09/03/2011: MONTENEGRO – WORLD’S PRESS GROUPS ASSESS MEDIA SCENE IN EU-HOPEFUL MONTENEGRO

Vienna, 09/03/2011

Three global press organisations have agreed to assess the media landscape in Montenegro, a young democracy which hopes to join the European Union but whose candidacy has raised press freedom concerns.

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), the International Press Institute (IPI) and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) recently sent a joint delegation to the southeastern European republic to assess the threats to a free and independent press, and determine how to improve conditions in which a free press can thrive.

The delegation, which visited Montenegro from 2 to 4 March, met with publishers and editors of independent and state-owned newspapers, with government and non-governmental officials, and with representatives of the United States, German and European Union delegations to Montenegro.

“The European Union has rightly placed improving media freedom as a condition before it can begin negotiations with Montenegro for membership,” said Larry Kilman, Deputy CEO and Executive Director of Communications and
Public Affairs for WAN-IFRA, who led the delegation. “This position recognises that free press is a fundamental precondition for democratic development, and needs the full commitment of Montenegrin authorities.”

Montenegro, which became independent of Serbia in 2006, has been accused of using its criminal defamation laws and economic pressure to punish and inhibit critical reporting. There have been a number of violent attacks on the independent press as well, notably the 2004 murder of Dusko Jovanovic, publisher and editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Dan. The country has recently taken steps to repeal its criminal defamation laws.

The assessment from the global press organisations will be contained in a report to be issued by the end of March.

Vienna, 11/03/2011

Journalist Nedim Sener, one of the International Press Institute (IPI)’s World Press Freedom Heroes, has been ordered arrested by an Istanbul court as part of a controversial probe into an alleged plot to overthrow the government, IPI has learned from its Turkish National Committee.

Sener and journalist Ahmet Sik, who were detained along with other journalists following police raids on their homes and businesses Thursday, were questioned for hours by the lead prosecutor investigating the alleged Ergenekon plot before being sent to court early Sunday morning, where a judge granted a request for their arrest.

Prosecutors had demanded that the journalists face charges of “being a member of the Ergenekon organization” and “inciting hatred and animosity among the public”.

The court also ordered the arrest of five other journalists this morning in connection with the plot: Dogan Yurkardul, Coskun Musluk, Sait Cakir, Yalcin Kücük and Müyesser Yildiz.

IPI’s Turkish National Committee said prosecutors asked Sener and Sik wide-ranging questions about books they have written, their personal documents and phone calls the two had made. The prosecutor also asked Sener questions about statements he made during television programs in which he has participated.

The pair was taken to the Metris Prison in Istanbul, and Sener has since been transferred to the Silivri prison, where Sik is also expected to be taken. Journalists outside the Besiktas courthouse in central Istanbul staged an all-night protest against the detention starting Saturday when Sener and Sik were brought there for interrogation.

Protestors later blocked a road outside the courthouse with a sit-down strike upon learning of the arrests. That protest followed larger demonstrations on Friday in Ankara and Istanbul by thousands of protestors opposing the government’s detention of Sener, Sik and the other journalists detained in Thursday’s raids.

The Freedom for Journalists Platform, an umbrella group representing local and national media organizations in Turkey, including IPI’s Turkish National Committee, organized the demonstrations. The group rejected Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s calls for the media “to act responsibly” in their response to the recent raids, responding that Erdogan’s ruling party bore responsibility for creating a climate of pressure and fear in the country.

The group also said the arrests bring the number of journalists being held in connection with the Ergenekon plot to more than 60.

Turkish President Abdullah Gül said over the weekend in an interview with the newspaper Milliyet:

“I expect prosecutors and courts to be more diligent in pursuing their responsibilities and act in a way not to hurt the honor and rights of the people as well as institutions.”

Turkish authorities have accused hundreds of politicians, retired military officers, academics and journalists of participating in the alleged plot, which came to light in 2007. The government says plotters called for assassinations and attacks that would create chaos and lead to calls for the military to take power from the current government.

Sener is an author and investigative reporter for daily Milliyet. IPI named him a World Press Freedom Hero last year for his work following the release of his book linking security forces to the 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

IPI Board Member Ferai Tinc, who is also chairperson of IPI’s Turkey National Committee, said:

“The prosecutors say that Nedim Sener and Ahmet Sik have not been arrested because of their journalistic works. But both Sener and Sik have been questioned about the books they have written, about the people they have contacted and about their phone calls that have illegally been taped”.

“These questions are directly related with the work of a journalist.Therefore IPI’s Turkey National Committee considers this a direct violation of press freedom and part of a trend of intimidation targeting journalists, especially those who have critical views.”

This press release is supported by the South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate.

Vienna, 11/03/2011

The International Press Institute (IPI) renewed on 9 March 2011 its objections to Hungary’s new media law following the adoption of amendments intended to defuse criticism by the European Union.

The Hungarian Parliament voted Monday to narrow the law’s scope against foreign media reporting from Hungary, and to eliminate a requirement that on-demand services such as Internet sites and blogs provide balanced news coverage. The Parliament also threw out a requirement that news outlets register with authorities, and softened a ban on offensive content.

However, despite the changes, elements of the legislation that remain in place continue to loom large over press freedom.

Europe’s main rights and security watchdog, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said yesterday that the law still violates OSCE press freedom commitments.

“The legislation can still be misused to curb alternative and differing voices in Hungary despite modifications adopted following a request from the European Commission,” Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE representative on Freedom of the Media, commented.

“Several problems remain: The law vests unusually broad powers in the politically homogeneous Media Authority and Media Council, enabling them to control content of all media. The legislation regulates broadcast, print and online media content based on identical principles. It leaves key terms undefined. It requires all media to be registered with the Media Authority. It punishes violations with high fines. It fails to guarantee the political independence of public service media.”

IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills added: “While we welcome the fact that some changes have been made, a number of areas of concern remain, and unless they too are addressed, then the legislation still constitutes a potential threat to press freedom.”

This press release is supported by the South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate.

Vienna, 14/03/2011

The International Press Institute (IPI) and the South and East Europe Media Organisation today joined with its IPI Slovakian Committee in condemning Friday’s raid on the offices of Czech Television in Prague by military police.

Czech daily newspaper Právo reported that on 11 March 2011 masked military police carrying automatic weapons entered the station with a court order to secure a recently declassified document, and took away seven bags of documents and three computers.

IPI Vice Chairman and Slovakian Committee Board Member Pavol Múdry said Czech authorities had temporarily suspended the head of the military police following the raid, and had initiated an investigation into the raid.

He said military police had reportedly attempted to serve the court order earlier, but that Czech Television representatives declined to turn over the document or disclose their sources.

Commenting that IPI’s Slovakian Committee “wanted to support our Czech colleagues,” Múdry added: “Such conduct raises concerns about freedom of speech. One of the fundamental rights is the protection of journalists’ sources of information. Only [through such protection] can journalists control public power – including the armed forces. Slovakia IPI calls for an immediate examination procedure and for the punishment of persons responsible for this action, which borders on harassment of independent media.”

This press release is supported by the South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate.

Vienna, 18/03/2011

The South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East and Central Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), has launched an online version of the South, East and Central Europe Media Handbook. The online database www.mediahandbook.org contains an array of updated information on Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine.

The database includes the latest political and economic developments, an overview of the media landscape, media-related legislation and press freedom issues. The ERSTE Foundation is supporting the launching of the online edition of the South, East and Central Europe Media Handbook.

The print edition of the 2010 Handbook, encompassing both the information available online as well as an exhaustive list of media contacts, was published thanks to the support of the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, the Vienna-based ERSTE Foundation and the Trieste-based Central European Initiative (CEI).

The SEEMO Handbook is distributed free of charge to leading libraries, schools of journalism, universities, political groups, governments, inter-governmental organisations, NGOs and media.

An annual publication since 2003, the South, East and Central Europe Media Handbook has been the major source of regional information on media. Printed in 4,000 copies and with over 2,500 pages, the 2010 Handbook includes introductory articles by Michael Spindelegger, Austria’s Federal Minister for European and International Affairs; Gerhard Pfanzelter, Secretary General of the Central European Initiative (CEI); Boris Marte, member of the ERSTE Foundation board; and Erhard Busek, former Vice-Chancellor of Austria and Chairman of the European Forum Alpbach.

The SEEMO team is currently working on the 2011 Handbook edition, to be published in December 2011.

South, East and Central Europe Media Handbook
can be purchased by contacting smh@seemo.org.

Vienna, 25/03/2011

The South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East and Central Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI) is alarmed by the attack on daily Lajm reporter Fatos Shala by a security guard working for a supermarket in Kosovo.

Shala reported that he was taking pictures at the supermarket on 21 March 2011 for an article, when he was suddenly grabbed by a security guard and dragged across the floor. “The experience was very discomforting, since everyone at the supermarket thought I was some kind of thief” stated Shala.

Afterwards, Shala was allegedly dragged into an office where he was threatened with an iron club and told that if he did not delete the pictures he would be beaten. Fortunately, Shala did not suffer any serious physical injury but his camera was broken.

“The guard should have warned Shala beforehand, and told him that it was prohibited to take pictures within the supermarket. His actions and aggressive behaviour are completely unjustified. The security guard had no authority whatsoever to take such measures and especially not to make threats against the reporter,” stated SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic upon learning about the case.

“The security guard could have voiced his complaint through a range of different non-physical ways, which would have been legitimate. If he thought that he could not solve the problem by himself, he could have called police officers, but he should not have made threats against the journalist,” added Vujovic.

SEEMO calls on the authorities in Pristina to investigate the case, and to do whatever they can to prevent such cases from occurring in the future.

Vienna, 28/03/2011

The International Press Institute (IPI) on Friday condemned raids by Turkish police last week in search of draft copies of an unpublished book by imprisoned journalist Ahmet Sik that reportedly focuses on the influence of an alleged Islamic group within the country’s police force.

Police in Istanbul raided a printing house Wednesday in search of computer files containing the book by Sik, who was arrested earlier this month in connection with the alleged “Ergenekon” plot, and erased a digital copy.

Officers yesterday raided the headquarters of Radikal, a sister newspaper of the Hürriyet Daily News, where they seized a printed copy of the book from investigative reporter Ertugrul Mavioglu, whose opinion on the draft Sik had reportedly sought, and told Mavioglu to delete a digital copy. That raid followed a decision by a Turkish court ordering all draft copies of the book – which the court labelled an “illegal organizational document” – to be confiscated.

Turkish media quoted the court as saying that Sik’s writings “do not have the characteristics of a book,” but represent the Ergenekon organization’s “orders and directives to be included in the manuscript,” which “have been placed between paragraphs”. The text therefore carries “characteristics of an organizational document”, the court said.

Sik had reportedly planned to name his book “The Army of the Imam” in reference to followers of influential Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen. Sik’s wife said yesterday that police told her that she and anyone else with copies of the book would face accusations of “aiding a criminal organization” unless all copies are turned over.

Authorities accuse Sik of being part of the Ergenekon plot, which allegedly sought to create chaos through assassinations and attacks that would lead to calls for the military to take power from the current government. Turkish authorities have implicated hundreds of politicians, retired military officers, academics and journalists in the plot since its existence was first alleged in 2007.

Critics have accused the government of using the alleged plot to silence its opponents. The Freedom for Journalists Platform, an umbrella group representing local and national media organizations in Turkey, including IPI’s Turkish National Committee, has reported that Turkish authorities have targeted 68 journalists in criminal proceedings relating to the Ergenekon probe, activities on behalf of Kurdish groups, or membership in banned organisations.

Turkish officials maintain that Sik and other journalists have not been arrested because of their work. However, they have declined to release evidence purportedly linking journalists to the Ergenekon plot.

IPI Press & Communications Manager Anthony Mills said: “We remain highly concerned at the possibility that journalists are being targeted purely because of their work. The media have a fundamental right to keep citizens informed about issues of public interest, and constitute a pillar of any healthy democracy.”

This press release is supported by the South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate.

Vienna, 06/04/2011

The South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in South East and Central Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), has launched a specialized website dedicated to press freedom-related developments in Hungary. The Budapest-based Center for Independent Journalism, a member of the South East European Network for Professionalization of Media, is SEEMO´s partner in this project.

The website www.hungarypressfreedom.org contains news, exclusive monthly reports, legal and political analyses, as well as expert opinions on the Hungarian Media Constitution and Media Act (Media Law) and its subsequent amendments.

The website follows political events and debates in Hungary and includes links to information and analyses on Hungary elaborated by governments, as well as human rights organisations specialized in press freedom.

The Hungarian Media Law, approved in December 2010, was criticized before and after its adoption. Some of its articles appear to violate European press freedom standards. Both IPI and SEEMO have advocated for changes, as have the European Commission, the OSCE and a host of Hungarian and international press freedom and freedom of expression groups. As a result of international pressure and criticism, especially by the European Commission, some controversial paragraphs of the law were amended and approved in March 2011. However, most press freedom organisations, including IPI and SEEMO, consider these amendments “cosmetic” rather than substantial.

Vienna, 08/04/2011

The International Press Institute (IPI) on 22 March welcomed news that Ukraine’s state prosecutor has opened a criminal case against former President Leonid Kuchma for his alleged involvement in organising the 2000 murder of opposition journalist Georgiy Gongadze.

Reuters reported that First Deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin announced the formal opening of a case against Kuchma at a press conference today. Kuzmin also said that restrictions had been imposed on the ex-president’s movements.

Gongadze, an outspoken journalist whose Pravda Ukrayiny Internet newspaper was highly critical of Kuchma during the former president’s two terms of office from 1994 to 2005, disappeared in Kiev in September 2000. His headless body was found six weeks later buried in a wooded area outside the central town of Tarashcha.

The journalist had reported being harassed and followed by the police for several months before his murder, and he had allegedly received death threats. A former presidential bodyguard released audio recordings following Gongadze’s disappearance which the bodyguard said contained Kuchma telling his chief of staff Volodymyr Lytvyn – currently Parliament chairman – and then-Interior Minister Yuri Kravchenko to “get rid of” Gongadze.

Kuchma and Lytvyn have denied involvement in the murder, and a technical analysis of the recordings commissioned by IPI and Washington-based rights group Freedom House at the request of the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Ukrainian parliament in 2000 could not conclusively establish the speakers’ identities.

Kravchenko was reportedly found dead in his apartment in 2005 with two gunshots to the head just hours before he was scheduled to be questioned in the case. Authorities ruled his death a suicide, and prosecutors in September 2010 formally identified him as the sole instigator of Gongadze’s murder.

IPI reported in 2000 that the investigation into Gongadze’s disappearance was marred by either incompetence or reticence on the part of the authorities, with one unlikely explanation after another being put forward.

Three former police officers were convicted of the murder in March 2008, but the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe the following year approved a resolution urging Ukraine to do more to prosecute former officials who may have been behind the killing.

IPI Director Alison Bethel McKenzie said: “We are glad to hear that the alleged perpetrator of this heinous crime, despite having occupied a high position, will be made to answer for the death of our colleague. The implication of prominent people in cases like this one serves to highlight the dangers of being a journalist.”

This press release is supported by the South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate.

Vienna, 08/04/2011

The International Press Institute (IPI) on 30 March denounced Belarusian authorities’ search of the apartment of Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut, and their seizure of a computer and other items.

The search Tuesday morning followed news Monday that the state prosecutor in Grodno opened a criminal investigation against Poczobut, a correspondent with Polish daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, for allegedly insulting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Poczobut said he was told that the Belarusian security service, which is still called the KGB, had pressed for the charge based on his reports for the newspaper, posts to his blog and posts to an opposition website named “Belarusian Partisan”. He said the KGB did not elaborate on what specifically offended the president.

If convicted, Poczobut faces up to two years in prison.

He described the search yesterday in a telephone conversation with representatives of Gazeta Wyborcza.

“Three KGB officers entered my flat in the morning,” he said. “They confiscated my computer. The KGB men showed me a warrant of ‘arrest’ regarding my belongings. They walked around my apartment, and selected a few valuables to confiscate, including my DVD player and my computer. Other items selected by them – like a refrigerator, and a TV set – were listed, and I was informed that I’m forbidden to sell or remove them from the apartment.”

Poczobut acknowledged that he was highly critical of and sarcastic about Lukashenko’s rule, but he said his writings could not be treated as an offence.

The journalist served 15 days in prison last month for allegedly participating in an unsanctioned protest rally on 19 December in Minsk following Lukashenko’s disputed re-election to a fourth term of office. Lukashenko received 80 percent of the vote in an election opponents and international monitors say was rigged.

Police arrested Poczobut while he covered the rally, but freed him the next day.

Prosecutors later charged him with participating in an illegal gathering and he was sentenced to pay a 600 Euro fine. The sentence was increased to include imprisonment after prosecutors appealed the verdict.

Poczobut is an activist with the Association of Poles in Belarus, an organization regularly persecuted by Belarusian authorities. Independent Belarus website charter97.org reported last week that Poczobut had been put on a list of persons restricted from leaving Belarus.

Piotr Stasinski, Gazeta Wyborcza deputy editor-in-chief and a member of IPI’s Executive Board, reported that Poczobut has been a frequent target of government-inspired harassment in Belarus, and that authorities repealed Poczobut’s press accreditation in 2009. Stasinski said the KGB stopped Poczobut in January in Grodno and questioned him for three hours during which they repeatedly hit and threatened him with an eight-year prison sentence if he appeared at another opposition rally.

Fellow Gazeta Wyborcza Deputy Editor-in-Chief Jaroslaw Kurski commented yesterday:

“A dictator fears his countrymen, fears what they think and say. He fears the word that he cannot control and censor. Andrzej Poczobut’s prosecution is yet another instance in which a journalist is repressed for bravely performing his job; for writing the truth the regime doesn’t approve of.”

IPI Press & Communications Manager Anthony Mills added: “No journalist, anywhere, should have to fear arrest and persecution because of their work. In any healthy democracy, journalists should have the right to be critical of the authorities.”

This press release is supported by the South and East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate.