MMF: Media freedom violations published this week (14-18 May 2018)

May 18, 2018

Mapping Media Freedom tracks limitations, threats and violations that affect media professionals as they do their job in 43 countries.

For more information about Mapping Media Freedom, read about our methodology here.

These are the threats that were verified and published the week beginning 14 May.

European Union member states

Austria

20 April 2018

ORF team assaulted when filming near mosque in Vienna

Public broadcasting reporter Zoran Dobric and his cameraman were assaulted as they were filming near a mosque of the Turkish-Islamic association for cultural and social cooperation in Austria.

Bulgaria

Hristo Geshov Photo Facebook
Hristo Geshov (Photo: Facebook)

10 May 2018

Investigative journalist attacked

Investigative journalist Hristo Geshov was attacked and assaulted outside his home in the town of Cherven Bryag in northwestern Bulgaria

Germany

15 May 2018

Journalists raise concerns over Bavaria’s new police act

The Bavarian parliament has passed a new police act granting law enforcement broad new powers to act without “concrete suspicion”. The new law raises particular concern for journalists because it gives police new powers to access mobile phones, computers and cloud-based data. Law enforcement would be allowed to amend or delete the information they recovered from devices under the legislation.

12 May 2018

Bavarian AfD association bans Süddeutsche Zeitung reporters

Süddeutsche ZeitungThe Erding AfD association in Bavaria banned reporters of daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung from all events.

12 May 2018

Journalists reporting on road traffic accident threatened by firefighters

At the scene of a road traffic accident in the Mecklenburg lake district firefighters abused and threatened a newspaper reporter and a television reporter.

8 May 2018

AfD prohibits journalist from asking questions at press conference

The Brandenburg faction of the populist party AfD refused to accept any questions at its press conference from Michael Saubier, a reporter for the national tabloid BILD and regional daily BZ (Berliner Tageszeitung)

Hungary

22 April 2018

News article about an opposition protest removed from local website

A news article about an opposition protest in Debrecen published on Saturday 22 April disappeared from the Hajdú Online local news website.

Italy

15 May 2018

Neo-fascists target journalist with smearing message

A neo-fascist group hung a banner calling out a reporter’s name on a highway overpass near Varese, Northern Italy

6 May 2018

Sports journalist dragged from live broadcast by football supporters

A popular local TV reporter was dragged off screen and threatened by Napoli football supporters during a live broadcast

23 April 2018

Journalist sentenced to four months in jail for “trespassing”

Davide Falcioni

Davide Falcioni

Davide Falcioni, journalist and collaborator of Fanpage, has been declared guilty of “participation in trespassing” and sentenced to four months in jail by the Tribunal of Turin.

23 April 2018

Attempted assault against photojournalist in Lecce

Freelance photojournalist Toti Bello was faced an attempted assault while taking pictures documenting firefighters at work trying to put out an apartment fire in Lecce

21 April 2018

Stone thrown at car of news crew while reporting on mafia

The car of TV journalist Giammarco Sicuro and his crew was struck by a large stone, thrown from behind a bush onto the windshield as they were filming the villas of the ‘ndrangheta bosses, which were confiscated in the ‘Edilpiovra’ trial.

Resource

OSSIGENO per l’informazione

OSSIGENO per l’informazione is an observatory monitoring threatened journalists and news overshadowed by violence in Italy. The Observatory was launched in 2008 by FNSI, (National Federation of the Italian Press, the single journalists’ union) and the Ordine Nazionale dei Giornalisti (the Italian order of the journalists), together with the non-profit organisations in defence of press freedom Libera Informazione, Unione Nazionale Cronisti Italiani and Articolo 21.

Poland

6 May 2018

Photojournalist arrested by the police while covering nationalist march

Dawid Chalimoniuk, a photojournalist for the national daily Gazeta Wyborcza in Katowice was arrested by police while taking photos of the Silesian Insurgents’ March organised by nationalists.

Romania

Doina Gradea, general manager of Romania's TVR
Doina Gradea, general manager of Romania's TVR

3 May 2018

Management of public broadcaster insult and pressure critical journalists

Dragoş Pătraru, the anchorman of the Starea Naţiei show aired by Romanian public broadcaster (TVR), published a series of recordings showing members of the broadcaster’s management insulting journalists of the news department who report critically on the government.

Slovakia

Pavla Holcova
Pavla Holcova

15 May 2018

Police seize journalist’s phone

Slovakia’s National Crime Agency seized a mobile phone belonging to investigative reporter Pavla Holcova who works for the Czech Center for Investigative Reporting

Related Case 

Slovak investigative journalist killed at home

26 February, 2018 – Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak was shot dead at his home. According to the Dennik N, the murder took place in the journalist’s house in the village of Veľká Mača 5 km east of the capital Bratislava, some time between February 22 and 25. Kuciak was shot in the chest and his fiancée was shot in the head. Kuciak worked for Slovak news website Aktuality.sk.

Non-EU Countries

Belarus

Pavel Mazheyka
Pavel Mazheyka

14 May 2018

Belsat TV host fined for working without accreditation

The Hrodna court sentenced Pavel Mazheyka, host of Belsat TV program Intermarium, to a fine of 857 Belarusian rubles (359 euros)

12 May 2018

Police search blogger’s apartment

The police in Brest searched the apartment of prominent video blogger Siarhei Piatrukhin

10 May 2018

Freelance journalist Ales Liauchuk fined in Brest

The Maskouski district court of the city of Brest found freelancer Ales Liauchuk guilty under Article 22.9 of the Code of Administrative Offences and fined him 612.5 Belarusian rubles (256 euros)

Russia

17 May 2018

Host of Navalny Live channel detained after covering opposition protest

Elena Mikhalkovskaya, TV host of Youtube channel Navalny Live was detained near her house in Moscow

15 May 2018

Journalists may be targeted by new criminal code amendments

Russia’s State Duma unanimously approved in the first reading proposed amendments to the Criminal Code (Article 284.2), that would criminalise “the provision of recommendations and transfer of information that has lead or might have led to the introduction’ of international sanctions. Harlem Désir, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, criticised the proposed legislation warning it will introduce arbitrary restrictions, self-censorship, and will have a negative impact on the work of Russian journalists.

11 May 2018

German journalist and anti-doping expert denied entry to Russia for World Cup

Hajo Seppelt

Hajo Seppelt

Russia has declared journalist and anti-doping expert Hajo Seppelt of German public broadcaster ARD an “undesirable person” and revoked his visa to travel to Russia to report on the football World Cup. On 16 May, Russia reversed the decision and granted Seppelt a visa.

10 May 2018

Russia/Россия: 78 TV reporter assaulted in Saint Petersburg

Alexey Chechyotkin, author of the programme Gorodovoy aired by local 78 TV channel, was physically assaulted on the square in front of Moskovsky railway station in Saint Petersburg.

Turkey

Kemal Sancılı
Kemal Sancılı

11 May 2018

Turkey: Publisher of shut down paper Özgür Gündem jailed

A Turkish court jailed Kemal Sancılı, the owner of the publishing rights of the shut down pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem.

11 May 2018

Turkey: Former Özgür Gündem managing editor Reyhan Çapan sent to jail

Reyhan Çapan, the former managing editor of the shuttered pro-Kurdish Özgür Gündem newspaper was taken into custody on 10 May in Hopa, a district of the Black Sea city of Artvin, on grounds of an arrest warrant.

15 April

Evrensel reporter Cansu Pişkin faces investigation over news story on arrested students

Cansu Pişkin, reporter at daily newspaper Evrensel, is facing a criminal investigation for a news report concerning the prosecutor appointed to investigate the Boğaziçi University students who have been jailed over staging an anti-war demonstration.

Ukraine

Kirill Vyshynsky
Kirill Vyshynsky

15 May 2018

Ukraine/Україна: Security Service search RIA Novosti offices and detain journalist

The Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) searched the office of Russian state news agency RIA Novosti Ukraine in Kyiv and detained its journalist Kirill Vyshynsky

Reports by Country

These searches show all reports related to the specific country between 24 May 2014 and the present. To specify a date range, enter your start and end date in the Sort and Filter functionality. Links will open in a new tab.

Albania | Austria | Azerbaijan | Belarus | Belgium | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bulgaria | Croatia | Cyprus | Czech Republic |
Denmark | Estonia | Finland | France | Germany | Greece | Hungary | Iceland | Ireland | Italy | Kosovo | Latvia | Lithuania | Luxembourg | North Macedonia | Malta | Montenegro | Netherlands | Norway | Poland | Portugal | Romania | Russia | Serbia | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | Switzerland | Turkey | Ukraine | United Kingdom | Vatican

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