Press statements of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media

VIENNA, 29 September 2021 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro urges the Turkish authorities to acquit journalists Erol Önderoğlu and Ahmet Nesin, and human rights defender and physician Şebnem Korur Fincancı, ahead of their retrial hearing on 30 September. They face a lengthy jail sentence on terrorism-related charges for their participation in a 2016 press freedom campaign.

VIENNA, 4 October 2021 – Amid continued designation of journalists and media outlets as ‘foreign agents’ in the Russian Federation, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro today reiterated her grave concern regarding this controversial practice and called on the authorities to abandon it.

VIENNA, 8 October 2021 — OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro today congratulated prominent journalists Dmitry Muratov and Maria Ressa for winning the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize and expressed her content with the importance the Nobel Committee attaches to freedom of expression and media freedom.

On 1 October 2021, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, Ruslan Kazakbaev, to discuss the current state of media freedom and freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan.

The eighth South-East Europe Media Conference on “Journalism in times of crisis”, organized jointly by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) and the OSCE Presence in Albania, in collaboration with OSCE field operations from South-East Europe, concluded today.

VIENNA, 14 October 2021 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, concluded her official visit to Albania yesterday. During her visit, Ribeiro met with several governmental authorities, including Prime Minister Edi Rama, Minister of Foreign Affairs Olta Xhaçka, President Ilir Meta, Speaker of Parliament Lindita Nikolla, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Media Agron Gjekmarkaj and Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Media Petro Koçi.

Washington DC/Geneva/Vienna/Banjul (20 October 2021)- The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Protection and Promotion of Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Organization of American States (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information today issued their 2021 Joint Declaration.

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFOM) Teresa Ribeiro concluded a five-day official visit to the United States of America on 22 October 2021. She met with representatives of the US Department of State, members of the Helsinki Commission, and media freedom organizations to discuss media freedom and freedom of expression in the United States and across the OSCE region.

On 9 November 2021, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro concluded her two-day official visit to Switzerland. During her visit, Ribeiro met with several government authorities, including Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga, State Secretary Livia Leu, OFCOM Director Bernard Maissen and the President of the Swiss Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Josef Dittli. She also met with representatives of media freedom organizations and media representatives to discuss media freedom and freedom of expression in Switzerland and across the OSCE region.

VIENNA, 23 November 2021 – Addressing the genuine risk of being targeted with legal procedures and vexatious litigation that journalists and other media workers face, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, launched today a special report on legal harassment and abuse of the judicial system against the media.