13/06/2017: ALBANIA – SEEMO CRITICAL OF ALBANIAN PUBLIC OFFICIALS SILENCING JOURNALISTS THROUGH LAWSUITS

13/06/2017: ALBANIA – SEEMO CRITICAL OF ALBANIAN PUBLIC OFFICIALS SILENCING JOURNALISTS THROUGH LAWSUITS

June 13, 2017 • • disabled comments

Vienna, 13/06/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was dismayed to learn that a judge and member of the High Council of Justice in Albania pressed defamation charges against several journalists and two media outlets in the country.

A judge within Tirana’s Appeals Court, filed charges after various media outlets reported on a recent probe of his assets, launched by a prosecutor. Charges were made against the investigative network BIRN Albanian (Balkan Investigative Reporting Network), daily Shqiptarja.com, as well as journalists Besar Likmeta and Aleksandra Bogdani.

Limeta and Bogdani are internatiional known for professional reporting.

The entirety of the financial fine sums up to around 82,000 EUR. Journalists fear that because of the judge position within the Albanian legal system and his political relationships, they stand little to no chance of proving their innocence.

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.

12/06/2017: RUSSIA – SEEMO

June 12, 2017 • • disabled comments

Vienna, 12/06/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed concern after approximately 300 protesters were detained in Russia on 12 June while attending rallies against corruption.

Among them was activist and correspondent Andrey Kalikh, who wrote that he was being held in a police bus with “40 other peaceful demonstrators”. Kalikh was detained in St. Petersburg, while tens of thousands of people have been attending the demonstrations throughout the country.

“We ask authorities in Russia to treat citizens, activists and journalists fairly” Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General commented on the developments.

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

 

09/06/2017: KYRGYZSTAN – SEEMO CONDEMNS PRESSURE AGAINST INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST IN KYRGYZSTAN

June 9, 2017 • • disabled comments

Vienna, 09/06/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemned the legislative pressure exerted by Kyrgyz authorities against journalist Ulugbek Babakulov.

In late May, Babakulov wrote an article that examined social media posts in the Kyrgyz language, which often use ethnic slurs and threats against the country’s Uzbek minority. Since then, the journalist has been receiving death threats and pressure. He ultimately has been charged by authorities for “inciting inter-ethnic hatred”. The media outlet that posted Babakulov’s article is Fergana, a regional media portal based in Moscow, which the government of Kyrgyzstan blocked all access to today.

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

06/06/2017: KAZAKHSTAN – SEEMO URGES AUTHORITIES IN KAZAKHSTAN TO CEASE RETALIATION AGAINST CIVIL SOCIETY

June 6, 2017 • • disabled comments

Vienna, 06/06/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed deep criticism after it was revealed that an appellate court in the city of Almaty issued a large financial fine against the International Legal Initiative, a well known legal society organization facing pressures in the country.

In 2016, the government began targeting several prominent human rights NGOs based in Almaty after they had been engaged during the trials of local political and human rights activists. The pressure experienced by the organizations included snap tax inspections, which forced the organizations to pay fines of several thousand dollars.

This most recent fine against an NGO came on 21 June and generated a strong outcry from the international community.

SEEMO members condemn the treatment of activists and civil society groups in Kazakhstan, and call on institutions in the country to cease their baseless legislative pursuit against them.

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

04/06/2017: TURKEY – SEEMO ASKS FOR RELEASE OF JOURNALISTS IN TURKEY

June 4, 2017 • • disabled comments

Vienna, 04/06/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) called for the release of Ilker Yucel (İlker Yücel) in the province of Igdir in Turkey.

Yucel, who is the editor-in-chief of the daily Aydinlik, was arrested after the paper failed to publish a correction or pay a monetary fine (~25,000 EUR), in regards to an article written in 2014. The article supposedly insults the Turkish Energy Minister, who is also the son-in-law of the president.

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.

SEEMO Interview with Ferai Tınç, Turkey

June 3, 2017 • • disabled comments

Ferai Tınç worked for Hürriyet newspaper, one of the leading Turkish dailies, from 1982 to 2012. Tınç worked first in the foreign news department as a correspondent, then as Head of Foreign News Desk and later as Foreign News Editor.

She also worked as a foreign news columnist and senior political correspondent from 1998 to 2012. From 2000 until 2010, Tınç lectured at Marmara University on Current Foreign Political I issues, European Union and Turkey, Turkey and Middle East. She is a founding member of Turkish-Greek women’s Peace Initiative, and has worked for women’s liberation initiatives. Tınç received the Turkish Journalists Association Press Freedom Award in 2012.

SEEMO. How you see the media situation in Turkey today?
Ferai Tınç: Freedom of the press in Turkey is not an issue any more. It does not exist. Even if there are opposition newspapers, they are under strong pressure. The journalists and media outlets are facing drastic legal penalties. A large amount of mainstream media has changed hands, and most of them were bought by investors who are under the government control. The rest face political pressure.
A year ago Turkey was on top of the list of countries which have had largest number of journalists in prison. But because the government gave priority to fight against the Gulenist movement and negotiates with Kurdish PKK, secularist journalists as well pro-PKK Kurdish journalists who were imprisoned were released. Now pro-Gulenist media is under attack. But it is certainly not only them. All journalists are under scrutiny. They are sued because of what they write in their tweets. We face internet bans very often. It is ten years now that the Turkish press has been under pressure. Self-censorship throughout the years caused the loss of journalistic reflections, eroding the quality of Turkish journalism.
SEEMO. If you look back in the past 40 years – as you are a journalist with long experience – was there a period in Turkey when it was possible to work free and independent as a journalist?
Ferai Tınç: In Turkey we never enjoyed a real freedom of the press. The mainstream media, opposition newspapers or television channels included, all shared the same limited press freedom. But the critical approach to the government was never as dangerous as it is today. Then press freedom was more problematic for Kurdish and leftist media outlets.
SEEMO: How strong is the influence of politics and the state on the media in Turkey today?
Ferai Tınç: As I said, today the party in power controls and shapes the media. They have so-called journalists that function as the government’s mouthpieces. And they act together in political lynching campaigns against this or that journalist who the government targets.
SEEMO: What are the main safety issues facing journalists in Turkey?
Ferai Tınç: Journalists lost their trade unions years before this government. A media mogul in the 80s bought most of the influential mainstream newspapers and forced the journalists to leave trade unions. The safety of journalists is not secured by their media outlets. There are journalists sent to war scenes even without adequate money or helmets for protection.
SEEMO: Did you personally experience pressure during your work as journalist?
Ferai Tınç: When you work in a climate where press freedom is under pressure, you feel already limited. When your colleagues go to prison, when your boss is rebuked by the prime minister, when press freedom can be legally violated, every journalist feel the risk. But personally I also faced interventions on the editorial level, and indirect serious pressures throughout my career.
SEEMO: Why we do not have solidarity between media and journalists in Turkey?
Ferai Tınç: Solidarity is a social feeling. It is more difficult when people feel hopeless. But this is not endless, it changes.
SEEMO: Why did you choose to retire from journalism?
Ferai Tınç: When I realised that I could not exercise my profession properly, and felt that self-censorship was thickening around me, I decided to retire. It was a sudden and very painful decision for me to make. After retirement I continue on working for press freedom on a voluntary basis, and to work on a book.

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03/06/2017: AZERBAIJAN – SEEMO CALLS FOR RELEASE OF KIDNAPPED JOURNALIST

June 3, 2017 • • disabled comments

Vienna, 03/06/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was appalled to learn that journalist Afgan Mukhtarli was detained and taken to Baku, Azerbaijan, despite being in exile in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Authorities claim they do not know how the journalist crossed the border on 29 May 2017 and that an investigation is under way. In 2015, Mukhtarli, who is a longtime critic of police structures in his home country, had investigated corruption involving the current president of Azerbaijan, and had since been carefully monitored.

SEEMO supports Afgan Mukhtarli and all Azerbaijani journalists who are being harassed because of their work both in their home country and in Georgia. Mukhtarli must be immediately released and an investigation should determine how and by whom he was taken out of exile.

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

03/06/2017: SERBIA – SEEMO URGES AUTHORITIES IN SERBIA TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS AND THEIR RIGHTS

June 3, 2017 • • disabled comments

Vienna, 03/06/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) urges authorities in Serbia to take action and protect journalists and their safety, after three separate attacks on media workers occurred on 31 May.

During the inauguration of the new president of Serbia Aleksandar Vuvic in the main Parliament building in Belgrade, journalist Lidija Valtner from the daily Danas was attacked by persons “in black shirts” as she reported. Valtner was taking a statement from an anti-government protester on the street when they were approached and physically attacked. When the journalist tried to record the assault on the protester, the men threatened to take her phone.

Simmilar was the attacke when a reporter of the portal Espresso.rs was attacked. She tried to interview a anti-government protester. She was threatened with seizure of equipment and physical harm and had to cease reporting.

A journalist and photo-reporter from media outlets Insajder and Vice were attacked when they attempted to film a group of men breaking a protest sign with statements against the new president, who until recently was the prime minister. Journalists were shuffled, threatened by passersby, and had their IDs checked by members of the police.

According to the journalists the police was not checking the IDs of the individuals who attacked the journalists.

“We condemn these attacks and ask authorites in the country to begin an investigation and punish the assaulters accordingly” Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO secretary general said.

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.

01/06/2017: RUSSIA – SEEMO URGES AUTHORITIES TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS IN RUSSIA

June 1, 2017 • • disabled comments

Vienna, 01/06/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was dismayed to learn that journalist Dmitri Popkov was shot and killed in the town of Minusinsk in Russia on 24 May 2017.

Popkov was editor-in-chief and founder of Minusinsk-based newspaper Ton-M, which took a critical stance towards corruption involving local political officials and police members. The journalist himself stated that the outlet had become “an obstacle” for local authorties, who according to him had been making a practice of threatening and intimidating independent journalists. Popkov was found in his backyard, shot five times by an unknown person. An investigation was opened following his murder.

“We are shocked after hearing the news of this brutal murder” Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO secretary general stated. “We ask for an urgent investigation of the case ” Vujovic added.

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

 

28/05/2017: TURKEY – RELEASE OF DETAINED JOURNALISTS IN TURKEY CRUCIAL FOR DEMOCRACY, SEEMO STATES

May 28, 2017 • • disabled comments

Vienna, 28/05/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) harshly condemned the continuing series of arrests of local and foreign journalists in Turkey.

Mathias Depardon, an independent French photo-reporter, was detained by police authorities on 8 May in Hansankyef, in the southeast area of the country. Depardon has been living in Turkey for several years and was in the process of preparing a story for National Geographic when he was arrested. His equipment was seized and he was charged with “disseminating propaganda for a terrorist organisation” based on four photographs Depardon shared on his social media three years ago. The photos portray female fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is outlawed in Turkey.

Police authorities sent him to a Migration Department detention center in Gaziantep province, claiming that he will be deported, but despite his deportation order being issued for 11 May, his incarceration continued. On 21 May, the photographer began a hunger strike, but after a public outcry from the international community regarding his case, he ended it on 27 May.

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.