Bulgaria Minister urged to drop defamation lawsuit - Article

Media Freedom organizations call on Bulgarian Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov to withdraw charges against two investigative journalists of the Bureau for Investigative Reporting and Data (BIRD)

Petition against attacks on Domani newspaper, and for media freedom in Italy - Article

Over 70 international organisations and media, including the Media Freedom Rapid Response, signed a petition in support of three journalists from the daily newspaper Domani who risk up to nine years in prison. While the European Media Freedom Act promises to strengthen the protection of journalistic sources, in Italy investigative journalism risks being turned into a crime

CoE’s Recommendation represents a significant milestone in the fight against SLAPPs - Article

CASE welcomes the Council of Europe’s Recommendation on SLAPPs, approved by the Committee of Ministers today - Friday, 5 April. The Recommendation is comprehensive and, if genuinely implemented, could significantly limit the damage caused by SLAPPs

Report on media freedom in Romania ahead of Super Election Year - Article

Mission report highlights political influence, vexatious lawsuits and online harassment in Romania

Report on media freedom in Romania ahead of Super Election Year - Mission Report on Media Capture, Legal Obstacles and Journalists’ Safety - Reports

Following the online fact finding mission to Romania coordinated by OBCT and IPI, the report explores the challenges faced by Romanian media professionals at a time of political change

MFRR Monitoring Report 2023 - Reports

The partners from the MFRR consortium publish the latest edition of its Monitoring Report which documents press freedom violations from January to December 2023

Press Freedom in Europe: Time to Turn the Tide - Reports

On Tuesday 5 March 2024, the Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists launched its annual report "Press Freedom in Europe: Time to Turn the Tide", written by the Platform’s coalition of fifteen press freedom NGOs and journalists associations. It takes stock of key areas of law, policy and practices affecting media freedom and safety of journalists in Europe and identifies actions required to improve effective protection of journalists.

The Anti-SLAPP Directive creates a promising minimum standard for Member States - Article

The Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE ) welcomes the adoption of the Anti-SLAPP Directive  in the European Parliament in today’s plenary vote. This directive sets the minimum standards  for protecting public watchdogs against abusive litigation in the form of SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation)

Slovakia: Lack of justice for Kuciak and Kušnírová’s assassination exacerbated by growing attacks on press freedom - Article

On the sixth anniversary of the brutal killing of investigative reporter Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, the undersigned organisations renew our call for long-awaited justice for their killings and the imperative to break the cycle of impunity.

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)