This publication presents the annual assessment of threats to media freedom in the Council of Europe’s member states in 2021, by the partner organisations to the Safety of Journalists Platform.
In 2021 six journalists were killed. Three of them - in Greece, the Netherlands and Turkey - were directly targeted. Another journalist died in Georgia following the violence while covering street protests.
Journalists are increasingly vulnerable to direct attacks on their physical safety and integrity. In 2021, there were 82 alerts in that category, a 51% jump compared to 2020. Many of those took place during public protests. Across much of Europe reporting from the site of rallies has become a dangerous assignment for journalists. Covid-19-related protests provided a particular backdrop to these aggressions.
Other issues are impunity, detentions and criminal prosecution of journalists, SLAPPs and defamation lawsuits, restrictive legislation, harassment and intimidation of journalists, Public Service Media, media capture, restrictions on reporting, organised crime, surveillance.
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