The International Press Institute (IPI) called on the chief prosecutor in Bulgaria to ensure a transparent investigation is conducted into recent death threats against investigative journalist Nikolay Staykov.

Staykov, a well-known Bulgarian journalist who co-founded the NGO Anti-Corruption Fund, told IPI he began received threatening phone calls on June 18 as part of a “coordinated” campaign of harassment he believes was linked to an ongoing investigative documentary he had produced about alleged state corruption.

The MFRR is also concerned by TVP’s role in amplifying the government’s discriminatory rhetoric against minority groups throughout the Presidential campaign. Government media have a duty to be balanced and impartial in their election reporting and not to discriminate against any political party or candidate in granting access to airtime. TVP should respect this in the second round of voting on 12 July 2020.

Since 2015, Gazeta Wyborcza has received over 55 legal threats, including civil defamation actions and alleged infringement of personal interests by a number of actors including Jarosław Kaczyński, the head of the governing Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS) party; the state television broadcaster, Telewizja Polska SA and state owned company KGHM Polska Miedź SA.

We call on the pursuers to stop the legal threats, which fit the definition of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and are aimed at stifling legitimate criticism and independent journalism.

As part of MFRR we have contributed €15,000 to support the outlet’s legal defence

On 1 July 2020, AKP Chair and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that his party will draft a bill to either control or completely shut down social media in Turkey. The threat came after Erdoğan’s daughter and son-in-law received insulting messages on Twitter after announcing the birth of their new child, which resulted in a number of detentions.

The Turkish media landscape is already dominated by heavily pro-government outlets. More than one hundred media outlets have been shut down since the 2016 coup attempt. The remaining few independent media outlets are often threatened with closure, intimidation and fines. Hundreds of journalists are facing investigations and trials, while at least 93 journalists and media workers are still in prison mostly over terrorism-related charges or convictions. This has left social media as one of the few independent avenues available for free expression.

A specialist in covering organised crime for leading international media, investigative journalist Jovo Martinović was convicted to an 18-month prison sentence by the High Court of Montenegro, on 15 January 2019 despite overwhelming evidence that his only links with organised crime were those of a reporter.

Throughout the detention and subsequent trial, his rights to a fair trial have been violated. Prior to his arrest on 22 October 2015, Martinović had already been held in custody for almost 15 months before being finally freed, provisionally. The retrial formally began on 2 Dec 2019, with a new hearing scheduled for Monday, 6 July 2020, 9 a.m. The retrial hearing takes place in the judges office and is open to public.

We think it is crucial to show public support and international solidarity for Jovo Martinović.

ECPMF, as part of the MFRR, calls on international and local bodies to attend the hearing on 6 July, and, even more importantly, the hearing of the closing statements.

ECPMF reiterates its call on Montenegrin authorities to acquit the investigative journalist and drop all charges against Martinović.

UPDATE 7 July 2020: as the fellow-defendant fell sick, the hearing was postponed to 15 September 2020.

Ivo Prokopiev, the owner of Economedia is currently on trial at the Specialized Criminal Court in Bulgaria in relation to the privatization of a minority stake in an energy company. He is accused of expressing his opinion in public and has been threatened with arrest by the lead case prosecutor.

Economedia publishes Capital weekly and Dnevnik.bg, both considered as independent and professional journalistic outlets in a media environment dominated by state-affiliated outlets and media companies. Their published investigations over the past decade had uncovered increasing corruption in Bulgaria and concerted efforts to silence independent voices in media and politics.

The statement calls on the Court to make their judgment independent of any political pressure or interference and local authorities to stop the ongoing institutional and legal harassment of Ivo Prokopiev and Economedia.

Police in Slovakia must thoroughly investigate a possible death threat issued against an investigative reporter at Slovak online news outlet Aktuality.sk, the International Press Institute (IPI) said today.

On the morning of Thursday, June 25, Aktuality investigative journalist Peter Sabo awoke to find a pistol bullet in the mailbox of the Bratislava apartment where he lives with his wife, according to the outlet’s editor and media reports.

Aktuality is the online newspaper that Slovak investigative reporter Ján Kuciak worked for before he was shot and killed alongside his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, in 2018. The murder weapon was a pistol.