News

Serbia: a press freedom crisis

04/04/2025

From April 7 to 9, MFRR conducts a visit to the country amid a rapidly worsening media freedom crisis.
This collection of articles in Italian, English and Serbian by OBCT explains what is happening and why.

Serbia: MFRR media freedom mission to visit Belgrade and Novi Sad

28/03/2025

The partners organisation of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) will conduct a mission to Serbia between 7-9 April to meet with journalists, media stakeholders and law enforcement authorities amidst a rapidly worsening media freedom crisis.

Serbia: Spyware attacks on BIRN journalists further deepen press freedom crisis

28/03/2025

Further alarm about the deepening press freedom crisis: revelations showing evidence of the abuse of advanced Pegasus spyware

Turkey: MFRR partners call for an end to crackdown on journalists covering political protests

28/03/2025

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partner organisations call for an immediate end to the crackdown against media after documenting widespread attacks , detentions, and censorship measures against journalists following the formal charging of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu with corruption on March 23, 2025.

Liberties Report 2025: Democratic Decline Deepens

20/03/2025

The Rule of Law Report by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe highlights a serious deterioration in the rule of law across Europe in 2024. The report ranks Italy alongside Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, and Slovakia among the countries facing the most critical issues

Source: CILD - Coalizione Italiana Diritti Civili

Romania: Answers needed over surveillance of investigative journalist

20/03/2025

Disturbing revelations about the physical surveillance and wiretapping of Victor Ilie, Romanian investigative journalist, by the Romanian National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA).

Open Letter: Surveillance warrants targeting journalists are dangerous for democracy

18/03/2025

OBCT, alongside free expression organizations, Romanian journalists and media outlets, condemns the surveillance of journalists by Romanian prosecutors as a violation of press freedom

Originally published in Romanian and English by ActiveWatch and the Center for independent Journalism

Serbia: One year of unpunished attacks on journalist Dinko Gruhonjić, culture of impunity must end

14/03/2025

The members of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium and partner organisations of the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform are deeply concerned about the ongoing year-long persecution campaign against journalist Dinko Gruhonjić, programme Director of the Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina (NDNV) and Associate Professor at the Department of Media Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad

SafeJournalists Network and Media Freedom Rapid Response: TikTok ban in Albania threatens freedom of expression ahead of general elections

11/03/2025

SafeJournalists Network (SJN), the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners, and civil society organizations express serious concern regarding the Albanian Council of Ministers' decision to suspend nationwide access to the TikTok platform for 12 months

MFRR and SJN condemn adoption of foreign agent legislation in Bosnia’s entity Republika Srpska

05/03/2025

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and SafeJournalists Network (SJN) strongly condemn the adoption of legislation in the Republika Srpska entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina which will establish a "special registry” of NGOs, many of which are independent media