MFRR partners are profoundly concerned about media freedom attacks…

MFRR partners are profoundly concerned about media freedom attacks in Hungary, following EU Summit

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners are profoundly concerned about the latest media freedom attacks in Hungary, which take place only days after the EU Summit, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán praised the rule of law situation in his country.

On 22 July 2020, László Bodolai, the head of Magyar Fejlődésért Alapítvány (Foundation for Hungarian Progress, owner of Index Zrt.), fired the Index.hu editor-In-Chief, Szabolcs Dull. After a letter to the owners signed by the outlet’s journalistic team was refused calling for Dull to be reinstated, the editorial board, made up of Attila Tóth-Szenesi, Veronika Munk, and János Haász, alongside 70 journalists tendered their resignation from Index.  

This is the latest attack on media freedom in Hungary and represents a further reduction of the space within which free and independent media outlets can operate.

Update: On 18 September Vera Jourova, Vice-President of the European Commission responded to this letter on behalf of the President Ursula von der Leyen

Spain: Journalists operate in increasingly suffocating atmosphere

Journalists operate in increasingly suffocating atmosphere in Spain

Polarization and attempts by far-right party to smear fact-checkers and journalists undermine media freedom across the country.

Amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Spain’s far-right party, Vox  introduced a bill to Parliament which aims to regulate fact-checking news outlets in Spain. The text, published on July 17, explicitly forbids the verification of any statement on “social media, blogs, generic websites, print, online outlets and broadcasters“ unless the media organization publicly states its affiliation, if any, to a political party, government or ideology.

The bill also prohibits the fact-checking of “opinions” and includes a provision by which fact-checkers can be held legally liable for labelling them as ‘fake news’. Here MFRR partner, International Press Institute explores what this means for media freedom across the country

Serbia: MFRR calls for all journalists and media workers…

Serbia: MFRR calls for all journalists and media workers to be protected

Between 7th and 11th July, 28 journalists and media workers have been attacked by demonstrators and police officers during demonstrations across Serbia

MFRR partners and leading free expression, journalist and media freedom organisations have come together to call for all attacks and threats to journalists to be investigated fully to ensure that perpetrators of violence, including police officers and other state entities, are held to account.

This open letter has been sent to the Minister of Interior of the Republic of Serbia, Dr Nebojša Stefanović

EFJ condemns death and rape threats against Brussels-based journalist,…

EFJ condemns death and rape threats against Brussels-based journalist, Tanja Milevska

As part of the MFRR, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) strongly condemns the online harassment, including threats of physical and sexual violence, against journalist Tanja Milevska, working for the North Macedonia news agency MIA as a Brussels correspondent.

Tanja Milevska received verbal abuse, death and rape threats on social media networks after she tweeted on 11 July asking whether Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the European People’s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament recognise the constitutional change of 2019 making “North Macedonia” the country’s official name.

Following the tweets, trolls and active political figures have been fueling threats for the past four days in an attempt to discredit the journalist in the context of parliamentary election to be held on Wednesday 15 July.

Greece urged to ensure fair and transparent media support…

Greece urged to ensure fair and transparent media support scheme

MFRR partners condemn the decision to sideline critical media outlets from Covid-19 public ad revenue

The International Press Institute (IPI) has joined a letter from the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) to the Greek government calling for greater transparency and objectivity in the distribution of public advertisement funds to media.

A recent analysis has shown that ad revenue from a public health advertising campaign related to Covid-19 was not distributed fairly, with media perceived as critical of the government receiving disproportionately less revenue or excluded from the scheme altogether.

The letter criticizes the opaque ad distribution carried out by a private company and calls on the Greek government to provide full clarification on the exact criteria to use to select which media received state support and which amounts.

Slovenia: MFRR concerned over proposed changes to public service…

Slovenia: MFRR partners seriously concerned over proposed changes to public service media

The International Press Institute (IPI), as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) expresses serious concern over proposed amendments to laws governing public service media in Slovenia.

In a letter to Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša and Culture Minister Vasko Simonit, the MFRR partners said the package of three media laws had the “potential to financially weaken the public broadcaster and allow far greater government control over the management of public service media”.

The letter calls on Slovenia to “apply to brakes” to the proposed changes, at the very least pending extensive further consultation and substantial revisions. “It is clear that major changes to these proposals are needed to safeguard the independence and public-interest reporting of public service media in Slovenia”, the letter concludes.

Hungary: Legal Opinion on COVID-19 Response

Hungary’s Two Pandemics: COVID-19 and Attacks on Media Freedom

A legal opinion commissioned by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) finds that the Hungarian Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic fails to live up to domestic or European legal standards and entrenches the country’s attacks on independent media outlets, journalists and media workers.

In March 2020, the Hungarian Government proclaimed a State of Danger, passed a number of decrees and adopted a new bill; the Authorisation Act, in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Authorisation Act gave the Government enhanced powers to rule by decree, enabling it to bring forward, amend or withdraw legislation and amend the Hungarian Criminal Code to expand the definition of the crime of “Scaremongering”. Due to the ruling party coalition’s two-thirds majority in Parliament, these changes were swiftly adopted and implemented. Recently, the Hungarian Government has stated its intention to repeal the State of Danger. However, it is unclear whether this repeal will cover all changes made and what mechanisms will be in place to identify and address the short- and long-term impact of these amendments on media freedom.

In this legal opinion commissioned by ECPMF as part of the MFRR, Dr. Polyák Gábor of the Mertek Media Monitor (CMDS) highlights the changes brought forward by the Hungarian Government, how they threaten the already-fragile state of media freedom in Hungary and what they mean for Hungarian and European legal standards.

Serbia: violent attacks against journalists during two consecutive nights…

Serbia: violent attacks against journalists during two consecutive nights of protests

MFRR partners, IPI and EFJ share statements condemning the threats and attacks against journalists and media workers covering protests in Belgrade, Nis and Novi Sad.

For two consecutive nights, public protests have erupted across Serbia, in response to the Government’s lockdown and COVID-19 policies. At these protests, journalists and media workers have faced a number of threats and attacks from individual protesters and police officers.

The MFRR are extremely concerned by violence against journalists during these protests. In two days, we have been informed of at least 14 attacks against journalists and media workers who were on the field to report in the public interest

Malta: Renewed call for justice 1,000 days after the…

Malta: Renewed call for justice 1,000 days after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia

12 July 2020 marks 1,000 days since the assassination of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. On this anniversary, the MFRR reasserts our demands for justice for all those involved in her murder and the corruption she exposed.

In recent weeks, yet more disturbing revelations of state corruption and impunity related to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia continue to emerge, underscoring the weaknesses in Malta’s rule of law, and entrenched impunity for both the murder of Caruana Galizia and the high-level abuses of power she investigated.

On the 1,000th day since her assassination we call for justice, transparency and accountability

Transparent investigation needed into death threats against Bulgarian journalist

Transparent investigation needed into death threats against Bulgarian journalist

IPI, as part of the MFRR, welcomes police protection but calls for chief prosecutor to ensure full investigation

The International Press Institute (IPI) called on the chief prosecutor in Bulgaria to ensure a transparent investigation is conducted into recent death threats against investigative journalist Nikolay Staykov.

Staykov, a well-known Bulgarian journalist who co-founded the NGO Anti-Corruption Fund, told IPI he began received threatening phone calls on June 18 as part of a “coordinated” campaign of harassment he believes was linked to an ongoing investigative documentary he had produced about alleged state corruption.