News and press releases

MOSTAR, April 15 2018 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) concluded today in Mostar a series of student workshops on media literacy. The workshops were held in Sarajevo, East Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Tuzla, concluding today in Mostar. The workshops focused on enhancing the level of the participating students’ understanding of the media in the digital age and their influence on society in the context of BiH...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk region and fewer in Luhansk region compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on reports of civilian casualties and observed damage to civilian houses as a result of shelling in Donetsk city. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it heard an explosion near (but outside) the Stanytsia Luhanska disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere, including Trokhizbenka, Voznesenivka (near the border with the Russian Federation), and Uzhivka – where the SMM observed military hardware and a man in military-style clothing fired a shot in the air.* The SMM observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines on both sides of the contact line. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to water pipelines near Obozne, where works were completed, and Zolote and a high-voltage power line near Yuzhna Lomuvatka. In Kyiv, the SMM followed up on reports of vandalism of a monument in Mariinskyi Park and of arson at a Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In Luhansk city, the SMM monitored a gathering in front of the SMM office...

The SMM recorded more ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The SMM followed up on a civilian casualty caused by the explosion of an object in Myrne and observed multiple impact sites in Staromykhailivka and Donetsk city. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske; it observed ceasefire violations assessed as inside the Petrivske disengagement area. Its access remained restricted in all three disengagement areas and elsewhere. The SMM continued to facilitate and monitor repairs to power lines near Veselohorivka and a water pipeline in Obozne. The SMM observed a restriction measure hearing in the trial of the captain of the fishing ship Nord, who was released on his own recognisance...

VIENNA, 13 April 2018 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today strongly condemned the publication of a list of more than 200 people by a Hungarian media outlet which claimed that over 2,000 people, including those listed by name, are allegedly working to “topple the government”...

VIENNA, 13 April 2018 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today expressed his concern about a court’s decision to block the Telegram messaging and social networking application in the Russian Federation...

VIENNA, 13 April 2018 – Today OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir called on the Tajikistani authorities to release from pre-trial detention Khayrullo Mirsaidov, a reporter with a number of national and international media outlets in Tajikistan in the past years. Mirsaidov is facing charges of embezzlement of funds, falsification of documents, making false accusations, and incitement to inter-ethnic hatred.

VIENNA, 13 April 2018 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today called upon the Czech authorities to respect journalists’ rights to protect confidential sources, following complaints by investigative journalists Jaroslav Kmenta (of The Reporter), Janek Kroupa (of Czech Radio) and Sabina Slonkova (of Neovlivni.cz) regarding pressure by police investigators to disclose their sources. The journalists allege that in recent months, they have been repeatedly questioned by the police and the General Inspection of Security Corps (GIBS) over their reporting related to corruption cases...