The growing pressure on press freedom in Italy has prompted the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium to organize an urgent mission to Rome on May 16 and 17. The unprecedented political interference in the public service media, the increasing cases of vexatious lawsuits against journalists, and the possible sale of the AGI news agency will be the focus of the two-day visit. Meetings will be held with institutional stakeholders, journalists, trade unions and civil society
In 2021, then opposition leader Giorgia Meloni sued Roberto Saviano for defamation. Last October, the Rome Criminal Court issued a sentence against the Italian writer. A ruling that alarmed Italian and European civil society. We had a conversation about it with Antonio Nobile, Saviano's lawyer
Media Freedom organizations call on Bulgarian Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov to withdraw charges against two investigative journalists of the Bureau for Investigative Reporting and Data (BIRD)
Over 70 international organisations and media, including the Media Freedom Rapid Response, signed a petition in support of three journalists from the daily newspaper Domani who risk up to nine years in prison. While the European Media Freedom Act promises to strengthen the protection of journalistic sources, in Italy investigative journalism risks being turned into a crime
The recent angry attack by the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama against a journalist has brought the constant pressure and intimidation that the power in Albania exerts on the media and media professionals back under the spotlight
OBCT shares media freedom partner organisations' concerns on the the escalation of threats and violence suffered by journalists in Novi Sad, northern Serbia, and urges competent authorities to promptly investigate these cases
The partners from the MFRR consortium published the latest edition of the Monitoring Report which documents press and media freedom violations from January to December 2023
In view of the upcoming political and presidential elections, the Macedonian government has reintroduced forms of public funding for the media. However, the country's media organisations argue that the move may aggravate the influence of political interests on news outlets
