Press statements of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media

VIENNA, 6 July 2020 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his serious dismay today at the court verdict against journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva in Russia...

VIENNA, 14 May 2020 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, reiterated today his concern over the continued detention of Abdulmumin Gadzhiev, a journalist and editor with the independent newspaper Chernovik, in Makhachkala, Republic of Dagestan after the extension of his pre-trial detention...

VIENNA, 2 May 2020 – Following recent restrictions on several media in the Russian Federation, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, reiterated today his call on the Russian authorities to take into greater consideration the principles of necessity and proportionality when regulating the media and journalists’ activities...

VIENNA, 31 March 2020 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his deep concerns today about amendments to the Russian legislation, imposing up to five years in prison, for spreading false information about the COVID-19 pandemic...

VIENNA, 24 March 2020 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his concerns today about recent interferences regarding media content by the media regulatory agency in Russia, Roskomnadzor, in the context of the fight against disinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

VIENNA, 17 March 2020 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his serious concerns today at the ongoing prosecution of Svetlana Prokopyeva in Russia, after the regional prosecutor in Pskov signed, on 13 March, her indictment with grave charges of “publicly justifying terrorism” and submitted it to the Regional Military Court in Moscow. Prokopyeva, a journalist with Radio Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) in Pskov, is a contributor to various other media, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Russian Service.

VIENNA, 7 February 2020 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, strongly condemned today the attack on Novaya Gazeta’s investigative journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Marina Dubrovina in Grozny, the capital of the Chechen republic of the Russian Federation.

VIENNA, 3 December 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed his concerns today regarding the enactment of the law which extends the status of a “foreign agent” to private individuals, and introduces new restrictions on the distribution of information from media outlets categorized as “foreign agents” (known as “media outlets–foreign agents”).

VIENNA, 20 November 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, reiterated his call today on the Russian parliament to withdraw the draft law which extends the status of a “media outlet- foreign agent” to individuals...

VIENNA, 5 October 2019 –The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, expressed concern about the disproportion of punishment of blogger, Vladislav Sinitsa, following yesterday’s decision of the Moscow City Court to uphold his imprisonment in appeal...