Patterns of violence and legal abuses directed against journalists have taken root in a number of European states and threaten to stifle free and independent media in favour of a climate of censorship and intimidation.
So said William Horsley, the AEJ’s Media Freedom Representative, presenting his Report on The State of Media Freedom in Europe in 2009 to 2012 to parliamentarians of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on 26 June. Following a pledge by the 47 Council of Europe member states to counter the alarming scale of murders and physical and legal attacks on journalists, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), will prepare fresh recommendations to Ministers of all European countries aimed at improving the protections for journalists’ safety and their right to report without harassment or fear.
Click here for the PACE press release with a video interview and link to the full Report.