Court ruling in Spain ordering El Mundo newspaper not to publish story is a threat to investigative journalism, OSCE Representative says

VIENNA, 5 December 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today expressed concern about  a recent ruling by a Spanish judge to stop the daily newspaper El Mundo from publishing a story on an investigation into the tax affairs of soccer professionals.

“Media must be free to publish investigative reports,” Mijatović said. “The right to privacy or the fact that information might have been obtained illegally should not be used to block the publication of information of public interest such as tax avoidance.”

El Mundo nevertheless defied the ruling and published the story.

The Representative expressed hope that the ruling would be overturned on appeal. 

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.