International Press Institute (IPI)

In a joint open letter to Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, organisations urge EC officials to ensure that police investigations are full, thorough and independent in Slovakia and Malta.

The young investigative journalist was known for his stories on tax fraud and shady real estate deals involving several Slovak businessmen with close connections to the ruling party.

Spain’s ‘gag law’ was used to fine journalists while rappers and Twitter users were prosecuted.

The misuse of defamation law to silence journalists remains a problem in Malta, even as the Maltese government is currently discussing a new bill to repeal the country’s criminal libel law.

An already adverse environment for journalists in the Midwestern United States has worsened in the year since President Trump’s inauguration, an international group of media watchdogs concluded after traveling to the state of Missouri. The group also met with journalists from Illinois and Wisconsin.

Mexico was the deadliest country for journalists in 2017 with at least 14 killed, edging out Iraq and Syria, even as the total number who died around the world in connection with their work dropped to its lowest level in a nearly a decade, the International Press Institute (IPI) said.

After a military intervention ended the 37-year rule of autocratic former President Robert Mugabe, journalists and media experts in Zimbabwe say it is still too early to tell whether the political transition will ultimately herald a more open environment for the press.

Although the struggles that remaining independent media face in Russia are nothing new, observers have noted an increase in serious threats and attacks, many of which go unnoticed in the West and even in Moscow. IPI talked about this increase with journalists Nadezhda Azhgikhina and Artem Filatov.