The Council of Europe recorded 23 attacks on journalists and violations of their rights in the region on its Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists since the beginning of the year. Of these, ten cases were included after the reaction of the SafeJournalists network.
The last in a series of cases from the region included on the Platform is the case from Serbia. Namely, Dragojlo Blagojevic, the editor of the magazine Drvotehnika, received death threats via telephone after the publication of the July issue of the magazine, in which Blagojević’s article about the wood processing industry was published.
Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists helps the dialogue between the governments and the organisations of journalists, with the aim of stopping violations to press freedom in the member states of the Council of Europe and enabling journalists to exercise their profession without the risk of compromising their safety. The aim of the platform is to improve the protection of journalists, to better respond to threats and violence against media professionals and to encourage early warning mechanisms and response capacities within the Council of Europe.
Since 2015, the Platform has facilitated the collection and dissemination of information on serious concerns for media freedom and the safety of journalists in Council of Europe member states, as guaranteed by Art. 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The platform also enables the Council of Europe to be alerted in a more systematic way about the situation regarding media freedom in the member states and to take timely and coordinated actions if necessary.
We remind you that the SafeJournalists network reacts in cases of threats to the life and body of journalists, physical attacks, murder of journalists, as well as in exceptional situations when all members of the network agree that a joint reaction is necessary. The network informs all relevant European institutions and institutions in member countries of the network about the cases in which it reacts, which concern media rights and freedoms.
The SafeJournalists platform consists of journalist associations and media unions from the countries of the Western Balkans, namely Independent Journalists Association of Serbia (IJAS), Association of BH Journalists (BHJ), Croatian Journalists Association (CJA), Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK), Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) and the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM).
All cases found on the Platform after the SafeJournalists network warning:
https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/107637504;globalSearch=false
https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/107637047;globalSearch=false
https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/107637704;globalSearch=false
https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/107637566;globalSearch=false
https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/107637182;globalSearch=false
https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/107637517;globalSearch=false
https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/107637171;globalSearch=false
https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/107637349;globalSearch=false
https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/107637458;globalSearch=false
https://fom.coe.int/en/alerte/detail/107637797;globalSearch=false
Source: SafeJournalists/Anka Kovačević
