PACE has expressed its concern at the many cases of serious threats to media freedom in Europe listed by the Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists, set up by the Council of Europe in 2015. A resolution adopted today by the Assembly, on the basis of a report by Volodymyr Ariev (Ukraine, EPP/CD), highlights the death of 16 journalists since January 2015 following acts of violence in the member States.
PACE is particularly concerned about “the dramatic situation of media and journalists in Turkey” and calls on the Turkish authorities to “release from detention all journalists who have not been indicted for actively participating in terrorist acts” and to “review emergency decrees” in so far as they order the seizure of media companies and allow the arrest of writers and media staff.
The parliamentarians also highlight the worrying situation in the Russian Federation, the Crimean Peninsula occupied by Russia, and in the eastern parts of Ukraine, and reiterate their concern with regard to retaliation against media in Azerbaijan, deploring in particular the use of criminal laws against journalists and bloggers. (more..)
