News and press releases

VIENNA, 9 March 2018 – “Journalistic work should never be criminalized,” OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir said today in reaction to the conviction of Hungarian journalist Gergely Nyilas, who reported about migration.

VIENNA, 9 March 2018 – Yesterday’s court sentencing against 25 media workers shows the immense pressure to which media are exposed in the country, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir said today.

VIENNA, 9 March 2018 – Yesterday’s court sentencing against 25 media workers shows the immense pressure to which media are exposed in the country, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir said today.

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk region compared with the previous reporting period and no ceasefire violations in Luhansk region. The SMM followed up on reports of a civilian casualty in Zolote-5. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere, including at two border crossing points in Luhansk region near the border with the Russian Federation.* The SMM visited three border areas not under government control. The Mission continued to facilitate and monitor repairs and maintenance works to essential civilian infrastructure near Artema and Krasnyi Lyman. In Kyiv, the SMM followed up on reports of an incident involving a grenade launcher round fired at a restaurant. The Mission monitored gatherings on the occasion of International Women’s Day in Kyiv, Uzhhorod, Kharkiv, Kherson and Lviv; in Uzhhorod, it saw youths throw red liquid at speakers addressing a crowd. The SMM also monitored a protest in Lviv....

The SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations in both Donetsk and Luhansk regions compared with the previous reporting period. The Mission continued monitoring the disengagement areas near Stanytsia Luhanska, Zolote and Petrivske and heard an explosion near the disengagement area near Stanytsia Luhanska. Its access remained restricted there and elsewhere.* The Mission observed weapons in violation of withdrawal lines near Bila Hora, Vodiane and Bohoiavlenka, as well as newly dug trenches near Zaitseve, Horlivka and Dokuchaievsk. The SMM continued to follow up on reports of an explosion at a building where the office of the Zakarpattia Hungarian Union is located. It facilitated discussions in the context of International Women’s Day in Odessa, Zaporizhzhia and Lviv...

VIENNA, 7 March 2018 –OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir today welcomed the decision by the Supreme Court of Ukraine regarding the case of Igor Efimov, photojournalist with the newspaper Vechirni Cherkasy...

COPENHAGEN, 7 March 2018 – A large team of parliamentarians from the OSCE will observe the upcoming presidential election in the Russian Federation. Michael Georg Link (MP, Germany) will serve as Special Co-ordinator, leading the short-term OSCE mission of some 420 international observers for the 18 March vote. Marietta Tidei (MP, Italy) will serve as Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, which will include some 90 members of parliament from more than 30 countries...