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US Offers up to $10 Million for Info on Cyber Attacks in Montenegro

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The US embassy in Montenegro has placed billboards on several locations in the capital Podgorica, offering up to $10 million for information on cyber attacks in Montenegro operated against American interests.

The billboards seek information about ransomware attacks on state information systems, interference in elections, or “malicious cyber activities against critical American infrastructure”. Montenegro has been part of NATO since 2017.

The announcement is written in Montenegrin and Russian and aims to attract “technologically skilled individuals who currently live in Montenegro and know about the attacks”, as the embassy in Montenegro told Radio Free Europe, RFE.

The billboards say that “’recent malicious cyber activities in Montenegro indicate the need to protect digital ecosystem”, likely referring to the cyber attacks from August last year targeting a host of government services in Montenegro.

Authorities in Montenegro still have no definitive answer as to who was behind the attacks which compromised various public services, including the websites of the government and the Revenue and Customs Administration.

In August last year, National Security Agency said Russia was to blame but offered no evidence. Then, the government stated that it was actually the work of a cybercriminal extortion group named Cuba Ransomware. In the end, authorities could not determine precisely who the perpetrator was, despite the assistance of the FBI and the French National Cybersecurity Agency, ANSSI.

The award is part of the U.S State Department program, “Rewards for Justice”, ongoing since 1984. The mission of the program, as stated by the State Department, is to protect Americans and US national security. It rewards information on terrorism, foreign-linked interference in US elections, foreign-directed malicious cyber activities against the US and activities that support North Korea.

Last year, a report by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, EBRD, characterized Montenegro’s “digital maturity” level as “basic” and recommended cybersecurity requirements for all digital service providers. Cybersecurity Ventures, one of the world’s leading publishers in the field, predicts the annual cost of global cybercrime will reach $10.5 trillion by 2025, up from $3 trillion in 2015.

Turkish Photographer and Model Detained Over Mosque Photo-Shoot

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A Turkish photographer and model have been detained by police in the capital, Ankara, for ‘insulting religious values’ after a photo-shoot in the city’s Kocatepe Mosque, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Photographer Bilal Kisa and model Ezgi Cebeci faced a backlash from nationalist and Islamist accounts on social media after Kisa shared photos taken inside and in front of the mosque, in which Cebeci wore Islamic prayer beads as a necklace, a loose headscarf and a traditional male Muslim cap.

Kisa apologised on Monday, but he and Cebeci were arrested nevertheless and his photos confiscated.

Photographer Bilal Kisa’s photo of model Ezgi Cebeci in Ankara Kocatepe Mosque. Photo: Bilal Kisa/Instagram account

“An investigation was initiated ex officio for the crime of publicly insulting the religious values adopted by a section of the public… due to the photographs taken by a director named Bilal Kisa with a female person in Ankara Kocatepe Mosque and published on social media,” the Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara said in a statement.

In his apology, Kisa saying his work had “deviated from its purpose”.

He insisted he had no intention of insulting Islam or Muslims but that he wished to challenge “the prejudices of a certain group of people who are offended by the mosque and show that the place where they will find peace is the mosque”.

“I apologise to everyone I hurt and misunderstood,” he wrote.

Bosnia to Investigate Online Admirers of Livestream Mass Shooter

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The Interior Ministry in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Federation entity said it will investigate people who voiced approval on social media for Nermin Sulejmanovic, who killed three people in the town of Gradacac on Friday while livestreaming the shooting spree on Instagram before shooting himself.

“The Federal Interior Minister, Ramo Isak, will ask the Federal Police Administration and the Interior Ministry of the Tuzla Canton to investigate all individuals who, on social media, supported the murderer and glorified the crime committed after the gruesome murders in Gradacac,” said Ervin Musinovic, the Federal Interior Minister’s chief of office.

He added that “all individuals found to have committed the crime of sending abhorrent messages in support of the murderer” will have criminal reports filed against them.

The violence began when Sulejmanovic, a former bodybuilder with a criminal record, first killed his ex-wife on a livestream on Meta’s social media platform Instagram.

Sulemajnovic started his livestream by saying that viewers “will see what a live murder looks like”, then took a gun and shot his ex-wife.

He shot dead two more people and wounded three others, including one police officer.

After police staged a major operation to track him down, Sulejmanovic committed suicide in front of police officers.

The video showing the murder of his ex-wife was online for two hours on Sulemajnovic’s Instagram account, which at the time of shooting had some 11,000 followers.

The case has raised new questions about the failure of Meta’s internal safety procedures, which should prevent the circulation of such violent videos.

Some 15,000 people watched Sulejmanovic’s first livestream, with 300 people posting ‘likes’ on it.

BIRN’s digital rights monitors registered that his first live feed was shared 286 times before it was removed after a self-organised public campaign on social media calling on people to report the video to Instagram moderators.

The police also said that their cyber department was in communication with Meta, which removed the video 20 minutes after they sent a request.

However, despite the video being removed, Sulejmanovic still had access to his account and he began a second livestream, speaking about what he had done.

“I shot at a police officer, but he escaped. He escaped in a Skoda, and I couldn’t catch up with him in my BMW,” he said.

His account was later on removed by Meta, but not fast enough in order to stop the sharing of his videos.

In the time between the first and second video, his account gained more than 3,000 followers.

Although some mainstream online media in Bosnia in Serbia published screenshots from the video with less explicit content, BIRN’s monitors did not register that any media outlets republished the actual murder video.

Turkey’s Repeated Jailing of Journalist Condemned as ‘Judicial Harassment’

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Nineteen international and Turkish rights watchdogs and media organisations on Wednesday condemned the Turkish authorities’ decision to imprison investigative journalist Baris Pehlivan for a fifth time.

“We are concerned by the repeated judicial harassment of Pehlivan, who is exercising his fundamental right to free speech as a journalist in Turkey,” the organisations said in a joint letter.

On August 2, Pehlivan was informed via an SMS from the Ministry of Justice that he was expected to turn himself over to the Marmara Low Security Correctional Institution between August 1 and 15.

“Pehlivan has already been incarcerated four times due to his journalism, two of those being one day behind bars in February and May 2023 for the same sentence. This order would mark his fifth time behind bars,” the rights and media groups’ letter said said.

Pehlivan was arrested in March 2020 over his coverage of the funeral of a Turkish National Intelligence Organization, MIT officer in Libya, and taken to court alongside journalists Aydin Keser, Baris Terkoglu, Eren Ekinci, Hulya Kilinc, Ferhat Celik and Murat Agırel.

He was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison on charges of exposing classified intelligence documents.

In May 2020, the Turkish authorities postponed the sentences of thousands of inmates due to COVID-19 pandemic, but a last-minute clause excluded primarily the charges that journalists face, keeping all journalists, including Pehlivan, in prison.

After spending six months behind bars, Pehlivan was released on parole in September 2020 on condition that he does not reoffend.

After his release, Pehlivan commented on the court’s decision by saying: “There is no crime in this case. This case aims to punish our journalism.”

In July this year, the Turkish parliament enacted a measure drafted by the governing coalition regulating parole and probation rules which should have assured Pehlivan’s parole.

Instead he was recalled to prison by SMS last week for the March 2020 offence.

When Pehlivan’s lawyer filed a request for information on the decision that the journalist should hand himself in to the correctional institution, “the response indicated that the prison administration had disregarded the relevant clauses of the legislation [on parole] from July 2023”.

“We call upon the Turkish authorities to reverse the decision to reimprison Pehlivan and end the systematic judicial harassment against him and other journalists. We reiterate our solidarity with the imprisoned journalists. Journalism is not a crime and every minute a journalist spends behind bars is a violation of freedom of expression and media freedom,” the joint letter said.

Media organisations and rights groups say that Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists, also exerting pressure on the media through court cases, fines and prison sentences.

A recent report published in June by Germany’s Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom says Turkey is copying the Russian ‘playbook’, using the judiciary to silence critical journalism.

Turkey ranked 165th out of 180 countries in 2023 in the latest press freedom index issued by the watchdog organisation Reporters Without Borders.

Sputnik Turkey Fires Unionised Journalists Who Sought Better Pay

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The Turkey bureau of Russian news agency Sputnik has fired 24 unionised journalists who decided to strike for better pay and rights after negotiations on a new collective labour agreement failed, the Journalists’ Union of Turkey, TGS, said on Monday.

“Sputnik fires our members instead of respecting their union rights and meeting their demands,” TGS said. “Stop committing crimes and get dismissed journalists back to work.”

One of the journalists, Erkin Oncan, took to Twitter to denounce the dismissals.

“From now on, we will continue on our way with the same determination,” Oncan tweeted. “This decision is unlawful; we will go back to our jobs. As we said at the very beginning of the process: “No step back” … Our strength comes from our organisation.”

Senior journalist Atilla Guner, who prepared the evening news programme on Radio Sputnik, was among those fired. Guner said the reason given was ‘downsizing’, but the journalist said it was more likely because of his support the strike action.

Sputnik Turkey did not respond to a request for comment.

Turkish law forbids action aimed at pressuring workers not to join unions or undertake industrial action, but the rate of unionisation among media workers has dropped considerably in the 21 years since Recep Tayyip Erdogan took power.

Recently, however, more Turkish journalists have seen industrial action as the only way to improve working conditions against a backdrop of low pay and shrinking media freedoms.

Strikes have been held among TGS journalists at the Istanbul office of the BBC and the Turkey offices of Reuters and Agence France Presse, resulting in new collective labour agreements.

Media Freedom in South-East Europe Faces Escalating Digital Threats

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In Turkey over the past month, online censorship, surveillance and arrests had a negative impact on independent journalism, while Croatia’s proposed Media Law raised concerns about increased government control and potential censorship that could endanger investigative reporting and threaten the protection of journalists’ sources.

In Turkey and North Macedonia in July, content removal orders and legal battles also posed threats to press freedom as the digital realm continued to be a battleground for information control in both countries.

Digital threats were also registered in Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro and Romania and Serbia, with increases in verbal attacks on social media, negative online campaigns and derogatory comments targeting journalists.

Kosovo and Bosnia meanwhile saw an uptick in digital misinformation last month through doctored photographs and false news.

Threats to media freedom online in Turkey

In Turkey, press freedom has deteriorated significantly, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government facing widespread criticism for its treatment of journalists. Digital threats to journalists have escalated, as online censorship and surveillance have become common practices.

The government’s use of stringent anti-terrorism laws has resulted in the arrests and detentions of journalists, leading to self-censorship and a shrinking space for independent journalism.

A report by Turkey’s Media and Law Studies Association revealed that a majority of journalists in the country feel unsafe while performing their duties, facing physical assaults and online attacks. The digital sphere, including social media platforms, has been weaponised to monitor and silence dissenting voices, posing serious risks to journalists reporting on sensitive issues.

Two prominent cases in July shed light on the struggles faced by media organisations and individuals in the country.

International news agency Reuters found itself embroiled in a legal battle with Turkish authorities over an article that revealed investigations by US and Swedish prosecutors into a graft complaint involving President Erdogan’s son.

A Turkish court ordered the removal of the article from Reuters’ website, saying it had violated the son’s personal rights.

Reuters then appealed against the court’s takedown order, asserting that it conflicted with Turkish legal protections for freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

Another case that emerged in July centred on allegations of sexual misconduct against Gıyas Güven, the former provincial director of a company called Ağrı İŞKUR. It was alleged that Güven engaged in deceptive practices, promising job opportunities to women in exchange for sexual favours.

As the scandal gained attention, Güven was suspended from duty and an investigation was launched.

In response, Turkish authorities blocked access to 422 pieces of online content related to the allegations, including news articles, videos, tweets and other social media posts.

The situation escalated when Hilal Kaplan, a prominent columnist for Sabah newspaper, used her influence to block access to other pieces of online content. Her actions led to the blocking of 50 more articles, bringing the total number of blocked pieces to 446.

Among the censored pieces of content were news stories, social media posts and even weather reports.


People attend a rally to mark the 16th anniversary of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink’s death, in front of he Agos newspaper in Istanbul, Turkey, 19 January 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA

New Croatian media law causes alarm

In Croatia in July, a proposed Media Law raised alarms over potential threats to freedom of expression in the digital space. Journalists and media organisations, in particular, fear that the law’s provisions may grant the government unprecedented control over journalistic freedoms and self-regulation. This includes empowering publishers to reject journalistic pieces without explanation, potentially leading to online censorship.

The requirement for journalists to disclose sources could undermine investigative reporting and jeopardise the safety of whistleblowers. The establishment of a State Register of Journalists has also raised concerns about government control and intimidation.

Experts say there is growing fear that the government might exploit online tools to stifle dissenting voices and manipulate public opinion in its favour.

Meanwhile in North Macedonia in July, a journalist and online editor at the daily newspaper Sloboden Pecat, Zarko Nastoski, reported that his article on a government decision regarding a controversial gold mine initiative in the country’s south-eastern region was removed from the paper’s online edition without his knowledge or permission. The article focused on the government’s decision to open a gold mine, which has faced strong opposition from local residents.

The removal of the article prompted Nastoski to resign in protest. However, the Sloboden Pecat editorial team countered his claims, stating that he had published the article without their permission and without an active employment contract with the company at the time of publication.

The editorial team further argued that the article contained unconfirmed information that could hold the company liable. Despite the response, the editorial team did not provide a clear explanation about why the article was removed without any prior notice or explanation.

Threats and intimidation across the region

Journalists and media outlets across south-east Europe experienced threats, insults and attacks in July.

In Serbia, the director of the company Lasta, a member of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, posted a video on social media that targeted journalists and presenters from N1, Nova S, and Nova newspaper, portraying them as pests that needed to be eradicated.

Also in July, the president of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, launched a verbal attack online against journalist Dinko Gruhonjic, accusing him of chauvinism.

The attack followed Gruhonjic’s appearance on N1 TV, during which he discussed court cases related to the Srebrenica massacre. Subsequently, Gruhonjic began receiving threats on social media platforms.

President Dodik’s accusations were not limited to the journalist alone but also targeted N1, demanding a ban on the N1 network’s operations within Republika Srpska.


An estimated more than a thousand members of the Croatian Journalists Association and Journalists syndicate march in protest against Minister of Health Vili Beros and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, in Zagreb, Croatia, 05 February 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANTONIO BAT

In Montenegro, journalists from the daily newspaper Vijesti also received online insults and threats using offensive language. Some were falsely accused of having connections to drug-dealing gangs.

In Albania, a dispute between media owners fuelled by the arrest of a company owner on charges of stalking and violence against his former roommate, as well as allegedly publishing a video without her consent, led to a derogatory article that insulted journalist Anila Basha, published by the online media outlet Prapaskena.com. The article also made inappropriate comments about Basha’s niece, and was accompanied by some private photos.

In Bosnia meanwhile, journalist Jasmin Mulahusic came under investigation by the prosecution for suspected criminal offences related to inciting national, racial, and religious hatred, as well as discord and intolerance, through his Facebook posts about other journalists.

Despite being under investigation, Mulahusic persisted in targeting other journalists. In a recent social media post, he openly threatened two of them.

Meanwhile, in Romania, influential blogger Marian Godina insulted journalists from the independent outlet Recorder for allegedly revealing unverified information about police misconduct. Godina claimed that the journalists had got their story wrong.

Doctored photos in Kosovo, misinformation in Bosnia

Journalists in Kosovo and Bosnia continued to encounter challenges to their professional reputations and safety in July.

In Kosovo, on July 2, 2023, a Facebook page called ‘Thënie nga Albin Kurti’ (‘Statements from Albin Kurti’) launched an attack on journalist Berat Buzhala by posting a doctored photograph of him.

The image falsely depicted Buzhala getting into a car with Serbian licence plates and was accompanied by a caption claiming that Buzhala saw Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti as equivalent to wartime Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

The original photo however showed Buzhala with a car that had valid Kosovo licence plates and the Facebook page intentionally altered the image to spread misinformation about the journalist’s allegiances.

Buzhala denied the claims and clarified that the car plates had been digitally altered and that the vehicle belonged to a resident of Skenderaj, where he had gone to provide assistance where there was flooding in that area.

Meanwhile in Bosnia in July, a former music talent manager spread false information about the death of renowned Bosnian TV host Senad Hadzifejzovic in a post on Facebook. The former manager posted that Hadzifejzovic had passed away, stating that it was “sad news” and that he couldn’t believe it but hoped it was misinformation.

The post caused concern and distress among the public. It was swiftly removed from Facebook but showed how the dissemination of a piece of unverified news about public figures could have a serious impact.

Bosnia has been covered by Elma Selimovic, Aida Trepanić and Azem Kurtic, Turkey by Hamdi Fırat Büyük, Albania by Nensi Bogdani, Romania by Adina Florea, North Macedonia by Bojan Stojkovski and Goce Trpkovski, Montenegro by Samir Kajosevic, Kosovo by Diedon Nixha, Croatia by Matej Augustin and Serbia by Tijana Uzelac & Kalina Simic.

BIRN Wins Solar Power Investigation Case Against Kosovo Media Regulator

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Pristina Basic Court on Friday annulled a decision made by the Independent Media Commission, IMC in January 2021, which issued a warning to BIRN Kosovo’s television programme ‘Jeta ne Kosove’ over its investigation into a businessman’s monopolistic practices.

The investigation, entitled ‘Unclean Energy: The Kosovar Who Would Own the Sun’, showed how businessman Blerim Devolli was behind six companies reaping millions of euros from the sale of solar energy in violation of anti-monopoly rules.

It was aired by public broadcaster Radio Television of Kosovo, RTK, which was screening BIRN Kosovo’s ‘Jeta ne Kosove’ programme.

This prompted Devolli’s complain to the IMC, the institution responsible for the regulation, management and oversight of broadcasters in Kosovo. Devolli claimed that the programme used hate speech and violated the IMC’s code of ethics for audiovisual media providers.

The investigation carried out by Visar Prebreza and Jeta Xharra revealed a scheme in which shell companies owned by Devolli registered in Malta would have benefited from incentive tariffs for the production of solar energy, breaking anti-monopoly rules by hiding the real owner of the companies.

In the Pristina court verdict, judge Anita Nikqi-Morina concluded that the programme show was “fully in line with the code of ethics”.

The court also found that IMC’s decision “was not properly justified” and it “did not correctly establish the factual situation”.

The verdict said that the language used in the programme “does not seem to constitute an insult because the language used is sarcastic”.

The court also found that IMC’s decision to reprimand RTK and ‘Jeta ne Kosove’ contradicts guarantees of freedom of expression in Kosovo’s constitution and the practices of the European Court of Human Rights.

In 2021, BIRN filed a lawsuit at Pristina Basic Court against IMC’s decision, describing it as Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation or SLAPP and requested its annulment.

The case was taken to the court only after the IMC’s Board of Complaints rejected BIRN’s complaint and upheld the main points in the IMC board’s initial decision.

The IMC’s reprimand was one of the reasons behind RTK’s management decision to stop airing the ‘Jeta ne Kosove’ programme, ending its 15-year run on RTK.

For more details on the legal battle, read Prishtina Insight’s article here.

Kosovo Court Postpones Govt Decision to Close TV Channel

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Kosovo’s Commercial Court decided on Thursday to postpone the execution of government decision to close down privately-owned TV channel Klan Kosova by removing its business certificate until a final court decision is taken.

In its verdict, Kosovo’s Commercial Court said that Klan Kosova has fulfilled the legal criteria to continue operating.

“Since according to the certificates presented [to the court], it transpires that the plaintiff [Klan Kosova] has made the [required] changes in business registries in North Macedonia and Kosovo, the court assessed that postponing the execution of the contested decision does not conflict with the public interest,” judge Arnis Dumani said in the verdict.

The verdict also said that it would be “contrary to the public interest” and the media freedom guarantees in Kosovo’s constitution if it did not postpone the execution of the decision to suspend the channel’s business certificate.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo, AJK, welcomed the verdict which it said allows Klan Kosova to stay on air “despite the government’s decision to shut it down”.

“The AJK will closely monitor further procedures, hoping that a swift epilogue will close this episode of the government attemptting to undermine freedom of media in Kosovo,” the AJK said.

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom also welcomed the court’s decision, saying that “this interim decision protects media pluralism and counters the government’s attempts to undermine press freedom”.

The dispute started in June when news website Kosovanews published an investigation that suggested irregularities in Klan Kosova’s registration in Kosovo’s business registry.

The ministry then suspended Klan Kosova’s business certificate and initiated a criminal complaint against the company, its managers and officials from the Business Registration Agency on suspicion of misuse of office.

According to the decision, which was made public by the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, the ministry suspended Klan Kosova’s business certificate because the owners’ residential address is allegedly registered as “Peje-Serbia and Gjakove-Serbia… [which is] in violation with the basic principles of the constitution of the Republic of Kosovo”. Both towns are in Kosovo, not Serbia.

The Independent Media Commission, the institution responsible for the regulation, management and oversight of broadcasters in Kosovo, gave TV channel a month to correct the documentation, but on the final day, July 28, the ministry said that Klan Kosova failed to comply with the request.

Klan Kosova insisted on Monday however that it has corrected all the data in the business registry and accused the ministry of “fraudulently presenting a situation that does not exist”.

But the ministry said that its commission, which reviewed the case, acted in accordance with the law when it suspended the certificate.

“The commission decision closes this case within the ministry while the complaining entity has the right to take the case to the court,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry’s decision sparked angry reactions and hundreds of journalists and civil society activists marched on Monday to Pristina’s main square to protest, holding a banner with the slogan “Democracy dies in darkness”, calling the move to suspend the business certificate an attempt to curb the freedom of the media.

Anonymous Online Videos Target Serbian-Language Media in Kosovo

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The Independent Association of Serbian Journalists, NUNS on Wednesday condemned an online campaign targeting Serbian-language media operating in Kosovo.

Anonymous videos posted on a Telegram channel targeted news websites KosSev and Kosovo Online, radio stations Kontakt Plus and Kosovska Mitrovica and television station TV Most, claiming that they are pro-NATO, an intended insult.

The video posts said that the media outlets “persistently talk about how they are objective and ‘honest’”, but claimed “they have been broadcasting NATO and KFOR [NATO’s Kosovo force] commercials for years”.

The posts claimed that the media outlets’ aim was “to be financially rewarded for their ‘hard work’”.

KosSev was described as a media outlet that “defends Shiptar [derogatory term for Albanians] terrorists” and “works for the government in Pristina and for NATO”.

“NUNS points out that this is not the first case of the serious targeting and threating of journalists from the KoSSev website, and we call on the relevant authorities to investigate all the circumstances of this event and the threats that threaten the safety of all journalists in Kosovo,” NUNS said in a press release.

A separate series of anonymous videos was posted on social networks at the end of July, targeting journalists from N1, Nova and Danas, media outlets seen as critical of the Serbian government.

One video said that “their evil intention is to destroy Serbian identity, culture, tradition and religion”.

The head of the European Federation of Journalists, Maja Sever, called on the Serbian authorities on Tuesday to publicly condemn attacks on journalists.

“I have to admit that when I saw these videos, I was shocked. I can’t fathom how anyone could make something like this. Just because it’s on Tuesday in a semi-amateur way doesn’t mean it’s not very dangerous and scary,” Sever told Nova TV.

The European Union’s annual report on human rights and democracy in the world for 2022, published on Monday, said that in Serbia, “cases of threats and violence against journalists remain a concern and the overall environment for the exercise of freedom of expression without hindrance still needs to be further strengthened in practice”.

Turkish Journalists Feel Unsafe Because of Physical, Online Attacks: Report

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Turkey’s Media and Law Studies Association, MLSA told BIRN that its latest report shows that most journalists in the country do not feel safe at work.

“The report shows that, in addition to physical and judicial violence, attacks against journalists, especially women and LGBTI+ journalists, have increased on social media platforms,” Baris Altintas, co-chair of the MLSA, told BIRN.

According to the MLSA report, ‘Journalism in Turkey: I Do Not Feel Safe’, more than 80 per cent of the 57 journalists surveyed have encountered physical violence in the last five years and 79 per cent have been attacked online at least once during the same period.

“The most frequent form of violence that journalists face is insults and hate speech. This is followed by pushing and pulling and assault with tear gas, pepper spray, or other gas,” the report said.

The online medium in which journalists said they were most exposed to threats was Twitter, where 70 per cent of the respondents said they had experienced attacks.

Graphic: MLSA

A total of 87 per cent of the journalists surveyed said they do not feel safe while doing their jobs.

However, nearly 51 per cent said they feel very unsafe and only 1.8 per cent said they feel safe.

According to Altintas, the main reason is that the perpetrators are able to act without fear of prosecution.

“The root of the problem is impunity, as we have seen in other countries. Because the state and the judiciary encourage attacks on journalists, law enforcement agencies, security guards or online trolls see [they have] the right to do it,” Altintas said.

The report’s findings indicated that officials were involved in significant numbers of cases.

“The identity of 18.7 per cent of the perpetrators of threats and physical attacks was unknown to the survey participants. Of the perpetrators, 17.6 per cent were public officials, and 28.6 per cent were police officers,” the report said.

Altintas added that the state and the judiciary have rewarded some perpetrators instead of punishing them.

“For example, a police chief who sexually harassed an activist in front of cameras and did the similar to many journalists in the field was promoted last month,” he said.

The MLSA is a leading rights organisations working on the protection of journalists, press freedom, freedom of information and promoting the rights of oppressed groups including minorities and LGBT communities.

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