OSCE Media Freedom Representative concludes Third Central Asia Judicial Dialogue

VIENNA, 25 June 2021 - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, concluded today the Third Central Asia Judicial Dialogue. During the two-day online event, about 45 participants, including judges from all five Central Asian countries and international experts, discussed how to protect freedom of expression and freedom of the media while taking into account other human rights and encouraging the exchange of best practices among the judiciaries in the OSCE region.

The event offered two interactive sessions. The first session, held on 24 June, focused on the adjudication of defamation cases against journalists and bloggers in the region and in the broader OSCE area. Participants reviewed the current trends and practices, awards of damages decided by courts and the role of the textual expertise in such cases. Speakers presented the recent amendments to national legislations in the area of defamation and insult, as well as other laws with impact on the freedom of expression.

The second session focused on the legal protection of public figures and various articles often replacing criminal liability for libel including, but not limited to, the dissemination of ‘deliberately false information’. The session addressed the various measures provided by national legislations and judicial practices in Central Asia for the protection of the reputation of public figures, adjudication of cases involving the distribution of “deliberately false information” and others, which may restrict the media’s reporting on the matters of public interest.

“I am pleased with the decisions by several Central Asian authorities to decriminalize defamation, and with statements concerning changes in national legislations. However there are still criminal provisions affecting journalists’ reporting,” said Ribeiro.  “I hope that the Judicial Dialogue will raise awareness across the region of the relevant international human rights standards on freedom of expression and freedom of the media, which must be taken into account when deciding on cases concerning defamation and libel within national jurisdictions”.

The Judicial Dialogue, a platform initiated by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, has established itself across the region. This year’s expert group meeting followed the first and second meetings held in the previous years in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and Samarkand, Uzbekistan respectively.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.