TOM – The Ossigeno monitor on safety for journalists – 4 november 2022

4 November 2022 – Here is a brief review of some topics highlighted recently by NGO and international organisations for media freedom and safety of journalists.

The full achievement of the right to Freedom of Expression is a pressing political priority across Europe.

On the occasion of the International Day to End Impunity (IDEI), the Council of Europe remarks that the full achievement of this fundamental goal is a priority across member states. In addition to the safeguarding measures already in place, such as the 2016 Recommendation on the protection of journalism and safety of journalists and other media actors, or the Recommendation’s Implementation Guide  “How to protect journalists and other media actors?” ,  a Council of Europe Campaign will be publicly launched next year. Fighting impunity will be one of its main focuses, to be facilitated by encouraging, supporting and guiding member States in their effort to develop national action plans with a view to boost their standards, fill the gaps and enhance co-ordination. Read more.

International Day to End Impunity (IDEI) celebrated around the world.

 The International Federation of Journalists supports countries’ initiatives to break the impunity cycle and ensure justice to journalists and media operators around the world.  On 2 November, collected data sadly reveals that only 1 in 10 crimes against journalists is being investigated worldwide. There’s a necessity to implement a plan of action to combat the harassment and abuse of journalists and media workers across the globe. In many events commemorating the IDEI, new strategies have been proposed to tackle the issue. These include public and internal awareness, creating and fostering supports for journalists and media workers, bargaining, health and safety, policing strategies, lobbying for stronger legislation and holding the internet platforms to account for the content they publish. Read more.

Impunity alert: forty journalists are still waiting for justice in Europe.

This year the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism has recorded 26 impunity alerts involving 40 journalists: 14 in Kosovo, 6 in Russia, 6 in Ukraine, 6 in Turkey, 2 in Azerbaijan, 1 in Malta, 1 in the UK, 1 in Cyprus, 1 in Slovakia, 1 in Serbia, and 1 in Montenegro. On the occasion of the 2^nd of November, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to demand governments put an end to impunity and to highlight and denounce crimes targeting journalists that remain unpunished. Read more.

New OSCE report on media freedom and security.

On the occasion of the 25^th mandate of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro launched a new report entitled “Can there be security without media freedom?”. At the launch event, several eminent experts on media freedom discussed emerging challenges to media freedom and security in Europe. They observed that during the past 25 years we have been facing huge shifts for media freedom, which brought not only new opportunities but also new challenges. It is therefore deemed necessary to strengthen media advocacy networks to strategically confront the many challenges that lie ahead. Read more.

SLAPP, Italian authorities demand prison sentence for three journalists.

On 17 October 2022, Italian prosecutors from Lecce, southern Italy, demanded 6-month prison for Lupo, a reporter for privately owned commercial television station La7, Pizzolante, a reporter for privately owned daily newspaper Il Tempo, and Tota, a reporter for privately owned daily newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, in a defamation lawsuit initiated by a former government official back in 2014. Ossigeno urged the implementation of a different law to the cancel the prison for libel Read it. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has warned that Italian authorities should immediately drop criminal defamation charges against the journalists. Read more.