News

Hungary: Draft Sovereignty Protection Act poses fresh threat to independent media

04/12/2023

OBCT joins MFRR partners in drawing the attention of the European Union about the chilling impact of the new Hungarian bill on independent media

Anti-SLAPP campaigners from across Europe stand in solidarity with the Russian dissident authors after an injunction was secured against their publ...

24/11/2023

Free expression organisations express their concern regarding the legal harassment of Russian émigrés investigative journalists

North Macedonia: Ruling against Investigative Reporting Lab and its editor must be overturned

24/11/2023

MFRR and SJN express dismay at judge's decision recommending that ministry shuts down one of the country’s leading investigative journalism platforms

Also available in ITA

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Republika Srpska president Dodik verbally attacks journalist

22/11/2023

OBCT joins partner organisations of the MFRR and South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) in condemning Milorad Dodik's verbal attacks and threats against N1 journalist Snezana Mitrović

Also available in ITA

Italy: MFRR partners condemn summons of RAI presenter Sigfrido Ranucci

15/11/2023

OBCT, together with MFRR parteners, condemns the summoning of RAI presenter Sigfrido Ranucci by the Parliamentary Committee and urges the Italian Parliament to guarantee RAI independence

Also available in ITA

Netherlands: Vexatious lawsuit against Het Financieele Dagblad condemned

13/11/2023

OBCT joins the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) in deploring the lawsuit against Dutch daily newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) and in expressing solidarity with the FD and its journalists. The case, of which the hearing will take place on 13 November 2023, is a clear attempt to silence and discourage Het Financieele Dagblad and its journalists from further reporting

Open letter: “We refuse to let the anti-SLAPP directive be a missed opportunity”

08/11/2023

OBCT joins international organisations in calling for robust anti-SLAPP Directive

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Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU, Dodik is working against the integration process

08/11/2023

Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik once again attacks the EU, accusing it of applying double standards to Bosnia and Herzegovina on the integration path. But Dodik's own initiatives, which limit freedom of association and expression, are distancing the country from the European Union

By Massimo Moratti

Originally published by OBCT. Also available in ITA

Turkey: Repeal the "disinformation offence" and overreaching legal amendments

08/11/2023

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partner organisations and Article 19 Europe reiterate their call for the annulment of Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code and related legal amendments passed in October 2022 that undermine international standards on the right to freedom of expression and of the press.

Dismay at the abrupt closure of investigation into smear campaign against Emilia Șercan

07/11/2023

OBCT joins media freedom groups in expressing deep disappointment at the decision of Romania’s Prosecutor Office at the Bucharest Court of Appeal to close the investigation into the smear campaign against the Romanian journalist

Also available in ITA