Press statements of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media

VIENNA, 8 March 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today called on the Ukrainian authorities to reverse the entry ban to Ukraine imposed on Christian Wehrschütz, a journalist with the Austrian Public Service Broadcaster (ORF)...

VIENNA, 6 March 2019- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today expressed his concern about the high number of lawsuits filed against journalists and news outlets by politicians and public officials in Croatia and an ongoing dispute involving the public service broadcaster HRT. Both issues could negatively affect media freedom in Croatia, he warned...

VIENNA, 5 March 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, together with the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection for the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, today welcomed in a letter sent to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union the initiative of a new directive on protection of whistleblowers, but also expressed a number of potential concerns about the current draft text.

VIENNA, 27 February 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today said he is concerned about the detention of several journalists and bloggers who were covering rallies in the cities of Almaty, Zhanaozen and Uralsk in Kazakhstan...

VIENNA, 22 February 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today expressed serious concern over the sentence handed down to the editor of the Bastainfo.com online platform, Mustafa Hajibeyli, in Baku, Azerbaijan...

VIENNA, 20 February 2019 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today marked the shocking murder of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová one year ago...

VIENNA, 20 February 2019 – Following the court decision in Kyiv ordering the disclosure of documents of the news portal Novoe Vremya, including the correspondence of one of its journalists, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today reiterated his call on the Ukrainian authorities to respect the right of journalists to protect the confidentiality of their sources.

VIENNA, 20 February 2019 – Following the recent introduction in Azerbaijan of tighter requirements for print media eligible for state funding, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, today called on the authorities to focus efforts on developing a favourable media environment...

VIENNA, 19 February 2019- The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir today commended the arrest of nine persons in Montenegro who the police say are part of a criminal gang that is responsible for a series of crimes including the attack on journalist Olivera Lakić on 8 May last year...

VIENNA, 19 February 2019 – Yesterday’s decision to uphold convictions and severe sentences handed down to dozens of Cumhuriyet journalists is a terrible setback and detrimental to Turkey’s commitments to free speech and independent media, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir said today...