Tag: media freedom

Romania’s Drive to Censor ‘Fake News’ Worries Activists

Posted on by BIRD

A few days ago, a Romanian MP, Liviu Plesoianu, from the opposition Social Democratic Party, PSD, asked the authorities to block access to the official presidential website, presidency.ro, which he accused of spreading fake news emitted by “a citizen named Klaus Werner Iohannis”.

Plesoianu on April 25 invoked article 54 of the decree issued on 16 March by President Iohannis declaring a state of emergency, which has been used to block access to a dozen websites since then. 

The article grants special powers to the National Authority for the Administration and Reglamentation of Communications, ANCOM, on the request of the Interior Ministry, to block access to any online news platform that publishes content “promoting fake news regarding the COVID-19 evolution and the protection and prevention measures”.

According to Plesoianu, the presidential website was itself guilty of such charges on 11 March, the day the World Health Organization, WHO, declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. 

That day, Iohannis posted a speech on the website in which he said: “Even older people who have other health problems as well, generally have an acceptable condition” – and warned against calling the coronavirus a “killer virus”.

Beyond the debate about whether this assertion constituted misinformation, the MP’s request to close the website for posting “fake news” has few prospects of success, as the National Liberal Party government will not likely take such action against its presidential ally.

But Plesoianu’s stunt has raised bigger questions about the legitimacy of a legal provision that grants the government a referee role to decide what is fake news, and what content can be published or should be censored.

“Whoever decides what is fake news today can decide what is fake based on the preferences of the moment,” Cosmin Pojoranu, from the fact-checking website Factual.ro, told BIRN. 

Pojoranu expresses concerns over the opaque nature of the decision-making process when it comes to blocking access to websites. 

While it is known that ANCOM acts on the request of the Ministry of the Interior’s cluster, created to deal with the pandemic, no details have been revealed about the criteria they use to evaluate content – or if fixed criteria even exist. The public only finds out what’s happened, Pojoranu noted, “through a stark communication, when it is already done”.

Cristina Lupu, of the Centre for Independent Journalism, CJI, calls this lack of transparency “the most worrying part” of the situation. “Blocking access to sites is like a nuclear button; you need to press it with extreme attention and to explain very well how you took that decision,” Lupu told BIRN, warning of potential abuses of this kind of mechanism to censor information in the future.

‘Plan to exterminate pensioners’ and other follies

The websites that are punished for spreading fake news about the coronavirus pandemic, and the government’s response to it, have normally published what most rational persons would rapidly identify as plain lies.

One is the Orthodox Christian news platform ortodoxinfo.ro, whose access was restricted on 24 April, after it published an item of news about a supposed government plan to “kill pensioners in concentration and extermination camps”. 

The article was signed by one Paul Ghitiu and published after a Romanian official who was subsequently dismissed proposed a plan to place people over 65 in separate locations as a way to protect them from infection, while scrapping movement restrictions for the rest of the population. 


Romanian president Klaus Iohannis. Bucharest, Romania, 23 April 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/DRAGOS ASAFTEI / ROMANIAN PRESIDENCY / HANDOUT

The authorities justified their decision to close the site, citing alleged “behavioural changes” that the article could unleash among readers.

Other sites targeted by the government’s anti-fake news campaign are bpnews.ro, romania-veche.ro and justitiarul.ro. 

Access to them was blocked after they published several stories promoting theories that denounced the pandemic as an invention of Big Pharma and “a conspiracy that pursues the introduction of chips in human bodies through vaccines”, or which accused the Romanian government of using the outbreak to push mandatory vaccination.

Programmer Ovidiu Mihalcea, one of its founders of the news portal Rubrika.ro, uses his IT skills to trace the origins of such misinformation and, together with two colleagues, elaborates a newsletter of “news about fake news”. 

Mihalcea identifies two types of websites spreading such outlandish theories. On the one hand, he said, are those who “do it just for profit”, have no clear political interest and publish “all kinds of sensationalist news”. Others are run by “people who tend to believe the ideas they promote”, mostly having right-wing nationalist views.

A counter-productive approach?

Besides questioning the legitimacy of the methods that the authorities are applying to curb the transmission of fake news, journalists and activists also doubt the efficiency of the approach they have adopted.

CJI’s Cristina Lupu has received many pieces of content promoting disinformation these days, and said most do not come in the form of links to websites like those that have been cancelled but as messages on WhatsApp and social media.

“The closure of some sites has only a cosmetic effect and does not resolve the problem,” said Lupu. 

Pojoranu concurs, seeing the closure measures as a drop in the ocean. He advocates educating the public to discern real news from aberrations like those making the rounds these days. “There are too many sources on the internet, you would need to close half of the internet,” he says, describing the repressive approach to misinformation. “You would need an army, a ministry of censorship,” he added.

Moreover, Pojoranu believes that blocking access to fake news websites can have “a boomerang effect” and amplify the reverberation of some content that would otherwise reach a much more limited number of people. 

“You risk making it become mainstream,” he said about the consequences of such false information making it into traditional media when it informs people about official reprisals. 

Efforts to silence these obscure and often marginal sources, he argued, might paradoxically encourage more people to believe in conspiracies about the government’s control of information.

Hungary Censoring Information on COVID-19, Report Says

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The Hungarian government has centralized communications about the pandemic and is filtering the release of information about COVID-19, a new report claims. 

It says alternative sources of information, especially healthcare workers, are afraid of being fired if they talk to the press, and that the new “Coronavirus bill” will lead to more self-censorship among journalists. 

These are the main conclusions of a report compiled by the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, HCLU.

It surveyed editors and journalists of 19 independent media outlets on their experiences of how the government and other state institutions handled information about the COVID-19 outbreak in the first month of the crisis.

The main body handling the pandemic in Hungary is the so-called Operational Group, OG, it notes, which holds a daily press conference. 

Hospitals, ministries, professional organizations and other state institutions are not allowed to talk to the press about the pandemic, and all questions related to it must be submitted to this body. 

Moreover, only a few weeks after the outbreak started, the OG moved its press conferences online, so that journalists can now only email questions, making it impossible to re-submit unanswered questions. 

Also, questions chosen for answering are highly selected, certain outlets are neglected and many sensitive questions remain unanswered, according to the report.

While local municipalities have become more open to the press about the outbreak, mayors also suffer from a lack of information, the report says. 

According to the surveyed journalists, alternative sources of information have become scarce. “Even if anonymity is guaranteed, nobody dares to speak to journalists, as they are afraid of retaliation. Healthcare workers are the most intimidated, while their voice is missed the most, to know the reality,” the HCLU report says.

The report quotes one journalist who said a physician friend told him: “Don’t write this because I’ll be fired and you’ll go to jail.” They were referring to the new “Bill on protection against coronavirus” that Hungary’s parliament passed in March. 

The controversial bill allows Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government to rule by decree without any time limit. It also amends criminal law to introduce jail terms of one to five years for anyone convicted of spreading “falsehood” or “distorted truth” about the pandemic.

The HCLU says the new legislation effectively forces journalists to self-censor their work. 

“Due to the wording of the bill, it is very uncertain what could be proven in front of a court. Now, it seems, a trustworthy source will be not enough; we’ll need to present every piece of evidence. We are vulnerable to the judges’ goodwill,” it quotes one journalist as saying. Another added that, owing to the lack of non-government sources, they have few chances to check incoming information.

Last, the report states, defamation of independent media outlets has become more regular in the state and pro-government media, which routinely call articles critical of the government “fake news”.

On March 15, according to the report, for example, when Zoltán Kovács, Secretary of State for International Communication, attended the daily press conference, instead of answering a question about Hungary’s testing protocol, he rebuked the journalists in a condescending and humiliating way. 

The HCLU report says the newspaper Magyar Hang’s articles are constantly labeled “fake news” in the public media, after it published an internal letter from the vice-president of the Hungarian National Blood Transfusion Service asking co-workers not to wear protective masks.

 “The scope of such reports is clearly the public defamation and discrediting of independent media outlets,” the HCLU said.

West Funding Favoured Media in Moldova, Socialist Deputy Claims

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The Socialist vice-speaker of the Moldovan parliament, Vlad Batrincea, told the assembly on Thursday that Western countries had given favoured media outlets in the country “millions of euros” during the pandemic, saying funding the media appeared to be their priority.

“Do you know what is the first money that comes from our dear partners, from the West? The first money, grants of millions of euros, big money, comes for media institutions, for more light on the issue of COVID-19,” Batrincea said.

The deputy also claimed that many journalists in Moldova had received thousands of euros in envelopes, without paying any income tax on it.

Batrincea made a name for himself for xenophobic attitudes towards neighbouring Romania when he ripped up a map of the country in the Moldovan parliament.

He is also known for harsh anti-LGBT statements. The deputy said he would reveal the names of these media beneficiaries in time. “I have this information and if we start this fight, OK, it will be mutual,” he added, without further elaboration.

Media NGO leaders criticised the allegation and denied such practices occurred, saying all international grants for the media required transparency as a rule.

“There cannot be any payments ‘in envelopes’. Independent media, especially those supported by grants, ensure transparency,” the director of the Centre of Independent Journalism in Moldova, Nadine Gogu, told the Ziarul de Garda newspaper. She added that it was regrettable for politicians to make such claims, adding that journalists should be left alone to do their work.

The director of the Independent Press Association, API, Petru Macovei, said such statements were an attack on journalists and politicians should refrain from such “anti-democratic slide slips”.

“The EU and other donors do not impose editorial conditions on journalists, as politicians, who own various media outlets, do,” said Macovei.

He added that the ruling Socialist Party was the main beneficiary of the concentration of media ownership in the country and was the owner of the principal media holding company.

“Batrincea has put honest journalists and pseudo-journalists, who do services for parties, in the same basket. He has used this situation to accuse all employees in the media of corruption,” Macovei continued.

He warned that it would be dangerous for the ruling party to resume the practice of the former ruling Communists and Democrats to use the secret service and police to practise surveillance on journalists.

Russian-language media have strengthened their position in Moldova since Igor Dodon became President and the Socialist Party took power in November 2019.

New investors in the media include Igor Chaika, the son of the former Russian General Prosecutor, who has become the owner of Primul in Moldova TV Channel, as Moldovan media have reported.

Some Balkan States Waging ‘Crusade’ Against Media, Report Warns

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Media freedom in Turkey, Bulgaria and Montenegro is the worst in the region, according to the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, published on Tuesday by Reporters Without Borders – but other Balkan countries have largely failed to improve.

“In southern Europe, a crusade by the authorities against the media is very active,” the report warns.

Turkey holds 154th place out of 180 countries worldwide in Reporters Without Borders’ media freedom rankings.

“Turkey is more authoritarian than ever,” the report says, noting an increase in media censorship, particularly of online outlets, despite the release of a number of imprisoned journalists.

Bulgaria is ranked in 111th place, and the report notes that despite international pressure, public radio management suspended experienced journalist Silvia Velikova, a government critic.

This highlighted the lack of independence of Bulgaria’s public broadcasting media and the hold some political leaders have over their editorial policy.

In Montenegro, which is ranked 105th, the report notes no progress, adding that authorities favour pro-government outlets while exercising pressure against other media outlets and journalists.

“In May 2018, investigative journalist Olivera Lakic was shot in the leg. Like in many previous physical attacks on journalists, Lakic’s case is still unsolved,” the report adds. It also mentioned the recent arrests of three journalists on suspicion of causing panic and disorder by publishing fake news.

Serbia is ranked in 93rd place. “After six years under the leadership of Aleksandar Vucic… Serbia has become a country where it is often dangerous to be a journalist and where fake news is gaining in visibility and popularity at an alarming rate,” the report notes.

It says that the number of verbal attacks by politicians on media has risen sharply, and that officials increasingly use inflammatory rhetoric against journalists.

It adds that the assailants who set fire to the house of investigative journalist Milan Jovanovic have yet to be convicted.

North Macedonia is ranked in 92nd place, an improvement on last year, which the report mostly attributes to the attempts for better self-regulation and the publishing of a register of professional online media.

But it also notes that municipal authorities are still able to place advertisements, which remains a tool for financial pressure on media outlets, and that the ruling party, the Social Democrats, have advertised their government’s achievements.

Moldova retains 91st position and the report notes an “extremely polarised” media landscape, with continuing concerns about ownership.

“The media empire built by former billionaire and Democratic Party boss Vladimir Plahotniuc has lost its influence but has been quickly replaced by a media group affiliated to the Democratic Party’s rival, the pro-Russian Party of Socialists,” the report says.

Albania is ranked 84th in the world, down two places from last year, a result of recently-adopted laws against defamation and tightened regulation of online media which could result in censorship and make journalists more vulnerable to government pressures.

Kosovo is ranked 70th by Reporters Without Borders, with the report noting that media in the country remains divided among ethnic lines, and that many outlets are not financially stable.

“Some of the shared concerns are physical and verbal attacks on journalists, cyber-attacks on online media as well as the lack of transparency of media ownership,” the report says.

Greece’s place in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index, 65th, remains unchanged this year.

Croatia moves up five places and is now ranked 59th, but the report notes that the government is still meddling in the affairs of the national broadcaster, HRT, the defamation is still criminalised and that investigative journalists are often the targets of harassment campaigns.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is ranked 58th, also scoring a five-point rise. The report says the further collapse of public service broadcasters in the country is one of the main weaknesses, along with the polarised political climate, marked by constant verbal attacks and nationalist rhetoric, which “has created a hostile environment for press freedom”.

Romania is ranked 48th in the global index – the best position of all Balkan countries – but the report highlights some continuing shortcomings.

“The attitude towards journalism and free speech that prevails within the state and the political class continues to encourage censorship and self-censorship,” it says.

“The media’s funding mechanisms are opaque or even corrupt, and editorial policies are subordinated to owner interests. The media have gradually been turned into political propaganda tools and are routinely subjected to surveillance by the security services,” it adds.

The report marks Norway, Finland and Denmark as the three best countries in the world for press freedom, while Eritrea, Turkmenistan and North Korea are at the bottom of the list of 180 countries.

Reporters Without Borders says the report shows that the decade ahead will be “decisive for the future of journalism, with the COVID-19 pandemic highlighting and amplifying the many crises that threaten the right to freely reported, independent, diverse and reliable information”.

Moldovan Public TV Station Favours President, Study Says

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President Igor Dodon and his Socialist Party colleagues have received favourable treatment on the main national television station in Moldova, Moldova 1, according to a study by the Centre for Independent Journalism in Moldova.

The study, conducted between March 9-15, monitored the main daily news bulletins as well as the most important political TV shows each day of the week.

The report says that President Dodon was presented in a positive context in almost all news items and that the governing Socialist Party was also favoured over the opposition parties.

The public broadcaster has adjusted its informational content to suit the agenda of the government, the central public authorities being most frequently mentioned and quoted in the news, the study said.

Opposition parties and politicians were disadvantaged by being rarely quoted, and in terms of air time about their actions in news bulletins, it added.

In the news bulletin of March 9, for example, the report said, Moldova 1 quoted a Socialist Party deputy, Corneliu Furculita, urging opposition leaders Maia Sandu, of the PAS, and Ala Nemerenco, a former health minister, to “refrain from using the COVID-19 pandemic to do more political PR”.

The study argues that Moldova 1 has deviated from the best journalistic norms and also does not give opposing views the right to reply.

It said the TV station presented the President as a kind of “National Saviour/Messiah” in the current pandemic as soon as the first case of COVID-19 infection was reported on March 7.

“Starting from the fact that Moldova 1 is a public station, not a state-owned-one, the journalists and the employees of this institution should understand that they are in the service of Moldovan citizens,” expert Victor Gotisan said.

He urged the Audiovisual Council, CCA, to take action against such practices and restore the editorial independence of the national television station.

Prominent Kosovo Serb Journalist Says Intimidation Worsening with COVID-19

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Arrested on April 11 while trying to report on the fight against COVID-19, a prominent journalist in the mainly Serb north of Kosovo says local authorities have stepped up pressure on her outlet since the onset of the pandemic.

Tatjana Lazarevic, editor-in-chief of the online news portal KosSev, was detained by police on the road from the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica/Mitrovice to nearby Zvecan, where she planned to go to the local health centre to investigate what she said were “multiple complaints” about its readiness to deal with cases of the novel coronavirus.

“It is very difficult to get official information,” Lazarevic, 50, told BIRN.

She was accused of violating a weekend curfew imposed to slow the spread of the disease, despite the fact that, under rules in Kosovo, journalists are exempt from the movement restrictions. Released after several hours without charge, Lazarevic said she suspects the episode was the latest attempt to intimidate KosSev by those who run northern Kosovo.

“I believe that there is a visible intention to create a profile picture of our media as an enemy of the state, an enemy of the people, that we are an enemy of the government,” Lazarevic told BIRN.

That state is Serbia, which continues to hold sway in northern Kosovo more than 20 years after the majority-Albanian territory broke away in war and 12 years since it declared independence with the backing of the West.

The public health system in northern Kosovo continues to function, de facto at least, as part of the Serbian health system, reflected in the fact that COVID-19 tests in the north are processed in the Serbian capital, Belgrade. Serbia does not recognise Kosovo as independent.

Pandemic brings more pressure

KosSev was formed in 2014 as an online news portal covering primarily northern Kosovo.

According to Lazarevic, who grew up in Mitrovica/Mitrovice, the site aims to provide properly-reported, impartial and objective information, not necessarily exposés. But in Kosovo, particularly the north, that is enough to invite trouble.

In its short life, KosSev and its small staff has faced cyber-attacks, threats and pressure on a regular basis. And it has recently become worse, Lazarevic said.

“This last phase of pressure has intensified since the start of the pandemic,” she told BIRN.

On Saturday, Lazarevic set out on foot for Zvecan, hoping to see “on the spot” the work of the Zvecan health clinic but also to see the extent of police security along the road during the curfew. Other people were also on the road.

A police car passed her three times. The third time, it slowed down and Lazarevic approached, believing the officers wanted to see her ID. But the car moved on.

“When I was completely alone,” she said, “a van of the [police] intervention unit suddenly appeared. Through an open window, they said, ‘Good afternoon, you have violated the medical prohibition on movement’.” Ten minutes later, Lazarevic entered the vehicle and was taken to the police station.

Lazarevic said she tried to explain to the officers that she was out conducting her work as a journalist and to show them her press credentials. She was released after a couple of hours without being given any further information.

The mainly Serb north of Kosovo is controlled by Srpska Lista, which answers to Serbia’s ruling Progressive Party.

While relations with the Kosovo government in Pristina are far from rosy, she said, the threat comes from the north. Lazarevic described them as “friendly visits” – from a torched KosSev car in 2015 to direct threats, hacks and a wall of silence among public institutions.

“Srpska Lista controls all the power or all the political life of Serbs in Kosovo,” she said.

Montenegro Urged to Delay Law Change Debate in Pandemic

Posted on by Ivana Jeremic

On Thursday, the civic organizations and media in Montenegro have called on Prime Minister Dusko Markovic to postpone public consultations about the draft freedom of information law amid the coronavirus outbreak.

More than 50 civic organizations, journalists and media organizations warned that the lockdown had made participatory debate almost impossible.

“We have numerous restrictions on movement and there are no sessions of parliament, so there are no elementary conditions to hold a meaningful public debate on the issue,” their joint letter states.

On March 31, civil society organizations and journalists also called for a postponement, while the chair of the watchdog body Transparency International, Delia Ferreira Rubio, advised that any non-emergency legislative measure that requires public consultation should be postponed until full, active participation can be guaranteed.

Despite that, the Ministry of Public Administration has called for written comments on the law amendments to be submitted via the ministry’s email address by April 13. After that, the ministry announced, a public debate will be organized using a video conference.

“The draft law has numerous proposals that narrow our rights on information from state bodies. It also restricts the work of investigative journalists and the non-governmental sector,” the signatories to the letter said, referring to the proposed law.

The government proposed the draft law in March 2019. It would allow it to declare any information “classified” if its disclosure would affect a government body’s ability to function.

It also removes controls over the ways in which state bodies declare information classified. Civic organizations, media groups and opposition parties have insisted that the amendments are not in line with the Montenegrin constitution, or with international agreements that the country has signed up to.

The country’s culture of official secrecy has attracted European attention. The European Commission’s 2019 report on Montenegro noted that official secrecy was cited in 68 denied requests for information in 2017, well up from 30 the year before.

It described an increasing practice of declaring requested documents classified, in order to restrict access to information, as a matter of concern. The report also stated that court decisions on access to information are not effectively enforced.

Central and Eastern Europe Freedom of Information Rights ‘Postponed’

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Citing the fight against COVID-19, authorities in a number of Central and Eastern European countries have extended the amount of time state bodies have to respond to freedom of information, FOI, requests, part of what media watchdogs say is a worrying crackdown on press freedom since the onset of the pandemic.

Media regulations across the region have been tightened under states of emergency and journalists have been arrested on accusations of spreading misinformation concerning the response of authorities to the spread of the novel coronavirus. 

Some countries have sought to centralise the dissemination of official information and banned certain media from regular briefings. 

FOI requests, a vital tool for journalists, have also fallen victim to the virus response; in Moldova, public officials have been allowed to decide alone whether or not to respond, while in Serbia, officials can refuse to respond to questions that are not related to the pandemic. In some cases, state bodies have been told they can delay responding until after a state of emergency has been lifted.

The measures have come in for criticism from rights organisations and raised suspicion that governments are trying to avoid public scrutiny of their response to the pandemic, which in many countries has been slow, chaotic and hampered by shortages of protective equipment for frontline medical staff.

Governments have an obligation to “ensure that measures to combat disinformation are necessary, proportionate and subject to regular oversight,” Dunja Mijatovic, human rights commissioner at the Council of Europe said on Friday.

Describing access to information as a “collateral victim” of government responses, Mijatovic said: “Despite the fact that timely information is essential for the public to understand the danger and adopt measures at a personal level to protect themselves, the filtering of information and delays in responses to freedom of information requests have been observed in several member states.”

Her statement followed a letter to the CoE from ten rights organisations that promote press freedoms and freedom of speech, among them Reporters Without Borders and the International Federation of Journalists, urging the 47-member body to take urgent measures against countries they accused of exploiting the crisis to curb essential freedoms.

Deadlines extended in Romania and Moldova


Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. Photo: EPA-EFE/ROBERT GHEMENT.

In European Union member Romania, President Klaus Iohannis signed a decree on March 16 declaring a 30-day state of emergency, which included a provision doubling the amount of time state institutions have to answer FOI requests.

Media outlets including Dela0.ro have reported that several local branches Health Ministry departments have cited the fight against COVID-19 in refusing to provide information to journalists or deferred questions to the communications office created by the Interior Ministry to centralise information about the crisis.

Likewise in neighbouring Moldova, authorities on Friday tripled the amount of time public bodies have to respond to FOI requests, from 15 days to 45. Media researcher and Independent Press Association, API, journalist Mariana Jacot told BIRN that when she had asked for public information from the Health Ministry she was told that ministry officials have more important things to deal with.

FOI right postponed in Serbia

In Serbia, the government has also extended the deadlines for state institutions to respond to a range of requests, including FOI requests to which institutions now have 30 days to respond once the state of emergency in the country is lifted.

Last week, for example, the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications told BIRN it would respond to an FOI request submitted by BIRN, “within the legal deadlines upon the termination of the state of emergency.”

Serbia’s Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Milan Marinovic, welcomed the government’s measure in a statement on March 25. 

Marinovic, who was nominated to the post last year by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party of President Aleksandar Vucic, said the move addressed a “number of concerns regarding the course and the calculation of deadlines during a state of emergency.”

His predecessor, however, questioned the way in which the measure was adopted.

“The government can adopt that regulation only when the parliament cannot meet due to objective reasons,” Rodoljub Sabic told BIRN. “The notion that parliament sessions cannot be held now is completely unsustainable, it is complete legal nonsense.”

The Serbian parliament was dissolved on March 15 after the government banned all gatherings of more than 50 people. 

Referring to the trade ministry’s response to the BIRN FOI request, Sabic said: “Your right has practically been postponed.”

“Of course they can answer you. The regulation does not ban it, it only extends the deadlines. If they want, they can answer you.”

“Unfortunately, the regulation puts them in a position where they don’t have to answer the request. They can postpone your right until the state of emergency is over,” he said. “It all comes down to that body’s goodwill.”

Public debate in Montenegro amid pandemic


Delia Matilde Ferreira Rubio, chair of the board of directors of Transparency International. Photo: EPA-EFE/ALESSANDRO DELLA VALLE.

In Montenegro, rights groups have deplored a decision by the government to press ahead with public consultation on proposed amendments to the country’s law on access to information despite the restrictions imposed on public life amid the pandemic.

On March 31, civil society organisations and journalists called for a postponement, arguing that the lockdown had made participatory debate impossible.

The following day, the chair of Transparency International, Delia Ferreira Rubio, warned that any non-emergency legislative measure that requires public consultation should be postponed until full, active participation can be guaranteed.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Public Administration called for written comments on the amendments to be submitted via the ministry’s official e-mail address by April 13.

The non-governmental Institute Alternative, which promotes good governance and democracy in Montenegro, urged the ministry to wait until the pandemic had passed.

“There is no reason to rush and have a bad discussion during the pandemic,” Stevo Muk said in a press release on April 3. “Especially since neither the government nor the parliament is functioning in a regular way.”

This article was changed on April 7 to amend the time Moldovan authorities have to respond to FOI requests.

Serbian Reporter’s Arrest Over Pandemic Article Draws PM’s Apology

Posted on by BIRD

Serbian authorities have promised to withdraw a new regulation concerning the information flow about the pandemic after a journalist was arrested for reporting poor conditions in an important hospital.

Ana Lalic, who was released from custody on Thursday, was arrested on Wednesday and placed in 48-hours of police custody following publication of her article about conditions in the Clinical Centre of Vojvodina, Serbia’s northern province.

Her media outlet Nova.rs published the text, “KC Vojvodina about to crack: No protection for nurses”, on Wednesday. The article claimed the institution lacked basic equipment and had “chaotic working conditions at the time of the pandemic“.

Lalic claimed she tried to get comments on this from hospital officials and also from the provincial secretariat for health, but none of them responded.

The hospital issued an angry press release following the article, denying her report and announcing that it had informed the prosecutor’s office and the police “due to public disturbance and damage to its reputation”.

Lalic was detained on the first day of the application of new rule that says all information from local institutions about the pandemic must go to central Crisis Staff in Belgrade, led by Prime Minister Ana Brnabic. This alone can can further share information with the public. The government’s decision also applies to the work of the media.

“Information on health measures taken and other information related to the treatment of COVID-19 … given to the public by unauthorized persons, cannot be considered accurate and verified,” the measure says, noting “the possibility of applying regulations relating to liability and legal consequences for the spread of misinformation in a state of emergency.”

However, on Thursday, Brnabic said the government would withdraw the decision, blaming herself for any confusion caused.

“It is my fault that we brought in something like this and it is also my stupidity that when we brought it in, I did not explain it,” Brnabic told to Radio Television of Serbia, concerning the regulation.

Only hours after Nova.rs published Lalic’s article, police came to her home in Novi Sad. Her lawyer, Srdjan Kovacevic, said she was ordered to stay in Novi Sad police station for 48 hours “on suspicion that she could repeat the crime, publishing texts that cause panic and disorder”.

“They searched her apartment and kept a laptop and two mobile phones – official and private. They then brought her to the police station”, Kovacevic told to Nova.rs. He then said Lalic would stay in custody until her hearing.

CoE Urged to Stop Countries Abusing Pandemic to Curb Freedoms

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Singling out Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic as especially worrying examples, ten human rights organisations including Index on Censorship and Reporters Without Borders have written to the Council of Europe and other official bodies, urging them to address the danger of governments misusing the coronavirus crisis to pursue authoritarian policies.

“Several governments across Europe are already using the pandemic to claim extraordinary powers that can undermine democratic institutions, including the free press,” the organisations said. “We believe that some Council of Europe Member States are at risk of derogating from the European Convention on Human Rights,” they noted.

Among the concerns expressed in the letter is an emergency law that aims to tackle false information by penalties of up to five years in jail, limits to press conferences introduced in several countries and an outright ban on them in Slovenia and the Czech Republic. “Such measures must not be allowed to restrict media scrutiny of governments,” the ten organisations say.

They say governments across the world have pushed the boundaries of what they are allowed to do during the COVID-19 crisis, adopting measures including the almost unchecked use of private data collected by mobile phone networks and, in some cases, use of facial recognition surveillance systems that were allegedly conceived before the crisis to tackle dissident activity.

“Our organisations are concerned about the effects of enhanced surveillance measures introduced to monitor the spread of the virus,” the letter said.

“While we recognise the potential benefits in terms of combating the spread of the virus, the use of surveillance must have proper oversight and be clearly limited to tackling the pandemic,” it added.

The letter has been signed by ARTICLE 19, the Association of European Journalists, AEJ, the Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, ECPMF, the European Federation of Journalists, EFJ, the Free Press Unlimited, FPU, Index on Censorship, the International Federation of Journalists, IFJ, International Press Institute, IPI and Reporters Without Borders, RSF.

The letter was published on the Council of Europe website.

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