July 19, 2017

19/07/2017: POLAND – SEEMO URGES AUTHORITIES IN POLAND TO DROP CHARGES AGAINST JOURNALIST

Vienna, 19/07/2017

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) expressed their deep concern after it was revealed that the Polish Defense Minister filed a criminal complaint against investigative journalist Tomasz Piatek, also the author of a new book dealing with the Minister’s alleged network of “questionable Russian contacts”.

Piatek, who works for the daily Gazeta Wyborcza, potentially faces a trial before a military court, after the defense minister filed a complaint accusing the journalist of using “force or threats against a public official” as well as “public insults or humiliation of a constitutional body”. The accusations come after Piatek’s latest book was published, which deals in depth with the minister’s alleged ties with individuals close to the Kremlin, the Russian secret service as well as criminal groups.

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.