Croatia, the assault on the local press - Article

2024 is the year of elections for Croatia: European, political and presidential elections will take place between next June and December. And with the electoral competitions, the race for control of the local media, particularly the regional ones, is gaining ground in a hardly transparent way

By Giovanni Vale 

Originally published by OBCT. Also available in ITA and BHS

Open SLAPP Cases in 2022 and 2023 - The Incidence of Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, and Regulatory Responses in the European Union - Reports

This research, commissioned by the Committee of Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) of the European Parliament, aims to analyze SLAPP cases and threats initiated between 2022 and 2023

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

2024 Roberto Morrione Prize for Investigative Journalism - Reports

 Associazione Amici di Roberto Morrione has opened a call directed at funding the work of young investigative journalists 

Communication on Defence of Democracy - Reports

With this Communication the European Commission introduces the Defence of Democracy Package through which it intends to proactively uphold its democratic values and freedoms 

Case Study - SLAPP in Romania - Reports

Timely report examining the SLAPP phenomenon in Romania

North Macedonia: Ruling against Investigative Reporting Lab and its editor must be overturned - Article

MFRR and SJN express dismay at judge's decision recommending that ministry shuts down one of the country’s leading investigative journalism platforms

Also available in ITA

Italy: MFRR partners condemn summons of RAI presenter Sigfrido Ranucci - Article

OBCT, together with MFRR parteners, condemns the summoning of RAI presenter Sigfrido Ranucci by the Parliamentary Committee and urges the Italian Parliament to guarantee RAI independence

Also available in ITA

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

Open letter: “We refuse to let the anti-SLAPP directive be a missed opportunity” - Article

OBCT joins international organisations in calling for robust anti-SLAPP Directive

Also available in ITA