Report launch: Bosnia and Herzegovina, media freedom in survival mode - Article

OBCT and MFRR partner organizations published the full report from their international press freedom fact-finding mission that took place last October in Bosnia and Herzegovina 

Silencing Voices in Italy: The Erosion of Media Freedom - Article

Italy's media is in crisis, battling legal onslaughts and facing a surge of censorship one year after the establishment of the far-right government led by Giorgia Meloni

By Sielke Kelner

(Originally published by Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung , 16.01.2024)

Greece: Ahead of court hearing, SLAPP lawsuit against media and journalists must be dropped - Article

OBCT joins international freedom of expression and media freedom organisations in condemning a vexatious lawsuit filed against Greek journalists and media by the nephew of the Prime Minister

Albania: SPAK must respect source protection in case of journalist Elton Qyno - Article

OBCT signs a joint letter together with media freedom partners in the SafeJournalists Network, the Media Freedom Rapid Response, and Reporters Without Borders addressed to the head of the Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) to raise concerns over the recent attempts to reveal the source of Albanian journalist Elton Qyno

Netherlands: Vexatious lawsuit against Het Financieele Dagblad condemned - Article

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

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

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 - Article

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 - Article

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

Turkey: International groups condemn arrest of journalist Tolga Şardan - Article

We call upon the authorities to immediately release Tolga Şardan

Also available in ITA

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Media freedom in survival mode - Article

Following a press freedom mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 22-25 October 2023, the partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) warn that media freedom in the country is in decline against a backdrop of new restrictive laws, hostile rhetoric and denigration of journalists by public officials, and ongoing systemic challenges to the independence of public service media