the target of the latest smear campaign in pro-government news outlets aimed at discrediting what remains of the country’s independent media.

In the latest escalation of this pressure, Átlátszó and its journalists faced accusations in pro-government media of “betraying” the nation, attacking Hungarian minorities in neighbouring countries, working for foreign interests and being a national security risk, due to their collaboration in a cross-border investigative project.

The unsubstantiated attacks were made in a series of articles published over consecutive weeks in media owned by allies of the Fidesz government, including the Magyar Nemzet daily, which is part of the pro-government KESMA conglomerate.

These texts about Átlátszó’s non-profit funding model included allegations that Átlátszó was receiving “Judas money” and being a “criminal association” involved in treason and anti-national activities. In a second defamatory article in Magyar Nemzet, Bodoky was directly referred to as a liar and a “national traitor”.

In a common pattern, these initial media smears were echoed by a pro-government foundation and then amplified in what appear to be a coordinated manner by the national news agency MTI, public broadcaster Magyar Televízió and dozens of regional media outlets which are part of KESMA, spreading them to a wider audience.

“It reminds us of the methods of Putin’s Russia and hints at a coordinated campaign, when first the government newspaper attacks us, mentioning a foreign agency and national treason, and then the government’s favourite pseudo-civilian organization urges intelligence intervention”, Bodoky said in response to the attacks.

Átlátszó and Bodoky were targeted over the media outlet’s role in a cross-border investigative project called “Hungarian Money” (hungarianmoney.eu), which was conducted in 2020 and led by Átlátszó Erdély, a Hungarian-language investigative outlet based in Romania. Five editorial teams from five European countries, including Átlátszó, investigated how the Orbán government spent at least €670 million in Hungarian minority organizations in neighbouring Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia over the past decade, and how it uses this “soft power” to exert influence abroad.

The project received funding from Investigative Journalism for Europe (IJ4EU), which is coordinated by the International Press Institute (IPI). IJ4EU supports cross-border investigations of public interest in the EU. It is financially backed by the European Commission and other donors but operates independently.

🇭🇺 #Hungary: Investigative media outlet @Atlatszo & its editor-in-chief @bodoky were the target of a smear campaign in pro-government media & accused of betraying the nation & being a 'national security risk'. @erdely_atlatszo. @MediaFreedomEU alert🔽https://t.co/I4LOY0BgKo pic.twitter.com/CrU5xofLoR
— IPI - The Global Network for Independent Media (@globalfreemedia) January 23, 2023

Wider pattern of discreditation

While the smear campaign was denounced by Átlátszó’s investigative partners in a joint statement and multiple journalists expressed solidarity with its team, concerns remain that these kinds of articles continue to act as an incitement of hostility and distrust towards Átlátszó and its journalists.

Far from being an isolated incident, in the past year Átlátszó and other of the country’s remaining independent media, including most recently Telex, have continued to face persistent attacks in government-aligned news outlets smearing them for receiving funding from abroad.

In recent months, the new buzzword in this strategy has been “dollar media”, accompanied by accusations that media are in the pocket of U.S or other unspecified foreign interests or of Hungarian-born billionaire businessman and philanthropist George Soros.

This follows a wider pattern in Hungary, outlined in a 2022 IPI report, that media critical of the government are smeared in an intertwined network of pro-government media as organs of misinformation spreading “fake news” in service of political opposition or foreign governments. These attacks often act as a signpost for online abuse and harassment of journalists. However, so far this harassment normally takes the form of insults from trolls rather than serious intimidation or death threats.

Economic asphyxiation of independent media

The focus on the recent ire on foreign funding sources also points to another phenomenon in the Hungarian media ecosystem: that under successive Fidesz governments, critical and independent media outlets have been systematically drained of state advertising funding, forcing some to seek project grants financed from abroad to stay afloat while also retaining their editorial independence.

This economic isolation is part of a wider campaign of media capture undertaken by the Fidesz government over the past decade, which has involved the coordinated exploitation of legal, regulatory and economic power to gain control over public media, concentrate private media in the hands of allies, and distort the market to the detriment of independent journalism.

In this captured media ecosystem, Fidesz has calibrated the market in its favour by rewarding alignment with its narrative while starving critical media of lucrative advertising funding from ministries and other state institutions. This carrot-and-stick approach has seen independent media excluded from advertising and other subsidies altogether, with public money channelled to finance Fidesz’s media empire. Many of these media in turn serve political interests by acting as the attack dogs of the government against its critics at home and abroad.

In the face of this economic climate, grants from foreign donors and the European Union have proven to be a lifeline for what remains of Hungary’s shattered independent media market. Set against the backdrop of the coordinated erosion of media pluralising recent years, is little surprise then that this financial support has been firmly placed in the crosshairs of the Fidesz media machine.

This article was originally published by IPI as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries.

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MFRR Summit 2023 | Press Freedom on the Line

The MFRR Summit is back, and this year we’re holding our conference under the title of “Press Freedom on the Line” from 29 – 31 March 2023.

Reflecting the MFRR’s core campaign areas, the online conference will host in-depth discussions on journalist safety, media capture, the rule of law, and SLAPPs.

Hosted on Zoom for interactive participation, and simultaneously livestreamed on the MFRR YouTube channel, the conference will play host to a range of panel discussions, live interviews, and keynote speeches with journalists, media freedom experts, policy-makers, and other stakeholders all working to defend press freedom. The Summit will also feature the award ceremony for the 2023 IJ4EU Impact Award for cross-border investigative journalism.

You can find the full Summit programme below, including information on how to register for each day.

Summit programme

MFRR Summit 2023 | Day 1

From online attacks to physical violence, Day 1 of the Summit will highlight threats to journalists in EU Member States and candidate countries.

MFRR Summit 2023 | Day 2

Day 2 of the Summit will shine a spotlight on the rule of law and SLAPPs as experts discuss initiatives to counter abusive litigation, impunity for crimes against journalists, and disinformation laws.

MFRR Summit 2023 | Day 3

The panels on Day 3 of the MFRR Summit will look into the crisis of political exploitation of the media through the abuse of state economic and regulatory levers.

10 Cross-Border Investigative Projects Shortlisted for IJ4EU Award

Ten cross-border investigations have been shortlisted for the third annual IJ4EU Impact Award, celebrating excellence in cross-border watchdog journalism in Europe.

IJ4EU Impact Award Ceremony

The final day of the Summit will close with the 2023 IJ4EU Impact Award Ceremony. Celebrating excellence in cross-border investigative journalism in Europe, the IJ4EU Impact Award is given annually to three teams of European cross-border investigative journalists. Read more about the IJ4EU funds and Impact Award here. The ceremony will take place on the evening of 31 March in Leipzig, Germany, and also streamed online.

In the coming weeks we will be sharing more information about the conference but for now we encourage you to save the date. Keep an eye on the MFRR newsletter, Twitter, and our website for all the latest updates!