SEEMO/IPI Latest Press Releases - 11 March 2011

SEEMO/IPI Press Release: SEEMO Shows Solidarity with B92

Vienna, 11 March 2011-The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and fourteen ambassadors accredited in Serbia expressed their public solidarity with the employees of B92 radio and television by visiting the premises on 8 March 2011. SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic joined the visit and spoke to the journalists - who have faced serious threats.

Brankica Stankovic, producer of the B92 TV programme "Insajder", and known for her reporting on sensitive topics, has been under police protection since December 2009, after she revealed alleged connections between organised crime, football fans and politics.

Stankovic, the recipient of the 2008 Dr. Erhard Busek and SEEMO Award for Better Understanding and the 2010 OSCE Mission to Serbia "Person of the Year Award", this year undertook another important investigation revealing the alleged misuse of public funds in the state-owned mine company Kulubara. After the show was broadcast on 14 February 2011, the whole team received death threats in the form of obituaries displayed in public places in the town of Lazarevac.

Radical nationalist groups began staging protests in front the B92 building and a political party announced a B92 boycott. One prominent member of the party was the director of the Kolubara mine company during the period investigated by "Insajder". As a result of the mounting political pressure and new threats, Serbian police decided to provide 24-hour police protection to B92 Chief Executive Officer and Editor in Chief Veran Matic, and increased the number of policemen responsible for protecting Stankovic.

SEEMO applauds the decision of the Ministry of Interior to provide journalists with the police protection. However, political and criminal pressure exerted on B92 remains of great concern.

Press Release Turkey

IPI/SEEMO Press Release: Turkish Court Orders Arrest of IPI World Press Freedom Hero

Nedim Sener Jailed in Connection With Alleged Plot to Overthrow Government

Vienna, 11 March 2011- Journalist Nedim Sener, one of the International Press Institute (IPI)'s World Press Freedom Heroes, has been ordered arrested by an Istanbul court as part of a controversial probe into an alleged plot to overthrow the government, IPI has learned from its Turkish National Committee.

Sener and journalist Ahmet Sik, who were detained along with other journalists following police raids on their homes and businesses Thursday, were questioned for hours by the lead prosecutor investigating the alleged Ergenekon plot before being sent to court early Sunday morning, where a judge granted a request for their arrest.

Prosecutors had demanded that the journalists face charges of "being a member of the Ergenekon organization" and "inciting hatred and animosity among the public".

The court also ordered the arrest of five other journalists this morning in connection with the plot: Dogan Yurkardul, Coskun Musluk, Sait Cakir, Yalcin Kücük and Müyesser Yildiz.

IPI's Turkish National Committee said prosecutors asked Sener and Sik wide-ranging questions about books they have written, their personal documents and phone calls the two had made. The prosecutor also asked Sener questions about statements he made during television programs in which he has participated.

The pair was taken to the Metris Prison in Istanbul, and Sener has since been transferred to the Silivri prison, where Sik is also expected to be taken. Journalists outside the Besiktas courthouse in central Istanbul staged an all-night protest against the detention starting Saturday when Sener and Sik were brought there for interrogation.

Protestors later blocked a road outside the courthouse with a sit-down strike upon learning of the arrests. That protest followed larger demonstrations on Friday in Ankara and Istanbul by thousands of protestors opposing the government's detention of Sener, Sik and the other journalists detained in Thursday's raids.

The Freedom for Journalists Platform, an umbrella group representing local and national media organizations in Turkey, including IPI's Turkish National Committee, organized the demonstrations. The group rejected Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's calls for the media "to act responsibly" in their response to the recent raids, responding that Erdogan's ruling party bore responsibility for creating a climate of pressure and fear in the country.

The group also said the arrests bring the number of journalists being held in connection with the Ergenekon plot to more than 60.

Turkish President Abdullah Gül said over the weekend in an interview with the newspaper Milliyet:

"I expect prosecutors and courts to be more diligent in pursuing their responsibilities and act in a way not to hurt the honor and rights of the people as well as institutions."

Turkish authorities have accused hundreds of politicians, retired military officers, academics and journalists of participating in the alleged plot, which came to light in 2007. The government says plotters called for assassinations and attacks that would create chaos and lead to calls for the military to take power from the current government.

Sener is an author and investigative reporter for daily Milliyet. IPI named him a World Press Freedom Hero last year for his work following the release of his book linking security forces to the 2007 murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

IPI Board Member Ferai Tinc, who is also chairperson of IPI's Turkey National Committee, said:

"The prosecutors say that Nedim Sener and Ahmet Sik have not been arrested because of their journalistic works. But both Sener and Sik have been questioned about the books they have written, about the people they have contacted and about their phone calls that have illegally been taped".

"These questions are directly related with the work of a journalist.Therefore IPI's Turkey National Committee considers this a direct violation of press freedom and part of a trend of intimidation targeting journalists, especially those who have critical views."

This press release is supported by the South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate.

Press Release Hungary

IPI/SEEMO Press Release: IPI Renews Objections to Hungarian Media Law Following Amendment

Joins OSCE in Calling on Authorities to Respect Press Freedom

Vienna, 11 March 2011- The International Press Institute (IPI) renewed on 9 March 2011 its objections to Hungary's new media law following the adoption of amendments intended to defuse criticism by the European Union.

The Hungarian Parliament voted Monday to narrow the law's scope against foreign media reporting from Hungary, and to eliminate a requirement that on-demand services such as Internet sites and blogs provide balanced news coverage. The Parliament also threw out a requirement that news outlets register with authorities, and softened a ban on offensive content.

However, despite the changes, elements of the legislation that remain in place continue to loom large over press freedom.

Europe's main rights and security watchdog, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said yesterday that the law still violates OSCE press freedom commitments.

"The legislation can still be misused to curb alternative and differing voices in Hungary despite modifications adopted following a request from the European Commission," Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE representative on Freedom of the Media, commented.

"Several problems remain: The law vests unusually broad powers in the politically homogeneous Media Authority and Media Council, enabling them to control content of all media. The legislation regulates broadcast, print and online media content based on identical principles. It leaves key terms undefined. It requires all media to be registered with the Media Authority. It punishes violations with high fines. It fails to guarantee the political independence of public service media."

IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills added: "While we welcome the fact that some changes have been made, a number of areas of concern remain, and unless they too are addressed, then the legislation still constitutes a potential threat to press freedom."

This press release is supported by the South and East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an IPI affiliate.

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