Kontakt
Adresse: Kirkegata 5, 0153 OSLO
Telefon: 22 47 92 02
Fax: (+47) 22 41 60 76
Epost: nhc@nhc.no
Gavekonto: 5081 05 58927
Den norske Helsingforskomité har valgt å fokusere på ytringsfrihetsspørsmål i 2011. Vi intensiverer overvåking, rapportering og påvirkningsarbeid for å fremme ytringsfrihet i noen av kjernelandene for komiteens arbeid. Photo: Reuters 2010
Azerbaijan:
Prominent Azerbaijani journalist and writer, Rafiq Tagi, died in Baku on 23 November from the injuries he sustained during a brutal knife attack four days earlier. Rafiq’s death on 23 November – the world’s first International Day to End Impunity– is a chilling reminder of the dangers faced by journalists in Azerbaijan. As the Azerbaijan freedom of expression community mourns the loss of Rafiq, the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan (IPGA) calls for an end to the cycle of impunity in the country and for an independent, impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
David Cameron, prime minister, and Joe Biden, US vice president, took a strong line on freedom of speech on the internet on Tuesday, criticising governments which censored the internet, in what appeared to be a challenge to China and Russia. The article is published in Financial Times.
Seminar:
On 7 October 2006, the courageous Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shot and killed at the entrance of her apartment in Moscow. Since then, neither the murderers nor any possible assassin's paymaster have been convicted. Anna Politkovskaya was not only a journalist; she fought for the victims of the conflict in North-Caucasus by making their stories known to the public.
An extensive five-day training seminar for Belarusian journalists opens in Vilnius today. We also issue an appeal to the UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova to put forward an initiative for the release of imprisoned Azerbaijani editor Eynulla Fattullayev.
The situation with the freedom of expression in Russia has been worsening during the last decade. Use of violence against journalists, the increased cases of murder of the journalists, lawsuits against critical towards the authorities journalists and newspapers, and the atmosphere of impunity after all, are the factors which put Russia on the 175 place out of the 196 in the ranking of global press freedom, published by Freedom House in 2010. At the same time, the use of the new media, - blogs, twitter, livejournal, as the means for pure spreading of the information, expression of one’s opinion or civic protests, is also increased.
While the freedom of expression has been under attack since the beginning of Alexander Lukashenko’s 16 – years of authoritarian rule in Belarus, the events that unfold in the aftermath of the 19 December 2010 presidential elections a popular protests are unprecedented. Mass arrests and violence also included independent journalists: 26 media workers were arrested, 20 were severely beaten and 10 journalists were sentenced to 10 – 15 days of custody. Six journalists were kept in custody at the KGB prison suspected of involvement in mass riot cases risking up to 15 years’ of imprisonment.
While serious challenges in the sphere of media freedom and freedom of speech remain in Georgia, the country is comparatively well-developed in the context of the former Soviet Union. In their 2010 Freedom of the Press Index , Reporters Without Borders placed Georgia as number 99 out of a total 178 countries considered – near countries like Mozambique and Ecuador. Although Georgia dropped considerably since the year before, this still means that Georgia enjoys the highest FPI score among all former Soviet republics, with the exception of Moldova and the Baltic states. In terms of the situation elsewhere in the South Caucasus, neighboring Armenia follows directly after Georgia, whereas Azerbaijan ranks as number 152, closer to countries like Belarus.
The situation for freedom of expression in Armenia has been deteriorating over the last years, dropping from 68 to 66 on the Freedom House “Freedom of the Press” Index from 2009 to 2010. The Presidential elections in February 2008 and council of the Elderly in Yerevan May 2009 have contributed to this. A main concern is that attacks on journalists and media institutions are not investigated, and that self-censorship is widespread.
Freedom of expression in Azerbaijan has been an increasing source of concern during the last four years, with a sharp rise
in violent attacks against and intimidation of editors and journalists in the country. The aim of the campaign has clearly
appears to have been to silence media perceived as critical towards the Aliyev regime.
As of today, those responsible for the killing of editor Elmar Huseynov in 2005 have yet to be brought to justice. His close
associate, Eynulla Fattullayev remained imprisoned although the European Court of Human Rights has demanded his immediate
release, and was released only in a pardon more than one year after the Courts decision. Among many other other high-profiled
cases against journalists have been the imprisonment of Azadliq editor Qanimat Zahid, the bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin
Milli) and the death in prison of editor Novruzali Mammadov.
Bosnian media and its regulatory body have come under increased pressure over the last year, which in part was related to the fact that 2010 was an election year with heightened political rivalry. Some previously independent and critical media have become less so. In a corresponding development violence against journalists has been on the increase. Bosnia has well developed media legislation but implementation has been lacking and political support for this framework has been slipping.
Serbia has a crowded media scene, but media owners, including authorities, often inhibit editorial independence. Self-censorship is often exercised on issues related to Serbia’s responsibility for war atrocities during the 1990s. Journalists and human rights defenders raising such issues have been threatened or attacked by non-state actors and harassed by some media. There are also numerous other instances of violence against journalists. Authorities have investigated and prosecuted perpetrators of some attacks and offered some protection to journalists and human rights defenders under threat, there are differing accounts on the efficiency of these measures.
Turkey’s broadcast media are well developed, with hundreds of private television channels, as well as more than 1,000 commercial radio stations. There are limited broadcasting in minority languages, however four local radio and television stations now broadcast in Kurdish. Hundreds of private newspapers operate across the country. However, serious challenges in the sphere of media freedom and freedom of speech remain, in spite of pressure from EU, the Council of Europe, and civil society organizations to amend laws and reform policies in line with international standards.
