(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI press release: Vienna, 5 September 2000 IPI EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER PRESS FREEDOM VIOLATIONS IN MANY COUNCIL OF EUROPE MEMBER STATES On 4 September, the Council of Europe’s Committee on Culture and Education of the Parliamentary Assembly held a hearing on “Freedom of Expression”. The hearing brought together representatives […]
(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI press release:
Vienna, 5 September 2000
IPI EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER PRESS FREEDOM VIOLATIONS IN MANY COUNCIL OF EUROPE MEMBER STATES
On 4 September, the Council of Europe’s Committee on Culture and Education of the Parliamentary Assembly held a hearing on “Freedom of Expression”. The hearing brought together representatives from the main press freedom NGOs in Europe in order to discuss and identify problems facing freedom of expression in the region. The International Press Institute (IPI) was represented by its Director, Johann P. Fritz.
With the forthcoming accession of Armenia and Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe, almost the entire continent will be covered by the European Convention on Human Rights, including Article 10 that guarantees freedom of expression.
However, in spite of the progress made in many countries with regard to freedom of the media since the fall of communism, press freedom violations are still commonplace in many Council of Europe member countries. Threats, violence, legal charges and imprisonment are among the most common methods employed to silence critical voices. Even in countries where legislation is in line with European standards there are at times striking discrepancies between theory and practice.
Financial and political pressure is exerted over the independent media, threats and harassment are common in some of the newer European states. In certain countries, radio and television are still under tight government control. The hearing addressed these issues and examined existing legislation and practices with regard to the media in Europe.
At the hearing, Johann P. Fritz presented IPI’s statistics of press freedom violations recorded in Council of Europe member countries and applicant countries in 1998 and 1999. During that period, there were 190 attacks on journalists and media workers. 24 journalists were killed, 59 imprisoned, 48 censored and there were 71 cases of suppression of the media by law. Only eleven countries had no press freedom violations recorded: Andorra, Denmark, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Over the last four years, 67 journalists were murdered in Council of Europe member states. Only two of these cases led to trials which resulted in guilty verdicts for the perpetrators. These statistics reveal worrying instances of impunity in cases of attacks against journalists in Council of Europe member countries, once the group of states with the highest human rights standard.
The hearing sought to highlight issues like these and ensure that future debates in the Parliamentary Assembly lead to the swift implementation of media reforms in several of the Council of Europe member states. In addition, freedom of the press is a subject of special importance with regard to the accession of new countries to the Council of Europe.
In a statement presented to the Azerbaijan Union of Journalists on 18 July, Fritz acknowledged the problems facing the press in Azerbaijan. He said that although official censorship has been abolished, more subtle methods have been employed to suppress criticism. He mentioned that high-ranking state officials have filed multiple lawsuits against leading newspapers and journalists, accusing them of defamation. subsequently, many newspapers now face closure due to economic hardship. In addition, since the presidential elections in 1998, many journalists face heavy fines and even imprisonment as a consequence of their reporting.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the Committee on Culture and Education of the Council of Europe said that the time has come to take stock of the different experiences collected at several hearings on freedom of expression and provide recommendations to the governments of member states.
