The allocation of national broadcasting frequencies in Serbia highlights the lack of transparency and pluralism in the sector. Frequencies are only awarded to government-friendly media. Concerns have been expressed by both the European Commission and the European Parliament
OBCT joins media freedom and human rights organisations calling for Turkish authorities to stop systematic harassment and intimidation of Kurdish journalists, media workers, media outlets, the lawyers that defend them, and Kurdish political party officials
Video recording of the panel co-organized by ARTICLE 19 and OBC Transeuropa, as partner of Media Freedom Rapid Response Mechanism, within the International Journalism Festival of Perugia. Speeches by Sarah Clarke (director ARTICLE 19 Europe), Bojana Jovanovic (Deputy editor crime and corruption reporting network), Sielke Kelner (Media Freedom Rapid Response), Roberto Saviano (journalist and author)
OBCT joins MFRR partners in expressing dismay over the recent court ruling involving a SLAPP lawsuit against Greek media outlet Alterthess and one of its journalists, Stavroula Poulimeni. Given the dangerous consequences that such a legal precedent could have, MFRR organisations have decided to provide funding to cover legal fees for their appeal
The instrumental use of EU data protection threatens press freedom in Greece. The case of journalist Stavroula Poulimeni and the independent media outlet Alterthess, sentenced in the first instance to pay compensation of 3,000 euros to Efstathios Lialos, executive of the Hellas Gold gold mine
24 years after the murder of journalist Slavko Ćuruvija, the perpetrators are still unpunished in Serbia. Although there is finally progress and hopefully the case will be finally solved, impunity remains widespread
The parliament of Republika Srpska approved in the first instance a bill to amend the criminal code which reintroduces the crime of defamation. Now sixty days of public debate and then back to the assembly. A dangerous step backwards for freedom of expression
A record claim for compensation against Bulgarian online newspaper Mediapool, "guilty" of bringing the problems of the insurance sector to public attention. A trial brings the SLAPP issue back under the spotlight in Bulgaria, between fears and professional solidarity
Partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and the SafeJournalists Network (SJN) renew their call for justice for the assassination of Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija to finally be secured and the cycle of impunity for the killings of journalists in Serbia to be broken
The Bolzano Salto.bz web portal has received a claim for damages for 150,000 Euros from the South Tyrol publishing giant Athesia. According to defence attorney Nicola Canestrini, it is a clear case of SLAPP, a gag complaint
Investigative journalist and university lecturer Emilia Sercan is at the centre of a new smear campaign after revealing that the Interior minister had plagiarised his doctoral thesis. We met her
OBC Transeuropa joins European civil society organizations drawing the attention of the European Commission to a set of concerns on the situation of the rule of law across the EU that should urgently be addressed ahead of the 2023 Rule of Law Report.
Also in Bosnia and Herzegovina one of the major obstacles to the exercise of the journalistic profession is represented by the so-called SLAPPs, lawsuits seeking to silence or limit the work of journalists and civil rights activists
The devastating earthquakes that shook Turkey on February 6 have uncovered a divided country, where many denounce the earthquakes as an announced tragedy. The government responds to the protests by tightening censorship
George Tragkas was a prominent journalist who passed away in December 2021. The post-mortem discovery of his colossal wealth has sparked public controversy on the role and power of journalists in the country
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 Appellate Court on 17 January. We interviewed him while waiting for the final verdict
Little or nothing is known about the impact and responsibility of 20 tonnes of ammonia leaking from a tank on a freight train in southeast Serbia, an accident that also claimed two lives. In Serbia, it remains hard for citizens to obtain information about these environmental disasters
In this conversation with Emilia Șercan, investigative journalist and senior lecturer at the University of Bucharest, we explored the state of the art of Romanian journalism and reflected upon the different meanings of plagiarism in a country where corruption remains rampant
Together with our MFRR partners, we express concern over the decision to revoke the broadcast license of the independent TV station Dozhd: independent Russian journalism should be provided a safe refuge in Europe
OBCT joins the Media Freedom Rapid Response partners and the Safe Journalists Network in condemning in the strongest terms the intimidation and often orchestrated campaigns by pro-government media outlets and members of the public to silence journalists in Serbia
The recent attack in the heart of Istanbul brought the issue of political violence in Turkey back to the fore, but also dramatically exposed the limitations on access to free information in the country
At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing in the case of aggravated defamation against two journalists from the daily newspaper Domani initiated by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, an appeal for the lawsuit to be dropped and for a comprehensive reform of defamation laws in Italy
Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa, Q Code Mag and ECPMF, in collaboration with the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation, present the event “Milan shelter city: protected residences for threatened journalism”
A public event to present the Journalist-in-Residence (JiR) protected residence project, coordinated by OBC Transeuropa, Q Code Mag and the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), members of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium, to relaunch the idea of Milan as a shelter city for journalists. Two journalists who have benefited from the JiR protection programme will be present and will share their experiences
OCCRP, the transnational investigative journalism platform against crime and corruption, has devised a system to prevent lawsuits, prevent self-censorship, and defend journalists from gag lawsuits – an actual shield in defence of reporters. We interviewed Drew Sullivan, co-founder of OCCRP
