01/02/2018: POLAND – SEEMO CALLS ON POLISH AUTHORITIES TO REVOKE PROBLEMATIC NEW LAW

Vienna, 01/02/2018

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was concerned to find out that a new bill can seriously affect and threaten freedom of speech.

The draft legislation for this law would criminalize statements about certain historical events and set financial fines or a maximum three year jail term for any person claiming that the Nazi death camps were “Polish” or accuses the country of being complicit. Any implications regarding the Holocaust or denial of the crimes against the Polish nation done by the Ukrainian nationalists during the Volyn massacre in World War II would be punishable by law.

The ruling party (PiS) has stated that this law is “necessary to protect Poland´s international reputation”, and president Andrzej Duda, who backs it, now has 21 days to sign the law.

“We have serious concerns that this law is a direct step towards censorship, weakening of free speech and academic and historical discourses” Oliver Vujovic SEEMO Secretary General stated. “

SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South, East and Central Europe and its press freedom work is supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) project, as part of a grant by the European Commission.

Vienna, 27/01/2018

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed deep condemnation for the decision of the Court of the Central District in Sochi for its sentence against blogger Aleksandr Valov.

Valov, who is the founder and editor-in-chief of the local independent website BlogSochi, was arrested on 19 January and was charged with “blackmailing” the State Duma’s deputy, Yuri Napso, two days later.

Valov ran a live stream of his arrest, narrating while police members broke his door down, cut off the electricity and beat him. They also seized his computer, documents and money during the brutal arrest. He was charged with 300,000 Russian rubles (approx. 4,300 EUR) from the city´s federal parliamentary deputy. Valov pled not guilty and stated that his detention was politically motivated.

The blogger’s arrest came after BlogSochi published a report.

Valov faces up to seven years in prison if found guilty of his charges.

SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South, East and Central Europe.

Vienna, 27/01/2018

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemns all threats against Dragan Janjic (Dragan Janjić), editor in chief of news agency BETA.

Janjic, who is also the vice-president of the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS), has been receiving threats since 16 January, when he expressed a personal opinion on his Twitter profile.

During a press conference held after the murder of Serb Kosovo politician Oliver Ivanovic, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic explicitly mentioned and then criticized Janjic, after which a hate speech and threat campaign against Janjic began.

Over Facebook and other social media Janjic was insulted, threatened with physical violence and eventually received death threats. Some of the Facebook users stated that he should be “ shot in the forehead” and “hung in the town square”, followed by inquiries about his address of residence.

SEEMO deeply condemns this campaignes aganist a journalist in Serbia and ask that Dragan Janjic receives immediate police protection until the persons who have called for his murder and attacks are found and penalized.

SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South, East and Central Europe and its press freedom work is supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) project, as part of a grant by the European Commission.

Vienna, 23/01/2018

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was deeply concerned to learn that the offices of Northern Cypriot daily Afrika were broken into by a mob in the morning hours of 22 January.

Stones and eggs were thrown at the daily’s headquarters, breaking the windows, and those inside were barricaded in to prevent demonstrators from entering the newspaper by force. Some 200-300 people gathered in front of the daily carrying Turkish flags, after an article titled “Peace Operation to Cyprus, Olive Branch Operation to Syria” was published. In this article, the newspaper Afrika called Turkey’s current offensive against Kurdish-held Syrian enclave Afrin “another Turkish occupation” and compared it to Northern Cyprus. On 21 January, one day after it was published, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Recep Tayyip Erdoğan) criticized it, calling the article “immoral and shameless” and “asking his brothers in north Cyprus to respond” to the daily.

Following the riot police dispersing the crowd, the demonstrators reassembled at the Turkish Cypriot parliament, where several individuals managed to climb onto the building to wave Turkish and Turkish nationalist flags.

“SEEMO is greatly concerned for the safety of journalist working for Afrika daily in Northern Cyprus” Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General said today.

SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South, East and Central Europe and its press freedom work is supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) project, as part of a grant by the European Commission.

Vienna, 20/01/2018

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) supports fellow organisations that have expressed concern over the lack of progress in the murder investigation of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The journalist was murdered on 16 October of last year, meters away from her home. At the time, authorities announced the arrests of three individuals in connection to her murder; however more than three months later, there are no indications that the persons who planned, committed and ordered the gruesome act have been identified or jailed.

SEEMO expressed deep disappointment for the apparent lack of progress and, seemingly, a lack of willingness by authorities in the country to resolve this case. The brutal murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was a dangerous reminder for not only Malta, but countries throughout the region where journalists face working conditions that can unfortunately lead to their death. Institutions in the country must do more to resolve this case and bring closure to her family, as well as media workers and press.

SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South, East and Central Europe and its press freedom work is supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) project, as part of a grant by the European Commission.

Vienna, 17/01/2018

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was disturbed to learn that five journalists were sentenced to prison in Turkey yesterday on charges of disseminating “terrorist propaganda”.

Journalists Ragıp Duran, Huseyin Aykol (Hüseyin Aykol), Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Ayse Duzkan (Ayşe Düzkan) and writer Huseyin Bektas (Hüseyin Bektaş) were sentenced to prison because of their involvement in a solidarity campaign following the closure of pro-Kurd daily Ozgur Gundem (Özgür Gündem). A court in Istanbul sentenced four of them to 18-month sentences, while the paper’s editor-in-chief Huseyin Akyol was sentenced to three years and nine months due to the court’s observation of his complete “lack of remorse” during trial.

All media workers were accused and sentenced under charges of participating in “terrorist propaganda” by supporting the outlawed Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK).

“We deeply condemn the decision of the court, and call on institutions in Turkey to cease their practice of continuously jailing media workers and free thinkers” Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General, stated today. “

SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South, East and Central Europe and its press freedom work is supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) project, as part of a grant by the European Commission.

Vienna, 13/01/2018

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemned the actions of a Serbian politician and member of the government who sued the investigative journalism network KRIK.

The politican decided to sue KRIK for revealing information alleging he owns offshore companies and assets with the estimated worth of 100 million USD.

Krik reported these findings based on information revealed in the Paradise Papers, after a data leak from a law firm based in Bermuda.

SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South, East and Central Europe and its press freedom work is supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) project, as part of a grant by the European Commission.

Vienna, 10/01/2018

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) voiced deep concern after human rights activist Oyub Titiev was arrested yesterday morning on alleged drug charges.

Framing individuals with drug possession has become an increasingly common practice by Chechen authorities, when they need to discredit or silence critics of the current political establishment.

Oyub Titiev, the office director of the Memorial Human Rights Centre in the southern Russian republic, was arrested on Tuesday 9 January in the morning after police allegedly found marijuana wrapped in a plastic bag in his car. He was taken into custody and to Kurchaloi, a town 30 miles from the capital Grozny.

Titiev has received numerous death threats and censorship attempts during the last several years, mostly because of his criticism of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Sources say his life and safety are now in jeopardy, especially given that institutions in the country often practice torture, disappearances and other forms of violence against human rights activists and critics of the regime. SEEMO calls on authorities to release Titiev and all other media workers, critics and human rights activists that are jailed under the same or similar charges in Chechnya.