05/12/2014: BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – SEEMO SHOWS SUPPORT FOR BOSNIAN JOURNALISTS WORKING UNDER PRESSURE

Vienna, 05/12/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East and Central Europe, stated its concern with recent media freedom developments in Bosnia.

On 15 November 2014 Bosnian news portal Klix.ba published a conversation made by Zeljka Cvijanovic, the current Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, about allegedly bribing members of the National Assembly. On 1 December the editor in chief and the owner of the portal were called for questioning. The reason was said to be the criminal offense they committed of publishing a secretly recorded phone call. The possible sentence for this crime is up to a year in incarceration.

On 3 December editor Jasmin Hadziahmetovic and owner Dario Simic went from Sarajevo to Banja Luka to attend the questioning. They were pressured to reveal their sources and expose how they acquired the tape in question.

“Freedom to publish information of public interest and free speech, without fear of censorship or pressure are key for the journalistic profession” SEEMO Secretary General, Oliver Vujovic has said.

Vienna, 04/12/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is concerned after learning the details of recent creation of a government body, whose purpose will be to control media outlets and information in Ukraine.

On 2 December 2014 the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a proposal for the creation of a separate body, named the Ministry of Information Policy. It’s supposed main aim will be to confront propaganda coming from Russian media. The heads of authority chosen for this new institution are said to be close with President Petro Poroshenko.

“SEEMO members were disturbed to hear about the latest developments in Ukraine. This imposes a serious threat for media freedom and freedom of speech in the country” SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said.

Vienna, 02/12/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was alarmed to learn about the recent developments in Serbia, regarding threats and pressures made towards journalists and their media outlets.

Correspondent of the national public broadcaster RTS from the city of Nis, Dragana Sotirovski, has been the target of threats and hate speech by the management of the Sokobanja hospital since November 2013, due to the series of reports about illegal activities conducted by the hospital’s establishment that she has been investigating. Sotirovski was labelled as „persona non grata“ in the hospital premises, and has received threats.

SEEMO was also appalled to hear about the behavior of the president of the Municipality of Grocka towards the informative portal „Nasa Grocka“ and its editor in chief, Zeljko Matorcevic. The president of the Municipality allegedly told Matorcevic that he is prohibited from attending the sessions of the local Parliament, and that he would be fined in case of disobedience.

„Threats, pressure, attacks and censorship cannot be a behavior towards journalists”, said Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO secretary general.

Vienna, 30/11/2014

Rights of media workers and journalists have been at an all-time low, while propaganda and tabloidization of the media seem to be spreading more each day, the latest semi-annual OSCE report on media freedom development concludes.

Media safety and the protection of journalists have been seriously deteriorating, and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) has followed closely all occurrences of media violation. The number of verbal and physical attacks on journalists has been on a rise, and SEEMO is extending its full support to OSCE and other organisations that protect human rights and media freedom.

“The South East Europe region has experienced a growing number of media freedom violations in various countries, which SEEMO has protested against. We call on authorities of these countries to work on existing issues, solve cases and protect journalists and their profession. This is of utmost importance both for human rights, media freedom, as well as democracy” SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic stated.

Vienna, 27/11/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is concerned to learn about the recent country-wide media ban developments in Turkey. On Wednesday, the Turkish media regulator issued a ban on the coverage of a parliamentary commission probing corruption allegations against four ex-ministers: former Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdogan Bayraktar, Interior Minister Muammer Guler, and former Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis.

The Supreme Board of Radio and Television in Turkey has forbidden any reports on the progress of the court case to be published until it is finished on December 27th, a move the opposition says is shielding corruption.

Penalties will be imposed on media outlets that disobey this order, and some opposition papers have already stated that they will not respect this restriction. The decision is justified by the statement that by allowing journalists to report on the case, confidentiality and individual rights will be violated.

Vienna, 13/11/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was alarmed to find out that Romanian journalist Stefan Mako experienced alleged harassment by state officers. The journalist was taken into custody after filming Romanian police officers while they were arresting another person. He was told to stop filming, but since he continued to, he was arrested and taken in for questioning by the police.

The journalist was threatened and beaten several times during his detainment, and the video material was erased from his phone before he was released.

“It is very disturbing to hear that a journalist simply doing his job can be treated so harshly and for no reason. I call on Romanian authorities to investigate the case as soon as possible” SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovc said about the incident.

Vienna, 12/11/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) was concerned to learn that the Croatian Minister of Health Sinisa Varga allegedly made discriminating accusations against some Croatian journalists.

While making a guest appearance on a TV channel N1 show, Minister Varga was asked to comment on claims regarding his conflict of interest, mentioned in several articles and investigative stories.

He not only disregarded the statements, but also added that there are „enough indicators“ to safely say that a group of journalists are motivated to write critically because of bribes they receive.

SEEMO strongly condemns this type of pressure made on the media, and is reminding political representatives and authorities to be cautious in their choice of words. „Statements like these cause harm to the society and the media scene, they endanger journalists, and they put a tremendous amount of self-censorship pressure upon them.“ SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said.

Vienna, 07/11/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East and Central Europe, is expressing its deep concern regarding the case of the Macedonian journalist Tomislav Kezarovski.

Kezarovski was first detained in May 2013, regarding investigative articles he wrote five years earlier for the magazine Reporter 92. Two articles were published in November- December 2008. Being accused of revealing the identity of a protected witness, he was sentenced in November 2013 to 4,5 years in prison. He is currently held under house arrest.

The court ignored the fact that Kezarovski disclosed only the name, but not the surname of the protected witness, with which the exact identity could not be revealed. Additional, the journalist had an obligation to inform the public that the police had a false protected witness in a murder case. The witness admitted that he was blackmailed by the police in order to become a protected witness.

On 24 October 2014 the Appeal Court in Skopje had a session regarding Kezarovski case, but so far did not conclude weather the appeal will be accepted or not so.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic stated that the organisation and its members are giving their full support to Kezarovski and other journalists in similar situations all over the region. „The treatment and trial against Tomislav Kezarovski have been a source of deep concerns to us for some time now. It is necessary that journalists and media outlets become safe from these types of pressures and attempts at censorship.

The verdict that Kezarovski is facing is a serious threat to media freedom, free expression and basic human rights. I call on Macedonian authorities and institutions to drop all charges against this journalist, and prove that they are really working on creating a democratic atmosphere for professional, independent and investigative journalism.“ Vujovic added.

Vienna, 07/11/2014

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is deeply concerned to hear about the recent negative developments regarding media freedom in Greece. The headquarters of Athens Voice, a weekly, have been the victim of an arson attack on 6 November 2014.

Apparently, the office was broken into, doused with flammable liquids and set on fire. No one was injured in the fire that ocurred in the city center.

Following these events, a Greek anarchist group issued a statemenet in which they took full responsibility for the crime. The group named “Black Sundays-Red Nights. Anarchist Group of Anti-Capitalist Action” stated they caused the fire to point out the long working hours, small wages, self-censorship and overall difficult situation employees of such media outlets are facing.

SEEMO and its members fully support the staff of Athens Voice and all other media that are facing threats from anarchistic or other sources. Security and protection of media freedom must be guaranteed, especially in a country with a long democratic history such as Greece. Greek authorities must set out an example and prevent further human rights violations and threats

Vienna, 28/10/2014

Local reports said that a man entered the newsroom of the headquarters of private broadcaster Klan Kosova in Pristina and repeatedly stabbed Hasimja in the head and neck as the journalist sat at his desk.

Hasimja, who suffered at least four wounds, was hospitalised and is said to be in stable condition. Other employees reportedly intervened to stop the attack and the perpetrator was apprehended immediately. The suspected motive for the attack was retaliation for a feature that Hasimja made about the attacker that left the man upset.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic today expressed SEEMO’s full support for Hasimja and Klan Kosova.

“SEEMO members are appalled after learning about what happened,” Vujovic said. “Attacks such as this are a serious violation of press freedom and cannot be tolerated in the slightest. We are glad to hear that the person responsible was immediately arrested and we expect that he will be prosecuted as soon as possible. In the meantime, we wish Mr. Hasimja a speedy recovery.

“Such attacks violate media freedom rights and represent a major setback for democracy. This is an attempted murder case and I am shocked that it happened. Everything possible must be done to prevent something like this from happening again and both media outlets and society have to take more care to protect the safety of journalists.”

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