Bulgaria: MFRR partners ask the interim government to examine the state of media freedom in the country - Article

Improvement of the situation in Bulgaria needs significant will, as well as a broader recognition of the fundamental role that independent journalism plays for the society. MFRR asks the interim government to prioritise the investigation of threats and attacks against journalists

EDMO Week: United Against Disinformation - Article

To mark its first year of activities, the European Digital Media Observatory will hold its first annual conference, EDMO Week: United Against Disinformation, on 7-11 June bringing together stakeholders working to tackle online disinformation, including researchers, regulatory authorities, online platforms, civil society, and the policy sector

Turkey: SLAPP lawsuit filed against academic over Paradise Papers tweet - Article

NGOs and journalists’ organisations call for the dropping of a lawsuit launched against the academic Prof Yaman Akdeniz by Serhat Albayrak, seeking 100,000 Turkish lira (€9,600) in damages for his tweets about the censorship of reports into the criminal investigations and civil lawsuits against journalists who reported on the Paradise Papers

Urgent letter to Croatian Minister of Justice: Do not extradite Whistleblower Jonathan Taylor - Article

Together with WIN (Whistleblowing international network), we co-signed a letter to the Croatian Minister of Justice

Albania: a letter to the new leaders asking to protect journalists - Article

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) calls on all state bodies in Albania to ensure journalists, media workers and sources are protected and able to work freely

Italy: wiretapping of journalists reporting on migration must be investigated - Article

The Media Freedom Rapid Response and partner organisations welcome the launch of an investigation into the wiretapping of journalists and their sources in Sicily. However, a robust, swift and systematic investigation will be essential for rebuilding trust and ensuring that all journalists, sources and legal professionals in Italy are protected

Open Letter to Croatian Minister of Justice to free whistleblower Jonathan Taylor - Article

Arrested last July, the British lawyer is still in Croatia at risk of extradiction to Monaco. The MFRR partners and several ngos ask Croatia to protect him

MFRR raises concerns over increasing meddling in independence of Czech public broadcaster - Article

The partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) express their serious concern over the latest efforts by the ruling ANO party and its allies to further politicise the oversight body of the Czech public broadcaster.

We are worried that the slow-motion yet obvious efforts to stack the Council of the Czech TV (ČT Council) are ultimately aimed at the erosion of the public television’s independence and politically-motivated realignment of its news and opinion programming

Country factsheet: Croatia - Article

A picture made of mixed colours and political interference: this is the landscape in Croatia under the lens of media freedom according to several monitoring tools

Thematic factsheet: SLAPP in Italy, a democratic emergency - Article

by Paola Rosà

A limited selection of cases from an ocean of lawsuits. A paper sent to the INI rapporteurs of the Draft Report on the strengthening democracy and media freedom and pluralism in the EU: the undue use of actions under civil and criminal law to silence journalists, NGOs and civil society