International Press Institute (IPI)

Ebru Uzun Oruç and Barış Oruç were attacked in Istanbul while conducting street interviews. They had previously received threats from ultra-nationalist groups in response to their reporting on Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahçeli.

“Long abused by the government, the 2012 law was instrumental in causing self-censorship and a mass exodus of domestic and international outlets from Russia, as well as forcing the remaining independent media organizations underground” – IPI

“This decision by the EU’s executive body to take Hungary to court over the alleged breach in EU telecoms rules regarding Klubrádió’s frequency licence is a belated but important signal that the Commission is increasingly willing to use the tools available to it to defend independent media, freedom of expression and media pluralism where they are most threatened.”

“The region’s independent journalists and media outlets have come under intense pressure, facing arbitrary detention and arrest as well as internet shutdowns, which have prevented them from communicating and publishing their work.”

Free expression groups develop the case for a strong European Media Freedom Act that protects media from capture by political forces using the powers of government, and from potential threats posed by Big Tech, organised crime and hostile states driving misinformation.

Seven journalists and media workers have faced arrests, threats, or attacks in separate incidents in the past month.

Placed in the hands of Turkey’s highly politicized judiciary, the law would become another tool for harassing journalists and activists and may cause blanket self-censorship across the internet.

Independent journalists have come under growing pressure in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in August 2021.