Freedom of expression

BELGRADE - Deputy head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Paula Thiede said late on Sunday that there were serious problems in terms of media freedom in Serbia, and the government, NGOs and intellectuals had already been engaged to work together with the OSCE on the promotion of freedoms of speech and the media.

The European Federation of Journalists, EFJ, has called on the Serbian government to respect freedom of the press and allow journalists to publish information freely about the floods that hit the country in mid-May.

Macedonia's journalists union is taking the case of the expulsion of reporters from parliament in December 2012 to the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg.

It decided on this move after the top court in Macedonia ruled that their expulsion from the chamber by police had been done “for their own safety”.

Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE press freedom envoy, has condemned a series of ongoing attacks on the OSCE website coming from unknown hackers, which she said were engaged in censoring the organisation.

“On-going DDos attack on OSCE website unacceptable, forces set in motion trying to limit freedom of expression,” she tweeted on Wednesday.

BELGRADE - OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic has said that she has discussed the media situation with Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and received assurances that he personally and his government will tackle these issues.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has found Turkey guilty of violating the right to the freedom of expression, in a case regarding an article written by a law professor.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has called on Ukraine to release two Russian reporters who were detained on Sunday.

The OSCE's representative on freedom of the media, Dunja Mijatovic, has urged Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov to release the Russian reporters who were captured on Sunday, ITAR-TASS reported.

BELGRADE - Deputy head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Paula Thiede said on Tuesday journalists had to work in the interest of the people, and not the publishers or the govenrment, and that they had to oppose any pressure or form of censorship.

Most media outlets ignore Press Freedom Day campaign

BELGRADE -- Most TV stations with national coverage in Serbia did not join a protest organozed by the Association of Journalists of Serbia on Saturday, Beta has reported.

BELGRADE - The Serbian government has issued a statement to mark World Press Freedom Day and said it will support media freedom and pluralism.