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Voxpress:

Media freedom in Europe, where do we position ourselves?

2024-03-06 09:38:09Biznes SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Media freedom in Europe, where do we position ourselves?

Concern for the safety and freedom of journalists is currently growing across Europe. Especially in countries like Belarus and Russia, members of the media have been illegally spied on, hit with abusive lawsuits and banned, although there are problems in the West as well. This is stated in this year's annual report by the Council of Europe published yesterday.

Despite a significant decrease in the number of journalists killed in Europe in 2023 compared to the previous year, the threats facing the media in the 46 member states of the Council of Europe become more diverse, making them more complicated to manage. navigated by journalists. The report, entitled "Press Freedom in Europe: Time to Turn the Tide", assessed the main issues undermining press freedom in Europe. These include threats of: intimidation, prohibition, restrictive legislation, abusive lawsuits and attacks on public service media, among others.

It found that of a total of 285 alerts about threats and serious attacks on media freedom on the continent, nearly 15% came from Russia alone. The country continues to persecute journalists who criticized the Kremlin line, including those who have fled abroad. According to the report's authors, the threat of mafia-type violence currently "hangs like a dark cloud over journalists on the crime beat," especially those who investigate the drug trade.

The type of threats journalists face across Europe range from physical attacks, death, detention, illegal wiretapping, media attacks by politicians and effective government-imposed gagging. A major threat to the physical safety of journalists in 2023 was the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Last year, two journalists, Bohdan Bitik and Arman Soldin, were killed while reporting on the war in Ukraine, while several others were injured. Both died during Russian attacks.

Another member of the media, security guard Pal Kola, was killed in 2023 in an attack on the Top Channel television station in Albania. Kola's case was the only case where a media worker was killed outside a war zone. There were a total of 41 alerts denouncing attacks on the physical safety and integrity of journalists in 2023: 11 came from Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine; four from France; four from Turkey; three from Italy; and three from Serbia.

Detention remains a common punishment for journalists who criticize their country's leaders, particularly in Russia and Belarus. By the end of 2023, 59 journalists were imprisoned in countries across Europe, including in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia. 65 were arrested in Russia and Belarus. At least 18 journalists were arrested last year in Turkey, while Poland and Great Britain arrested one each (Pablo Gonzales and Julian Assange respectively).

Distribution of alerts by country (Europe-wide), 2023

 

Media freedom in Europe, where do we position ourselves?

 

These were the countries that reported threats to journalists in 2023: Belarus (42); Russian Federation (39); Turkey (27); Ukraine (24); France (19); Italy (16); Poland (12); Serbia (11); Azerbaijan (10); Greece (9); Albania (6); Spain (6); United Kingdom (5); Slovak Republic (5); Georgia (5); Bosnia and Herzegovina (5); Bulgaria (5); Armenia (4); Croatia (4); Germany (4); Netherlands (4); Republic of Moldova (4); Belgium (3); Czech Republic (3); Finland (3); Austria (2); Hungary (2); Denmark (1); Ireland (1); Latvia (1); Malta (1); Portugal (1); Romania (1). There have already been 27 alerts about threats to journalists in Europe since the beginning of the year, most of them in Ukraine (7), Turkey (6), the Russian Federation (4) and Portugal (3).

The Council of Europe report also states that by the end of 2023, there were still 30 cases of impunity for the murders of 49 journalists and media workers. The cases remain open to this day, despite the fact that the assassinations took place a long time ago. According to the Council of Europe report, impunity for the murders of journalists where investigators and prosecutors failed to find the culprits and secure a conviction is still the norm.

In November 2023, a former Russian police officer serving a 20-year prison sentence for his role in the 2006 killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a critic of Vladimir Putin, was pardoned by presidential decree after completing a six-month military contract fighting in Ukraine.


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