balkan insight Archives

Moldova Secret Service Blocks Pro-Russian Media Ahead of Local Elections

Posted on October 31, 2023November 2, 2023 by BIRD

The head of the Moldovan Information and Security Service SIS, Alexandru Musteata, told media on Monday that he has signed an order to block 31 websites for spreading pro-Russian disinformation.

Twenty-one of the sites are directly related to Russia, Musteata said. These include the most popular Russian-language websites in Moldova, including the sites of Russian news agency Tass and newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda.

“The content of the information disseminated by these sites in the public arena can generate tensions or social conflicts,” he said.

Media NGOs criticised the decision, saying the SIS needs to put forward substantial evidence for the shutdowns.

The Audiovisual Council, Moldova’s media regulatory body, also suspended the broadcast licences of six TV stations – Orizont TV, ITV, Prime, Publika TV, Canal 2 and Canal 3. The first two are owned through intermediaries by fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor and the other four by another fugitive oligarch, Vladimir Platohniuc.

The suspension of the TV stations’ licences came after a recommendation from the SIS. However, the management of the suspended stations accused the government of unprecedented attacks on the media, arguing that there are no legal arguments for the move. Shor also accused the ruling party of closing down the opposition’s media outlets.

Several media NGOs such as the Centre for Independent Journalism, the Electronic Press Association, RISE Moldova and the Access-Info Centre also expressed concern over the licence suspensions and website closures in the absence of extensive explanations of the factual and legal circumstances that justify the measures.

“The signatory NGOs ask the authorities to communicate without delay the arguments and evidence that were the basis of the decision of the Commission for Exceptional Situations to close these sites and to suspend the license of the six television stations,” the NGOs said in a statement.

But President Maia Sandu argued that the measures were necessary to defend democratic values and protect the country from Russian interference in the electoral process in Moldova.

The Moldovan media landscape is crowded with Russian-language media, although ethnic Russians represent just four per cent of the country’s population.

Kosovo Imam Seeks 40,000 Euros Over 2016 Article’s ‘Wahhabi’ Claim

Posted on October 23, 2023November 2, 2023 by BIRD

Enes Goga, an imam from the western Kosovo town of Peje/Pec, has demanded 40,000 euros in compensation from a journalist and a media outlet over an article published in 2016 that linked him with the hard-line Islamist Wahabi movement.

The article, “Imams suspected of terrorism are preparing denigrating campaigns against moderates”, was published in 2016 in Zeri, a Pristina-based news portal.

“Enes Goga is leader of the Wahabist movement in Peje/Pec region, a movement linked with organised crime, drug trafficking, extortion to businesses, blackmail, brutal beatings etc,” the article said.

Goga, who seeks 20,000 euros each from the author and the outlet, told the court on Monday that the article written by Arbana Xharra “contains lots of untruths, which I am convinced have been intentional”.

“This journalist [Arbana Xharra], since 2012, has continuously dealt with the institution where I work [the Islamic Community], with me and my family. Her reactions, articles and comments have stirred reactions and hatred from others towards me,” Goga said.

In a trial session held last month, Xharra’s lawyer, Leke Morina, rejected the lawsuit, saying that the article had been based on credible sources, including intelligence reports and Prosecution press releases.

He also claimed Goga’s lawsuit was in effect a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or SLAPP, “aimed at intimidating and discouraging journalists or activists to report on issues of public interest”.

Xharra, former editor-in-chief of Zeri, now living in the US, has been a target of numerous attacks and threats over more than a decade because of her investigative stories.

In May 2017, she was brutally assaulted at the parking lot in front of her home and needed medical treatment as a result. In earlier harassment cases, vandals painted a cross in blood-red paint next to the apartment.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism, CSWIJ, which offers offer mentorship to women journalists from both Western and non-Western countries, issued a statement on Monday standing “in solidarity with Arbana Xharra, who has faced threats and a horrific attack for her investigations into extremism, forcing her to flee her home country”.

“Now, after eight years, she continues to be harassed for her reporting,” CFWIJ said.

“Journalists must be able to investigate religious radicalism without fear of being attacked, threatened, or sued. We call on the Basic Court of Pristina to recognize that the lawsuit brought by Imam Enes Goga is an affront to press freedom and immediately dismiss this case against Xharra,” it added.

The trial on this case continues on November 17.

Share Your Experience: TikTok Used for Slut-Shaming Girls in Western Balkans

Posted on October 17, 2023November 2, 2023 by BIRD

Women and girls are often at risk of being denigrated, bullied or sexually exploited via social media.

One of the problematic issues that they face is slut-shaming – a phenomenon defined by the European Institute for Gender Equality, EIGE as “stigmatising women and girls on the basis of their appearance, sexual availability, and actual or perceived sexual behaviour”.

According to EIGE, slut-shaming “is a long-standing form of gender-based violence that is amplified in the cybersphere: it perpetuates the regulation of women and girls’ sexuality and curtails their freedom of speech online”.

As the social media platform TikTok has gained billions of users worldwide, it has increasingly been used for slut-shaming. A BIRN investigation in February 2022 concluded that the minimum age requirement to open a TikTok account has done nothing to stop thousands of children in the Balkans under the age of 13 from accessing the short-form video app, increasing the danger of younger girls being slut-shamed.

For our new investigation, we would like to hear from women who have been slut-shamed on social media networks, particularly via TikTok, or from anyone from a country in the Western Balkans who knows someone who has been slut-shamed online.

The key things we want to find out are:

What was the social media platform on which you or someone you know suffered slut-shaming?
Did you trust in state authorities, parents or teachers to assist you and stop the slut-shaming? If yes, what was their response, and if no, why you did not trust them?
Is TikTok often being used for slut-shaming women and girls?
Has the slut-shaming affected you in the long term?
Are members of the LGBT community more or less affected by online slut-shaming?

We will not publish any documents or names without prior consent and we do not plan to use specific examples, but rather to highlight the general systemic problems. Your responses are secure and encrypted.

Your stories will be used to help us with our ongoing investigation.

How you can take part:

To submit your experience, all you need to do is fill out this form. The questionnaire is available in English, but also in Albanian, Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian and Macedonian.

You can also contact us via email: readerstories@birn.eu.com.

Or you can reach us via social media:

Facebook: @balkaninsight

X (formerly Twitter): @balkaninsight

From Religious Figures to Journalists, and Minors in Peril

Posted on October 12, 2023October 14, 2023 by BIRD

In the intricate web of the digital realm, the Balkans in September experienced a series of incidents involving religious figures, contentious content and the ensuing digital outrage.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, an alarming incident involving domestic violence and the subsequent online backlash prompted the controversial comments of a Catholic priest. Meanwhile, in Romania, the cancellation of screenings about an Orthodox priest sparked debate, while in North Macedonia a priest made unverified claims about LGBT-themed content, inciting hate speech.

In Montenegro, journalist Balša Knežević found himself entangled in legal troubles due to online content targeting the Serbian Orthodox Church. Journalists in Serbia faced a convergence of physical threats and online abuse, putting their work and safety further at risk.

Albanian online media outlet JOQ meanwhile unearthed a series of disturbing incidents involving minors in the digital space, raising concerns about the safety of the younger generation.

Religious figures trigger digital controversies

In the West Herzegovina Canton of the Federation entity in Bosnia, Denis Buntić, a former handball player, found himself at the centre of allegations of domestic violence. Klara, his wife, reported the incident, sharing a harrowing video capturing a violent altercation. The video revealed her desperate attempts to defend herself against Buntić, all while an infant, just a few months old, was present. As the media extensively covered this disturbing incident and the video went viral, Klara Buntić became the target of a barrage of chauvinistic insults on social media. She was labeled a “bad actress”, criticized for her appearance with derogatory terms like “silicone girl” and unfairly blamed for provoking the incident.

The aftermath of the incident stirred a public outcry. Amid the discussions, Jesuit priest Ike Mandurić entered the fray on Facebook, sparking more controversy with his comments. In his status update, Fr Mandurić downplayed the severity of the incident and expressed discriminatory and chauvinistic opinions. He insinuated that women were primarily at fault and criticized men who showed empathy, stating: “If you have endured such hysteria and whining, I admire you! Boys, kudos to you!” The remark drew widespread condemnation, leading Mandurić to ultimately delete it.

An elderly woman wearing a face mask prays a day before Good Friday in orthodox church in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, 16 April 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI

Beyond Bosnia, the Municipal Cultural Centre in Arad, western Romania, found itself in the midst of a different form of controversy after it cancelled two screenings of a documentary about Fr Arsenie Boca, an Orthodox priest and theologian who has become a symbol for Orthodox pilgrims since his death in 1989. The film’s cancellation, just two days before the screenings, was attributed to alleged threats from individuals claiming they would show up to stop the screening. Meanwhile, in North Macedonia, a prominent Macedonian Orthodox priest made unverified claims about LGBT-themed content in textbooks. This ignited a flurry of reactions and hate speech aimed at the LGBT community in the country.

In Montenegro, recent developments in the digital sphere have brought to light a broader narrative involving journalist Balša Knežević and the online publication Portal Aktuelno. Knežević, the editor-in-chief of the portal, recently faced a police interrogation by order of the Higher State Prosecutor’s Office, VDT. The complaint was made on the grounds of hate speech after the online media called the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro a “Sect of Saint Sava’’ and the “so-called Serbian Orthodox Church’’, insulting numerous believers.

Journalists face physical and online threats in Serbia

In Serbia, journalists are facing a troubling convergence of physical and online threats in the digital age. While their mission is to uncover the truth and report it, they increasingly find themselves at risk, both on the streets and in the virtual world.

Within this realm, journalists who document the world’s events have become unwilling subjects of their own narratives, as physical confrontations disrupt their work. The case of Maja Djuric, a journalist from N1 television, is emblematic of the risks journalists bear in the field. Djuric’s physical assault in Mitrovica, Kosovo, while capturing video material, highlights the perils they encounter, as their pursuit of the truth often puts them on the front lines.

Head of the Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Marko Djuric, leaves after a press conference in Belgrade, Serbia, 27 March 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANDREJ CUKIC

Simultaneously, digital attacks are on the rise. Accusations and online abuse directed at journalists and media outlets are increasingly common. Television Hepi’s criticism of journalist Brankica Stanković and the Insajder editorial team during a guest appearance by Zoran Ćirjaković underscores the influence of digital platforms in magnifying accusations and insults. These digital threats raise concerns about the integrity and independence of journalism, as journalists find themselves under constant scrutiny.

While social media platforms play a crucial role in shaping public opinion, they can quickly turn into a battleground for journalists, as evidenced by the outpouring of threats and offensive comments in response to a Serbian newspaper’s coverage of the Serbian Orthodox Church’s role in Kosovo. The escalation reached a dangerous point with a threat to “burn down the editorial office” of Danas, underscoring the pressing need to address online safety and hold tech platforms accountable.

As the legal system steps in, Editor-in-Chief Dragoljub Petrovic’s response to threats against Danas newspaper’s editorial team exemplifies the importance of pursuing accountability. The identification and detention of a suspect involved in the threats serve as a beacon of hope for the protection of press freedom in the country.

Disturbing digital space incidents involving minors in Albania

Albanian online media outlet JOQ recently brought to the forefront a series of alarming incidents in the digital sphere. These range from child endangerment to the promotion of narcotics among minors, raising pressing concerns about the digital safety of the younger generation.

JOQ recently brought to light a disturbing case that has ignited outrage within the online community. In one such incident, an Albanian individual shared a TikTok photo of a woman and her infant, with the child depicted with a cigarette in its mouth. Adding fuel to the fire, the photo’s caption brazenly proclaimed: “Big and small gang, we want this to go viral”.

Another troubling incident reported by a concerned citizen has further underscored the perils of social media. JOQ featured a video depicting a minor boy being subjected to a violent assault by his peers. While JOQ did share the video, its primary circulation took place on the Snapchat app, shedding light on the challenges of monitoring and curbing harmful content within various platforms.

In a separate incident, a 31-year-old Albanian citizen from Kurbin found himself in legal jeopardy after broadcasting a live video on TikTok. The video showed the man providing a minor with a cigarette allegedly laced with cannabis. The minor was filmed smoking a cigarette in the company of the adult. The man’s subsequent arrest for “encouraging the use of narcotics” underscores the gravity of promoting harmful behaviours, particularly among impressionable youth.

Bosnia has been covered by Elma Selimovic, Aida Trepanić and Azem Kurtic, Romania by Adina Florea, North Macedonia by Bojan Stojkovski and Goce Trpkovski, Montenegro by Djurdja Radulovic, Albania by Nensi Bogdani, Serbia by Tijana Uzelac and Kalina Simic.

Croatian Journalists Decry Govt Plan to Criminalise Crime Leaks

Posted on October 10, 2023October 14, 2023 by BIRD

In January this year, when media in Croatia got hold of correspondence involving a former cabinet minister caught up in a corruption probe, her mention of a certain “A.P.” quickly set tongues wagging. The prime minister then, as now, was Andrej Plenkovic.

The correspondence was being used as evidence in an investigation launched by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office into the allegedly inflated cost of software ordered in 2019 by then EU Funds and Regional Development Minister Gabriela Zalac.

There was nothing in the reports that incriminated the prime minister, but it proved embarrassing nonetheless – a sense of guilt by association.

Now, his government is poised to criminalise the “unauthorised disclosure of the content of investigative or evidentiary action”, a change to the Criminal Code that the media has dubbed ‘Lex AP.’

The government insists the aim is to support the presumption of innocence, protect the privacy of suspects and ensure the independence of the judiciary. Critics, however, say the real objective is to silence journalists who rely on leaks from police, prosecutors and the courts to report on the misdeeds of politicians and public officials.

“This is an unprecedented attack on the freedom of journalism, on the journalistic profession, on whistleblowers,” said Hrvoje Zovko, head of the Croatian Journalists’ Association, HND, who linked it to parliamentary, presidential and European parliamentary elections due next year and the storm over the Zalac correspondence.

“This will not be passed to criminally prosecute the journalist, but to discredit and contaminate the journalist and to ensure that no potential source dares to dial the journalist’s phone number,” Zovko told BIRN. “This will have catastrophic consequences for the journalistic profession, and the public will be deprived of everything.”

Journalists fear ‘sources will dry up’

Last week, a round table on the new law was held at the Croatian Journalists’ Association in Zagreb. Photo: SNH

The proposed change to the law – which foresees punishment of up to three years in prison – was submitted to public consultation on September 22, after which the government will likely send it to parliament.

Croatia’s centre-right government, led by Plenkovic’s Croatian Democratic Union, HDZ, has defended the bill, saying it is in no way directed against journalists.

“It only applies to the participants in the [legal] proceedings,” Justice Minister Ivan Malenica said last month. “Through this criminal act, the victim’s right to privacy and the presumption of innocence are protected.”

Croatia, however, has a history of high-level corruption and ranks 57th out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s perception of corruption index. Such a law will hardly contribute to greater public trust in the integrity of public officials, said Zovko.

The law, he said, will render journalism “meaningless” and simply protect “the political elites, regardless of who is in power”.

“We will fight against it, but at the end of the day, if it is passed, it can be used abundantly by whoever is in power.”

HND member and N1 television journalist Ana Raic warned that “sources will dry up”.

“I hope that there will still be enough brave people who will still want to expose corruption or say that this investigation is taking too long,” Raic told a news conference in October.

Investigative journalists, in particular, face being plunged into “the blackest darkness”, she said, as they try to follow criminal cases and expose wrongdoing.

Criminal offence ‘unnecessary and harmful’

The round table on the new law was attended by a couple of former ministers and several prominent intellectuals. Photo: SNH

While conceding the right and the obligation of the state to prevent the disclosure of information from certain stages of criminal proceedings, lawyer Vesna Alaburic, who frequently defends journalists taken to court over their reporting, said the introduction of such a criminal offence “is unnecessary and harmful”.

“The proposed solution sanctions the disclosure of content of every evidentiary act, regardless of whether that content is at all important for a specific criminal proceeding or perhaps it is about content for which there is a predominant interest of the public,” said Alaburic, noting that Croatian law already allows certain information to be declared secret and any disclosure of such information is considered a crime.

“That’s why I don’t consider it justified that the new criminal offence indiscriminately, without valid justification, prohibits the disclosure of the content of absolutely every evidentiary action,” she told BIRN.

“The public would be denied the exercise of its legitimate ‘right to know’ because even journalists would not be able to convey to the public all the contents of the predominant public interest.”

Alaburic said she did not believe journalists risk prosecution, given the law applies only to the participants in criminal proceedings, but may come under pressure to reveal the sources of their information.

Political reaction to the government’s plans has been muted. One of the few to speak out was MP Damir Bajs of Fokus party.

“With the introduction of a new criminal offence, we will have two Croatias,” he said. “One before and one after the introduction of that criminal act.”

“We will only talk about good things, and it will not be possible to spoil the mood of the government and the prime minister or anyone in power,” Bajs said.

“There is only one question –in whichCroatia do we want to live? In a country where the government can say what it wants, but nothing can be published about them?”

Turkey Increases Crackdown on Journalists, Citing Kurdish Terror Threat

Posted on October 5, 2023October 14, 2023 by BIRD

Veteran Turkish journalist Merdan Yanardag was sentenced to two years and six months in prison on Wednesday for “making propaganda for a terrorist organisation” following his criticism of the jail conditions of Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK.

Despite the sentence, Yanardag was released from prison considering he had spent more than three months in prison already.

“I criticized the policies followed by the [ruling] Justice and Development Party. They came to a conclusion that I praised Ocalan, for no reason. Why did you arrest me?” Yanardag asked on Wednesday in a press conference in front of Marmara Prison, formerly known as Silivri Prison, which is famous for holding political prisoners.

“This prison is the symbol of the regime’s tyranny,” Yanardag added.

Another senior journalist, Aysenur Arslan, was taken into police custody and investigated by prosecutors’ office for her comments on last Sunday’s Ankara bombing, which was claimed by the PKK.

Arslan was accused of praising terrorists. Both Arslan and Yanardag were targeted by pro-government media and social media trolls due to their comments.

“I explained what I really said [on TV]. As a result, I was released,” Arslan said on Wednesday in front of the court house in Istanbul.

Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council, RTUK, the government agency for regulating TV and radio broadcasts, has taken punitive measures against Halk TV, citing comments made by Arslan on the channel related to Sunday’s bomb attack in Ankara.

RTUK imposed five programme suspensions, deeming Arslan’s comments a violation of the rules. RTUK also imposed a 3-per-cent fine [of its revenues] on Halk TV for “crossing the line of criticism”.

Yielding to the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Halk TV has since ended Arslan’s programme and fired her.

“Although terrorism was condemned in the same program, the unfortunate words spoken live in the … program aired yesterday go beyond the limits of Halk TV’s stance and perspective. Therefore, we announce with regret that we have decided to end the program,” Cafer Mahiroglu, chair of the Board of Directors of Halk TV, announced on Tuesday.

Following last Sunday’s bombing, Turkey has intensified its police and military operations against the PKK.

Since Sunday, the Police and Gendarmerie hsve arrested at least 105 people, and two more Kurdish militants were killed in clashes with the Gendarmerie in Agri province on Wednesday.

As the air force continues to bomb PKK targets in northern Iraq, the Turkish Defence Minister said that two of the bombers came to Turkey from parts of northern Syria controlled by the Kurdish People’s Defence Units, YPG, forces backed by the United States.

“We would like everyone to know that all facilities and activities of the PKK and YPG in Iraq and Syria are our legitimate targets,” Defence Minister Yasar Guler said.

Turkey considers the YPG a sister organisation of the PKK.

However, Mazloum Abdi, the leader of the YPG, denied playing any role in the bombing.

“Ankara’s attack perpetrators haven’t passed through our region as Turkish officials claim, and we aren’t party to Turkey’s internal conflict, nor do we encourage escalation. Turkey is looking for pretexts to legitimize its ongoing attacks on our region and to launch a new military aggression that is of deep concern to us,” Abdi said on Twitter on Wednesday. He added that Turkish attacks on cities are war crimes.

Kosovo Bans Serbia Sport TV Channels Over Messages ‘Glorifying’ Banjska Attack

Posted on October 5, 2023October 14, 2023 by BIRD

Kosovo’s Independent Media Commission, IMC, on Tuesday urged a halt to broadcasts of Serbian sport TV channels, days after they carried messages supporting the armed Serbs killed during in shootout with Kosovo Police in Serb-majority northern Kosovo on September 24.

“We urge distribution operators to stop broadcasting Arena [Sport] channels,” the head of the IMC Board, Jeton Mehmeti, said in a meeting in which five members of the board supported the ban.

“We now have evidence that Arena Sport channels … broadcasted video messages which come from Serbia and contained glorifications of the terrorist attack in the north, and represent threatening messages to Kosovo citizens,” Mehmeti said.

The decision affects ten Arena Sport channels which are carried on Kosovo’s main cable TV platforms.

Art Motion, one of the Kosovo cable TV networks which carries Arena Sport channels, did not respond to BIRN’s request for comment on Wednesday over the IMC decision. Arena Sport is owned by Telekom Srbija company.

Another cable provider, IPKO, told BIRN on Friday that it will respect the decision “until the provider of these channels fixes this matter definitively with the IMC”.

The IMC is an independent institution responsible for the regulation, management and oversight of the broadcasting frequency spectrum in Kosovo.

Two days before the decision, Mehmeti said the IMC received complaints from viewers that, during the half-time break and after football matches, Arena Sport channels broadcasted messages in support of the armed gunmen who attacked Kosovo Police on September 24 in the village of Banjska in the northern municipality of Zubin Potok. A Kosovo Police officer and three of the gunmen were killed in the shootout.

The other attackers managed to escape through mountainous terrain.

Graphics shown on the TV screen bore the messages: “We will remember” and “Glory to heroes” with a photo of Banjska Monastery, Serbia’s coat of arms and the date “24.09.2023” together with the inscription “Manastir Banjska” at the bottom left of the screen.

The aftermath of the attack has caused controversies inside Kosovo’s public broadcaster, Radio Television of Kosovo, RTK. On September 30, its board suspended Zeljko Tvrdisic, the director of RTK 2, the channel broadcasting in the Serbian language. According to the announcement, the suspension is valid for 30 days.

“After a detailed discussion … regarding the chronicle broadcast on the news of RTK2 dated September 28, 2023, following the proposal of the general director, the Board of RTK has unanimously decided to suspend from office for a period of 30 days the director of RTK 2, Zeljko Tvrdisic,” media cited the RTK Board as saying.

According to the media, RTK 2 news had described the three Serbian gunmen killed in the police action in Banjska as “victims”.

The management of RTK has said it will conduct a detailed analysis of the situation to identify violations of professional standards. RTK has warned of other disciplinary measures.

But the original RTK2 news article that BIRN has seen in fact used the word “stradali” for the killed Serbs, which in Serbian means “died”, “killed”, or “perished”, not “victims”, which is “zrtve” in Serbian.

Tvrdisic told BIRN that he is waiting for the internal commission of the public broadcaster, formed on October 3, to finish its evaluation and inform him about the decision.

He said that it was “scandalous” that he was informed about his suspension by the media on September 30 and only received the official note from RTK on Monday, October 2.

“I am confident that I have acted in accordance with professional standards, the ethics code and the law. The problem is we reported on an event in [the town of] Gracanica, where the lighting of candles for the murdered was organised. It was also stated as a problem that, in a statement, we had the President of the Serbian Journalists Association, who used the word ‘Metohija’,” Tvrdisic told BIRN.

Serbia officially uses the expression “Kosovo and Metohija” for Kosovo – a term which many Kosovars see as implying a Serbian character to Kosovo.

Turkey Ranked Among ‘Worst Countries’ for Internet Freedoms by Freedom House

Posted on October 4, 2023October 14, 2023 by BIRD

“Freedom on the Net 2023: The Repressive Power of Artificial Intelligence”, a new report published by human rights watchdog Freedom House, says global internet freedoms declined for the 13^th consecutive year – and that Turkey has become one of the worst countries in the world in terms of internet freedoms.

The report underlined that attacks on free expression grew more common around the world while Artificial Intelligence, AI, has allowed governments to enhance and refine online censorship.

“While an improvement in internet freedom was observed in 20 countries around the world this year, a decline was detected in 29 countries, including Turkey. Unfortunately, there is a contraction in internet freedoms around the world as a result of authoritarian pressure,” Gurkan Ozturan, Media Freedom Rapid Response Coordinator at the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, one of the authors of the Freedom House report, told BIRN.

Freedom House listed Turkey as “not free” in its internet freedoms index, scoring only 30 points in total out of 100 points.

Ozturan added that Turkey has seen one of the most rapid declines in internet freedoms.

“With a 15-point decline in total since 2014, Turkey stands in third worst place, with Venezuela and Uganda, in hardest declining countries after Myanmar, with 30 points and Russia with 19 points,” Ozturan said.

Ozturan said that key developments in Turkey in 2023 included restrictions and censorship, especially in the aftermath of bombings and earthquakes; disinformation campaigns during the election period, the passing of a Disinformation Law, and revelations of mass surveillance by government bodies.

As the report’s title suggest, AI has become a major concern in internet freedoms, as the government uses it at the expense of internet freedoms.

“We see that Artificial Intelligence technology, which created excitement around the world last year, is used by many governments for mass surveillance and censorship purposes. If no regulation is made in the coming period, it would be surprising if these practices do not lead to an even more oppressive internet management and social life,” Ozturan warned.

Increasing Government Control of Internet in Serbia and Hungary

Aleksandar Vucic (R) receives Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of a meeting of the Hungary-Serbia Strategic Cooperation Council in Palic, Serbia, 20 June 2023. EPA-EFE/Vivien Cher Benko

In addition to Turkey, Hungary and Serbia from Central and Southeastern Europe were also covered by the Freedom House report.

Hungary is listed as “partly free” with 69 points out of 100, but the Hungarian government continues to try to up control of the internet.

“Internet freedom in Hungary remains relatively open, but threats have increased in recent years. Hungary enjoys high levels of overall connectivity and relatively affordable internet access. While there are few overt restrictions on content in Hungary, the government continues to consolidate its control over the telecommunications and media landscape,” the report wrote.

Serbia is listed as “free”, with 71 points – at the edge of free countries in terms of internet freedoms.

“Serbia registered a slight decline in internet freedom during the coverage period. The country features high levels of internet access, limited website blocking and strong constitutional protections for journalists,” the report wrote, but warned about disinformation campaigns and surveillance by the government.

“Pro-government news sites, some of which are connected to the ruling party, engage in disinformation campaigns. The government has reportedly employed trolls on social media to advance its narrative and denigrate critics,” it said.

The surveillance infrastructure poses concerns as well, with research showing that government agencies have used spyware surveillance tools, including Predator. “Journalists continue to face strategic lawsuits against public participation, SLAPPs, concerning ‘insults’ or ‘slander’ against public officials, though detentions and prison sentences in these cases are rare,” the report wrote.

Freedom on the Net project is a collaborative effort between Freedom House and a network of more than 85 researchers, who come from civil society organisations, academia, journalism, and other backgrounds, covering 70 countries.

European Rights Court Faults Turkey in Convictions for Online Posts

Posted on October 3, 2023October 14, 2023 by BIRD

Turkey violated the right to freedom of expression in convicting two individuals over their social media posts, one in support of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and the other describing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a “filthy thief”, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday.

Baran Burukan was given a prison sentence of just over a year in 2018 after he shared content that contained the words, ‘Long live the Kurdistan resistance’ and ‘Long live Abdullah Ocalan’. Arrested in 1999 and convicted of terrorism, Ocalan, the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, is serving a life sentence.

The second applicant to the Strasbourg court, Ilknur Birol, was given a sentence of 10 months in 2019 for a 2015 tweet in which she wrote: “Tayyip Erdogan filthy thief”. In both cases, the courts suspended the judgment, a measure that requires the consent of the defendant before their guilt is decided.

After their appeals were rejected by Turkish courts, including the Constitutional Court, Birol and Burukan turned to the ECHR.

In its own ruling, the ECHR noted that in a later case, from mid-2022, the Turkish Constitutional Court found fault with the practice of suspending judgment, saying such decisions “were not based on appropriate and sufficient reasons, that the courts failed to give due consideration to the defendants’ arguments in their defence and rejected requests for the gathering and examination of evidence on irrelevant grounds, and that those concerned had neither the help of a defence lawyer or the necessary time and facilities to prepare their defence adequately”.

Subsequent appeals in such cases were ineffective given that the courts often relied on “insufficient, formulaic reasoning while only conducting a merely formal examination, on the basis of the case file, without weighing up the interests at stake”, the ECHR cited the Constitutional Court as ruling. It also said that the practice of asking a defendant to consent to a suspended judgment at the very outset – before his or her guilt had been decided – “was likely to exert pressure on him or her and to give rise to a perception of his or her guilt in the judge’s mind, without being counterbalanced by any fair trial safeguards”.

The ECHR said it saw “no reason to find otherwise” and described the problem as systemic.

“The Court held that, in view of their potentially chilling effect, the criminal convictions, together with the decisions to suspend the judgments (subject to probation periods of three and five years respectively) constituted an interference with the applicants’ right to freedom of expression,” it said, and ordered Turkey to pay each applicant 2,600 euros in respect of non-pecuniary damage.

Over the past several years, journalists, academics, politicians, and private individuals have been taken to court over their social media posts since the adoption of draconian laws and regulations under Erdogan’s increasingly autocratic rule.

In 2021, an investigation by independent media outlet Gazete Duvar found that more than 128,000 investigations were launched between 2014 and 2019 concerning alleged insults against Erdogan, resulting in more than 27,000 criminal cases launched by prosecutors.

Europol Sought Unlimited Data Access in Online Child Sexual Abuse Regulation

Posted on September 29, 2023October 14, 2023 by BIRD

The European police agency, Europol, has requested unfiltered access to data that would be harvested under a controversial EU proposal to scan online content for child sexual abuse images and for the AI technology behind it to be applied to other crimes too, according to minutes of a high-level meeting in mid-2022.

The meeting, involving Europol Executive Director Catherine de Bolle and the European Commission’s Director-General for Migration and Home Affairs, Monique Pariat, took place in July last year, weeks after the Commission unveiled a proposed regulation that would require digital chat providers to scan client content for child sexual abuse material, or CSAM.

The regulation, put forward by European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, would also create a new EU agency – the EU centre to prevent and counter child sexual abuse. It has stirred heated debate, with critics warning it risks opening the door to mass surveillance of EU citizens.

In the meeting, the minutes of which were obtained under a Freedom of Information request, Europol requested unlimited access to the data produced from the detection and scanning of communications, and that no boundaries be set on how this data is used.

“All data is useful and should be passed on to law enforcement, there should be no filtering by the [EU] Centre because even an innocent image might contain information that could at some point be useful to law enforcement,” the minutes state. The name of the speaker is redacted, but it is clear from the exchange that it is a Europol official.

The Centre would play a key role in helping member states and companies implement the legislation; it would also vet and approve scanning technologies, as well as receive and filter suspicious reports before passing them to Europol and national authorities.

Minutes from the Europol commission obtained by BIRN.

In the same meeting, Europol proposed that detection be expanded to other crime areas beyond CSAM, and suggested including them in the proposed regulation. It also requested the inclusion of other elements that would ensure another EU law in the making, the Artificial Intelligence Act, would not limit the “use of AI tools for investigations”.

The Europol input is apparent in Johansson’s proposal. According to the Commission text, all reports from the EU Centre that are not “manifestly unfounded” will have to be sent simultaneously to Europol and to national law enforcement agencies. Europol will also have access to the Centre’s databases.

Several data protection experts who examined the minutes said Europol had effectively asked for no limits or boundaries in accessing the data, including flawed data such as false positives, or in how it could be used in training algorithms.

Niovi Vavoula, a data protection expert at the Queen Mary University of London, said a reference in the document to the need for quality data “points to the direction that Europol will use the data to train algorithms, which according to the recent Europol reform is permitted”.

Europol’s in-house research and development centre, the Innovation Hub, has already started working towards an AI-powered tool to classify child sexual abuse images and videos.

According to an internal Europol document, the agency’s own Fundamental Rights Officer raised concerns in June 2023 about possible “fundamental rights issues” stemming from “biased results, false positives or false negatives”, but gave the project the green light anyway.

In response, Europol declined to comment on internal meetings, but said: “It is imperative to highlight our organisation’s mission and key role to combat the heinous crime of child sexual abuse in the EU. Regarding the future EU Centre on child sexual abuse, Europol was rightfully consulted on the interaction between the future EU Centre’s remit and Europol. Our position as the European Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation is that we must receive relevant information to protect the EU and its citizens from serious and organised crime, including child sexual abuse.”

Illustrative photo by Alexas_Fotos Pixabay

Staff links

On September 25, BIRN in cooperation with other European outlets reported on the complex network of AI and advocacy groups that has helped drum up support for Johansson’s proposal, often in close coordination with the Commission. There are links to Europol too.

According to information available online, Cathal Delaney, a former Europol official who led the agency’s Child Sexual Abuse team at its Cybercrime Centre, and who worked on a CSAM AI pilot project, has begun work the US-based organisation Thorn, which develops AI software to target CSAM.

Delaney moved to Thorn immediately after leaving Europol in January 2022 and is listed in the lobby register of the German federal parliament as an “employee who represents interests directly”.

Transfers of EU officials to the private sector to work on issues related to work carried out in their last three years of EU engagement require formal permission, which can be denied if it is deemed that such work “could lead to a conflict with the legitimate interests of the institution”.

In response, Europol said: “Taking into account the information provided by the staff member and in accordance with Europol’s Staff Regulation, Europol has authorised the referred staff member to conclude a contract with a new employer after his end of service for Europol at the end of 2021”.

In June, Delaney paid a visit to his former colleagues, writing on Linkedin: “I’ve spent time this week at the #APTwins Europol Annual Expert Meeting and presented on behalf of Thorn about our innovations to support victim identification.”

Illustrative photo by EPA-EFE/RONALD WITTEK

A senior former Europol official, Fernando Ruiz Perez, is also listed as a board member of Thorn. According to Europol, Ruiz Perez stopped working as Head of Operations of the agency’s Cybercrime Centre in April 2022 and, according to information on the Linkedin profile of Julie Cordua, Thorn’s CEO, joined the board of the organisation at the beginning of 2023.

Asked for comment, Thorn replied: “To fight child sexual abuse at scale, close collaboration with law enforcement agencies like Europol are indispensable. Of course we respect any barring clauses in transitions of employees from law enforcement agencies to Thorn. Anything else would go against our code of conduct and would also hamper Thorn’s relationships to these agencies who play a vital role in fighting child sexual abuse. And fighting this crime is our sole purpose, as Thorn is not generating any profit from the organization’s activities.”

Alongside Ruiz Peréz, on the board of Thorn is Ernie Allen, chair of the WeProtect Global Alliance, WPGA, and former head of the National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, NCMEC, a US organisation whose set-up fed into the blueprint for the EU’s own Centre.

Europol has also co-operated with WeProtect, a putatively independent NGO that emerged from a fusion of past European Commission and national government initiatives and has been a key platform for strategies to support Johansson’s proposal.

“Europol can confirm that cooperation with the WPGA has taken place since January 2021, including in the context of the WPGA Summit 2022 and an expert meeting organised by Europol’s Analysis Project (AP) Twins (Europol’s unit focusing on CSMA)” the agency said.

This article is part of an investigation supported by the IJ4EU programme, versions of the article are also published by Netzpolitik and Solomon.