14/09/2017: MONTENEGRO – SAFETY OF JOURNALISTS MUST BE PUT FIRST, SEEMO REMINDS MONTENEGRIN AUTHORITIES

Vienna, 14/09/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed criticism after authorities in Montenegro failed to react properly following the death threats received by journalist Vladimir Otasevic (Vladimir Otašević).

The journalist claims that during a phone call with a brother of a high level Montenegrin politician, on Monday, 11 September, he received threats. According to Otasevic, while he was trying to obtain a phone number the brother of the politician verbally threatened him by referring to the 2004 death of editor-in-chief and founder of daily Dan Dusko Jovanovic (Duško Jovanović). After the brother of the politician subsequently denied these charges, daily Dan released an audio of the conversation and threats.

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, 10/09/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was troubled to learn that after being released from prison on 7 September, Kazakh critical journalist Zhanbolat Mamay (Жанболат Мамай) received a sentence which bans him from working as a journalist for a period of three years. Mamay works as editor for the “Tribuna ” (Трибуна – Саяси калам).

Mamay was arrested on 10 February 2017 on charges of alleged embezzlement of funds for Mukhtar Ablyazov (Мухтар Аблязов), a government opponent now living in exile. Despite having no real evidence of laundering funds, a court in Almaty sentenced him. The Kazakhstani authorities have labeled him a “member of Mukhtar Ablyazov’s criminal organisation”. The seven months he spent in prison before being released will be deducted from the three year ban. Mamay is the editor of opposition paper Tribuna/Sayasi Kalam, which is suspected to be the actual reason for the trumped up charges against him. The newspaper was one of the last remaining media outlets still critical of the regime. It was forced to close after Mamay’s arrest.

“We are deeply concerned for the state of press freedom and human rights in Kazakhstan” Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General said today. “Not only is a restriction of this sort foolish and unacceptable, it also shows how dire the media situation is in the country. We call on authorities to revoke their sentence and allow Zhanbolat Mamay to work freely, now that he is free again at last” Vujovic added.

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

Vienna, 09/09/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed deep concern after it was revealed that staff of Subotica-based web portal Maglocistac (Magločistač) received explicit death threats.

An article published by the independent portal on 4 September titled “We are all Gosa workers, and all the rulers of Labans” reported about alleged death threats made by the Mayor of Subotica to one of his party colleagues. Afterwards, several individuals posted comments under the article on the portal’s Facebook page, stating that they should “be slaughtered like rabbits” and that their “tonsils will be crushed under boots”.

SEEMO condemns the vile hate speech expressed by these individuals and calls on authorities in Serbia to protect the safety and wellbeing of Maglocistac’s staff from the death threats they have received. The perpetrators must be penalized according to law in order to clearly show that free speech and human rights in Serbia are protected.

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, 05/09/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed deep concern after learning that the government of Azerbaijan is pressing charges against two French journalists on the grounds of defamation after they called the country a “dictatorship”.

Investigative journalist and TV host Elise Lucet (Élise Lucet) and journalist film-maker Laurent Richard are set to appear in a Paris court in the suburb of Nanterre today, 5 September. Elise Lucet called Azerbaijan “one of the world’s harshest dictatorships” in a program broadcast on the France 2 television network in September 2015, while Laurent Richard referred to the state as a dictatorship during a radio interview with France Info, following his May 2014 arrest during a reporting trip in Baku.

At the time, both journalists were working on a program for France 2 TV called Cash Investigation about the background of the official visit made by then-president Francois Hollande (François Hollande) to the former Soviet republic in 2014.

“SEEMO urges authorities in France to cease any further persecution of these journalists” Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General said today. “It is utterly unacceptable for a country that seemingly protects and respects freedom of speech to comply with the demands of another country who has done something as deplorable as filing charges of defamation against individuals as a government. We ask authorities in Azerbaijan to revoke these charges and allow both local and international journalists to work and speak freely, which is their right. No attempts of imposing sanctions, legislative intimidation or censorship to free speech can be tolerated” Vujovic added.

SEEMO is a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South, East and Central EuropeVienna, 5 September 2017 – The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed deep concern after learning that the government of Azerbaijan is pressing charges against two French journalists on the grounds of defamation after they called the country a “dictatorship”.

Investigative journalist and TV host Elise Lucet (Élise Lucet) and journalist film-maker Laurent Richard are set to appear in a Paris court in the suburb of Nanterre today, 5 September. Elise Lucet called Azerbaijan “one of the world’s harshest dictatorships” in a program broadcast on the France 2 television network in September 2015, while Laurent Richard referred to the state as a dictatorship during a radio interview with France Info, following his May 2014 arrest during a reporting trip in Baku.

At the time, both journalists were working on a program for France 2 TV called Cash Investigation about the background of the official visit made by then-president Francois Hollande (François Hollande) to the former Soviet republic in 2014.

“SEEMO urges authorities in France to cease any further persecution of these journalists” Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General said today. “It is utterly unacceptable for a country that seemingly protects and respects freedom of speech to comply with the demands of another country who has done something as deplorable as filing charges of defamation against individuals as a government. We ask authorities in Azerbaijan to revoke these charges and allow both local and international journalists to work and speak freely, which is their right. No attempts of imposing sanctions, legislative intimidation or censorship to free speech can be tolerated” Vujovic added.

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

Vienna, 04/09/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed condemnation after members of a far-right political party burned an issue of a Serbian publication in Zagreb, Croatia.

On 2 September, Autochthonous Croatian Party of Right (A-HSP) members gathered in Zagreb to protest the potential removal of a controversial memorial plaque with a fascist (Ustasa) slogan ‘Za dom spremni’ (‘Ready for the Home(land)’) which was installed by Croatian war veterans (veterans from the war in Former Yugoslavia 1991-1995) and right-wing politicians in Jasenovac. The plaque commemorates 11 fighters who died during the 1990s war. Jasenovac was a concentration camp in the World War II.

The president of this party, Drazen Keleminec (Dražen Keleminec), symbolically set a copy of the newspaper Novosti on fire. Novosti is a weekly issued by the Serb National Council (SNV), the coordinator of Serb national minority councils in Croatia.

“SEEMO deeply condemns the behavior of A-HSP representatives and calls on authorities in Croatia to show a more legitimate reaction in light of this nationalist and hatred enticing incident” Oliver Vujovic SEEMO Secretary General said today. “It is unacceptable for any political party in the country to express such a volatile attitude and not even be truly condemned by the government, which shows that Croatia still has a long way to go, and needs to pursue democratic standards, instead of remaining quiet in the face of open hate speech” Vujovic added.

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, 03/09/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed support for the ongoing investigation into the case of Nedim Sejdinovic (Nedim Sejdinović), president of the Independent Journalists Society of Vojvodina.

<p>During their investigation, police identified and charged a 21 year-old man from Bosnia and Herzegovina for anonymously sending death threats to Sejdinovic on Facebook.

Sejdinovic stated that this was the “first sign of life” in the case, given that police forces actually managed to identify and charge the perpetrator, in contrast to several times in the past when he and his colleague had been targets of similar threats and were not protected at all.

SEEMO thanks police forces in Serbia for locating the person responsible for these death threats, but agrees with Sejdinovic that a lot more has to be done for the protection and safety of journalists in the country, especially when they are often the target of hate speech and death threats.

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, 02/09/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed disapproval after it was revealed that 10 social media users were sent to prison in Turkey on charges of “having membership in a terrorist organization” and “disseminating terrorist propaganda”.</p>

On 24 August, Turkish police forces conducted 20 simultaneous raids in 13 districts of Istanbul, detaining a total of 10 Kurdish individuals. They were put in pre-trial detention and accused of “making propaganda” on social media, on the behalf of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

SEEMO expressed aversion for the decisions and actions of Turkish authorities, and called on them to release these individuals. Once again, these are accusations and charges that state institutions commonly use when persecuting individuals for no reason other than a differing or critical opinion expressed publicly or online. Freedom of speech and thought must be introduced to Turkish authorities, and they must begin adopting and respecting them.

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, 30/08/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed concern and criticism for the actions of Ukrainian authorities and their practice of expelling foreign journalists.

On 30 August, the Russian Pervy Kanal (Channel One) reported that journalist Anna Kurbatova had been kidnapped in the center of Kiev by unknown persons who pushed her into a vehicle and took her away. It was soon revealed that Kurbatova was taken by members of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). She was then expelled from the country for “disgracing Ukraine”. The Channel One journalist is now banned from entering the country for the period of three years.

Spanish journalists Antonio Pampliega and Manuel Angel Sastre were barred from entering Ukraine on 25 August at Kiev’s airport Zhuliany . The two were detained for 20 hours before being forbidden from entering “due to their activity that is contrary to the interests of Ukraine”. Pampliega and Sastre were accused of reportedly producing stories alleging that Ukrainian troops had shelled civilian areas, a claim which Ukraine states is untrue.

On 14 August, special correspondent for the Russian state broadcaster VGTRK Tamara Nerseyan was detained in Kiev. According to the journalist, she was taken to the SBU headquarters and interrogated for three hours. Nerseyan was then told she was being expelled from Ukraine and banned from the country for three years because of her reporting which security officials told her “inflamed the conflicts in eastern Ukraine”.

“SEEMO harshly condemns all steps against freedom of reporting by Ukrainian authorities. Expelling journalists from the country or denying them entry to Ukraine are against freedom of movement and freedom of speech” SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic stated today. “It is unacceptable for a country to deem any reporting coming from outside. Deportation of journalists from a country restricts freedom of the press and is not acceptable. We call on the Ukrainian state authorities, including Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) and all other institutions involved in journalist expulsion to revert their decisions and allow media workers, local and international, to perform their work freely” Vujovic added.

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

Vienna, 26/08/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed their distress after learning that authorities in Azerbaijan arrested Mehman Aliyev (no relation to Ilham Aliyev, president of the country), editor-in-chief of the independent news agency Turan, which is also currently undergoing legal scrutiny. The news agency Turan was founded in 1990.

The agency is accused of tax fraud and was put under investigation by the Department of Preliminary Investigation of Tax Crimes, along with an imposed financial fine that totals to more than 37,000 AZN (approx. 22,900 EUR). According to the state officials, Aliyev is responsible for the agency’s failure to register 148,310 AZN in grants that it received between 2010 to 2014, and for its failure to pay 60,080 AZN tax between 2010 to 2016.

Aliyev had fully cooperated with the investigation and tax-authorites. Aliyev was vocal in expressing his opinion that practically all media outlets and advertisement sources in Azerbaijan are under strict governmental control and that because of these pressures Turan has basically been profitless for the past several years, rendering the tax fraud charges senseless.

State authorities raided the Turan office on 16 August. On 23 August Aliyev was invited into the state tax department and Aliyev went with his lawyer voluntarily to the tax authorities. On 25 August, 2017, Aliyev was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention by a court in Baku for a period of 3 months. During this time he will be investigated on charges of tax evasion, abuse of office, and illegal business activity. If convicted, Aliyev could face a seven-year prison sentence.

“SEEMO deeply deplores the actions of institutions in Azerbaijan against Aliyev, news agency Turan and free press in general” Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General stated. “This type of ceaseless abuse and violation of human rights and press freedom is absurd. We urge the state authorities to release Aliyev and allow his agency to work freely. Governmental pressure put upon independent media outlets is the first and biggest indicator of a detrimental state of democracy and society” Vujovic added.

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

Vienna, 26/08/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed concern after it was revealed on 25 August that the Turkish Council of Ministers adopted two new statutory decrees (693 and 694) as part of the State of Emergency (OHAL).

Three media outlets, including the only remaining Kurdish-language daily in Turkey, were accused of being “engaged in activities against security of the country” and were subsequently closed. Rojeva Medya, along with the Sujin women’s news portal and DICLE Media News Agency, were shut down and all assets previously belonging to the closed media outlets will be taken by the Treasury.

Along with the closure of three outlets, 928 civil servants, which included 128 academics, were discharged according to the statutory decree no. 693.

SEEMO expressed deep concern following these new steps which further limit media freedom and press rights in Turkey.

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.