Romania: the interference of parties in the media - Article

A recent report by the Council of Europe exposes the flow of money that goes from political parties to the media in Romania, and the consequent subordination

by Mihaela Iordache

Turkey: a call to release Sedef Kabaş - Article

We joined the call of the International Press Institute, signed by other 25 human rights and journalists’ organizations, to ask for the immediate release of journalist Sedef Kabaş following her late-night arrest on January 22 and for an end to the judicial harassment of independent media

Poland: journalist’s criminal defamation conviction may further impair freedom of expression - Article

MFRR partners stand in solidarity with Polityka journalist Ewa Siedlecka, who has been convicted of criminal defamation. Amid the ongoing erosion of media freedom in Poland, there is a justified fear that this verdict might pave the way for a wider criminalisation of expressing an opinion based on information present in the public space

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

Country factsheet: Bulgaria - Article

Called "the black sheep of EU media freedom", Bulgaria faces a lot of issues related to freedom of expression and safety of journalists. Here a detailed overview made by OBCT journalist Francesco Martino, who lives in Sofia

Extradition proceedings against Jonathan Taylor need to end! - Article

A wide range of organisations calls on Croatia and Monaco to end extradition proceedings and asks the European Parliament to condemn the ongoing harassment of such an important whistleblower

Slovenia: OBCT joins IPI's statement condemning brazen use of SLAPP - Article

We believe it is abundantly clear that the number and nature of the spurious defamation lawsuits against Necenzurirano are not aimed at achieving justice, but instead at silencing the outlet by forcing its journalists to fight time-consuming and costly legal battles, draining them financially and discouraging them from further reporting

North Macedonia: MFRR partners express concern over recent attacks on journalists and media workers - Article

Six alerts regarding North Macedonia have been registered through the Mapping Media Freedom project since the launch of the MFRR in March 2020. In a letter to Prime Minister Zaev, MFRR partners highlight that attacks on journalists and media workers remain an acute problem, undermining press freedom in the country

Serbia: no more attacks and threats to journalists covering protests - Article

Alarmed by the increasing violence that police uses against reporters and media workers, the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) ask Nebojša Stefanović, Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia, to ensure all police officers and ministry personnel do not attack journalists, but protect them from other threats

Women harassment on social media: new tools to identify abuse - Article

A team of Columbia researchers is developing new computational tools designed to automatically identify abusive, offensive and harassing speech on social media platforms. Women journalists are asked to contribute to the research