Press freedom threatened in Slovenia under PM Janša

New administration, old agenda: Press freedom strained again in Slovenia under veteran PM Janša

MFRR partner, the International Press Institute (IPI) explores the downturn in media freedom in Slovenia after a new government came to power under veteran Prime Minister Janez Janša.

Few countries in Europe have experienced such a swift downturn in press and media freedom after a new government came to power than in Slovenia under veteran Prime Minister Janez Janša. In the last six months, the outspoken PM, who took office in March 2020 and previously governed the country on two prior occasions, has immediately renewed long-standing grievances with the press and denigrating critical media outlets.

Going far beyond reasonable criticism, experts say, Janša has launched a series of vitriolic attacks on critical reporters on Twitter, enabling a wider increase in digital harassment from online trolls and contributing to an increasingly hostile climate for watchdog journalism.

Read this in-depth investigation from IPI to explore how these developments have damaged media freedom across the country.

MFRR partners raise concerns about smear campaign directed at…

MFRR partners raise concerns about smear campaign directed at journalists in Montenegro

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and press and media freedom organisations raise concerns about an online smear campaign directed at journalists in Montenegro

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and press and media freedom organisations are deeply concerned by the smear and intimidation campaign undertaken against three journalists in Montenegro.

In mid-August, the online platform UDAR released a list of what it called “collaborators of Serbian secret services,“ which included three journalists, namely: Sinisa Lukovic and Vuk Lajovic of the daily Vijesti, and Drazen Zivkovic of the news site Borba.me. This inclusion is a clear attempt to target the journalists and undermine their reporting on corruption and abuse of power.

The MFRR calls on Montenegrin authorities to investigate the online website and to have the journalists’ names removed from the list immediately. Authorities should also launch an investigation into the activities of Udar to ensure that they uphold the legislation on media transparency.

MFRR calls for a robust and transparent investigation into…

MFRR calls for a robust and transparent investigation into threats made against Nello Scavo

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and freedom of expression organisations call on the Maltese and Italian governments to ensure a robust, thorough and transparent investigation into Neville Gafà for threats made against journalist, Nello Scavo

On 27 June 2020, Neville Gafà, a former person of trust in the Office of the Maltese Prime Minister, issued a threat against Italian journalist, Nello Scavo of the national newspaper, Avvenire. In response to a tweet posted by AlarmPhone, an independent support organisation for people crossing the Mediterranean, Gafà called on the organisation to “stop your dirty business”. When Scavo responded questioning the former official’s record, Gafà called for him to “stop your dirty business. If not, we will be stopping you.”

On 7th August, MFRR partners and free expression organisations sent a letter to Maltese and Italian authorities calling for robust, thorough and transparent investigation into Neville Gafà.

On 19th August, Neville Gafà confirmed he was being investigated: “I am being investigated by Malta’s police after a complaint was filed against me by a foreign journalist. A magisterial inquiry has been requested by the foreign ministry – the Maltese ministry, not a foreign one. No such complaints will stop me from fighting or broadcast what is happening in the Mediterranean. I haven’t even started. There are no compromises on Malta.”

However, we have not received a response from either Maltese or Italian authorities.

We call for whistleblower Jonathan Taylor to be protected

We call for the arrest warrant against whistleblower, Jonathan Taylor to be dropped

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners, media protection, human rights, transparency and whistleblowing support organisations, alongside international jurists call on Monaco to immediately withdraw the arrest warrant that led to SBM Offshore whistleblower Jonathan Taylor being arrested in Dubrovnik airport.

We call on the Monaco authorities to immediately withdraw all charges against Jonathan Taylor and allow him to return home without further delay. On 31 July 2020, he was arrested and detained at Dubrovnik Airport in Croatia as he arrived for a short holiday with his wife and three children on charges of “bribery and corruption” originally lodged by the public prosecutor in Monaco. In 2014, Mr Taylor blew the whistle on a $275 million international network of bribes paid by his former employer, oil platform company SBM Offshore. Due to evidence he provided to the UK Serious Fraud Office, investigators in Brazil and the Netherlands as well as the FBI and the Department of Justice in the United States, SBM Offshore was fined over $800 million. A judge in Dubrovnik released Jonathan on bail on 3rd August 2020, but he has to remain in Croatia, with the threat of pending legal action hanging over his head.

A number of MFRR partners are joined by leading experts from across the globe calling for the arrest warrants to be dropped enabling Mr Taylor to travel freely.

Slovenia’s government targets public media in midst of pandemic

Part of IPI’s series, Europe media freedom in the shadow of Covid, authored by IPI correspondents across Europe

IPI Correspondent, Aljaž Pengov Bitenc outlines how a new bill in Slovenia paves the way for massive funding cuts that would jeopardize public service mission

With Index gone, the future looks even bleaker for…

With Index gone, the future looks even bleaker for Hungarian media

Part of IPI’s series, Europe media freedom in the shadow of Covid, authored by IPI correspondents across Europe

The COVID-19 pandemic adds to squeeze as Orbán regime continues to target independent press. IPI correspondent in Budapest, Marton Bede analyses the impact of the threats facing Index and what that means for media freedom in Hungary

MFRR renews call for justice in Kuciak murder ahead…

MFRR renews call for justice in Kuciak murder ahead of verdict

Ahead of the announcement of the verdict into the murder of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová next week, IPI, who have been observing the court hearing, outlines the importance of this case for media freedom in Slovakia and Europe.

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) renewed its call for justice for Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, as a court in Pezinok prepares to issue a verdict in the trial of their suspected killers on Wednesday 5th August.

Kuciak, whose work for the online news site Aktuality.sk uncovered allegations of tax fraud and financial crime implicating prominent business and political leaders in Slovakia, and Kušnírová were killed in their home on 21 February 2018. The double murder sparked the largest protests in Slovakia since the Velvet Revolution, and led to the resignations of the Prime Minister Róbert Fico, Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák, Culture Minister Marek Maďarič, and Chief of Police Tibor Gašpar.

Mapping Media Freedom: A Four-Month Snapshot

EFJ and IPI, supported by ECPMF, have compiled a report analysing the first 4-months of the MFRR, charting a worrying decline in media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries

The monitoring report compiled by European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and International Press Institute (IPI), with support from ECPMF, gives unprecedented insight into the threats to media freedom in EU member states and Candidate Countries. Within the monitored period from March to June a total of 126 alerts were registered on the Mapping Media Freedom platform from two-thirds of the countries covered by the MFRR.

Key trends including the COVID-19 Pandemic (and governments’ responses to this crisis) and the dangers from demonstrators and police officers for journalists and media workers covering protesters and demonstrations.

Serbia: financial probe into the work of journalists, media…

Serbia: financial probe into the work of journalists, media and civil society raises concern

Given recent attacks on journalists and media freedom in Serbia, we are concerned that a financial investigation targeting a number of media organisations and associations could be an abuse of legal mechanism in order to exert pressure on the critical voices in Serbia.

ARTICLE 19 and European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), are concerned by a financial investigation launched by the Serbian authorities into journalists, media and civil society organisations. The Serbian Finance Ministry’s Money Laundering Prevention Department has drawn up a list of media, journalists and NGOs whose bank records it wants to check. The information about this list was published in the Serbian media on 27 July.

ARTICLE 19 - STATEMENT

EFJ - STATEMENT

MFRR partners are profoundly concerned about media freedom attacks…

MFRR partners are profoundly concerned about media freedom attacks in Hungary, following EU Summit

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners are profoundly concerned about the latest media freedom attacks in Hungary, which take place only days after the EU Summit, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán praised the rule of law situation in his country.

On 22 July 2020, László Bodolai, the head of Magyar Fejlődésért Alapítvány (Foundation for Hungarian Progress, owner of Index Zrt.), fired the Index.hu editor-In-Chief, Szabolcs Dull. After a letter to the owners signed by the outlet’s journalistic team was refused calling for Dull to be reinstated, the editorial board, made up of Attila Tóth-Szenesi, Veronika Munk, and János Haász, alongside 70 journalists tendered their resignation from Index.

This is the latest attack on media freedom in Hungary and represents a further reduction of the space within which free and independent media outlets can operate.

Update: On 18 September Vera Jourova, Vice-President of the European Commission responded to this letter on behalf of the President Ursula von der Leyen

RESPONSE FROM EUROPEAN COMMISSION