11 Jun 21 | Events
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”116887″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]Why abusive legal threats and actions against journalists must be stopped.
Journalists are public watchdogs: by bringing information that is in the public interest to light, they help to hold power to account. But what if powerful or wealthy people wanted to keep their wrongdoings a secret? Abusive legal threats and actions, known as strategic lawsuits against public participation – or SLAPPs, are increasingly being used to intimidate journalists into silence. They are used to cover up unethical and criminal activity and to prevent the public of their right to know. SLAPPs have a devastating impact, not only on media freedom, but on human rights, rule of law, and our very democracies. This webinar hosted by Index on Censorship, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and Foreign Policy Centre (FPC), will examine the issue of SLAPP and why we need to take action in the UK and the EU to stop them.
Speakers:
Bill Browder, Head of Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign (chair)
Annelie Östlund, financial journalist
Herman Grech, Editor in Chief of Times of Malta
Justin Borg Barthet, Senior Lecturer at University of Aberdeen
With contributions from:
Jessica Ní Mhainín, Policy and Campaigns Manager at Index on Censorship
Paulina Milewska, Anti-SLAPP Project Researcher at ECPMF
Susan Coughtrie, Project Director at Foreign Policy Centre
Register for tickets here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
09 Mar 21 | Media Freedom, News and features, Statements
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”116383″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]The Action Plan, published today, sets out a range of measures aimed at ensuring that journalists operating in the UK are able to carry out their work safely and without threats of violence. The Plan was drafted in consultation with the National Committee, of which Index on Censorship is a member.
“We welcome the UK Government’s Action Plan for the Protection of the Safety of Journalists and while it is still a work in progress, we are looking forward to working with the Government and partners to make sure it works in practice,” said Index’s CEO Ruth Smeeth.
The Plan is published here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
05 Feb 21 | Belarus, News and features, Statements
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”116175″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]Ahead of the International Day of Solidarity with Belarus on 7 February, the undersigned organisations working in the field of freedom of expression and media freedom call for the immediate and unconditional release of all journalists and media workers who continue to be arbitrarily detained.
Nearly six months since President Alexander Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory in what has been widely acknowledged and condemned as a fraudulent election, opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya remains in exile and thousands of protesters continue to take to the streets of Minsk calling for his resignation.
The regime has made every effort to prevent its citizens from accessing independent information. News outlets have had their publishing licences revoked. Some have their equipment seized. Independent newspapers are banned from printing and barred from sales through the national state monopolist retailer.
As part of this effort, the authorities have also used violence, threats, and arbitrary detention to intimidate journalists and prevent them from doing their jobs. Reporters and photographers wearing press vests have been deliberately targeted by law enforcement. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), journalists were detained 480 times in 2020. They have spent over 1,200 days behind bars, often without being told what, if any, charges they face.
At least ten journalists and media workers remain in detention, among them are several of our friends and colleagues. They are: Katsiaryna Barysevich, Daria Chultsova, Yulia Slutskaya, Alla Sharko, Siarhei Alsheuski, Petr Slutski, Ksenia Lutskina, Andrei Aliaksandrau, and Aliaksandr Mikrukou.
As the International Day of Solidarity with Belarus approaches, we are calling for each and every journalist and media worker to be immediately and unconditionally released. We condemn the blatant violations to their human rights and once again remind the Belarusian authorities of their obligations under international law.
Signed:
Jessica Ní Mhainín, Senior Policy Research and Advocacy Officer, Index on Censorship
Dave Elseroad, Head of Advocacy and Geneva Office, Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF)
Maria Ordzhonikidze, Director, Justice for Journalists Foundation
Ricardo Gutiérrez, General Secretary, European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Sarah Clarke, Head of Europe and Central Asia, ARTICLE 19
Laurens Hueting, Advocacy Officer, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
Jaroslaw Wlodarczyk, Secretary General, International Association of Press Clubs (IAPC)
Marcin Lewicki, President, Press Club Polska
Daniela Kraus, General Secretary, Presseclub Concordia, Vienna
Andrei Bastunets, Chairperson, Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ)
Peter Spiegel, Press Freedom Committee Chair, Overseas Press Club of America (OPC)
Board of Frankfurter Presseclub
Board of Press Club Brussels Europe
Pierre Ruetschi, Executive Director, Geneva Press Club
Ryszard Bankowicz, President, Polish Club of International Columnists
S Venkat Narayan, President, FCC of South Asia, New Delhi, India
Uri Dromi, Director General, Jerusalem Press Club[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
29 Sep 20 | Index in the Press
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A report by Index’s senior policy research and advocacy officer Jessica Ní Mhainín was cited in a piece in Politico about the trend of strategic lawsuits used to censor journalists. Ní Mhainín is working on a project on strategic lawsuits against public participation (Slapps), read the latest report here.
“Across Europe, powerful and wealthy people are using the law to try and intimidate and silence the journalists disclosing inconvenient truths in the public interest,” the free speech advocates Index on Censorship wrote in a recent report. “These legal threats and actions are crippling not only for the media but for our democracies.”
Read the article here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
