18 February 2003

WAN APPOINTS LAW EXPERTS TO MONITOR PRESS FREEDOM


In Poland, where the publisher of independent newspaper "Rzeczpospolita" is facing increased legal harassment from authorities, the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has appointed two international media law experts to pay closer scrutiny to the press-freedom situation there.

The experts, British lawyer Geoffrey Robinson and Dutch law professor Egbert Domering, will monitor civil and criminal actions launched against Presspublica, publisher of "Rzeczpospolita" and inform the international community about the ongoing situation, WAN says.

The company faces a dozen lawsuits based on government allegations that several members of its management board have "acted to the detriment of the company," WAN reports. Dommering says the lawsuits are an attempt to bring the editorial content of ["Rzeczpospolita"] back into the influence of the government.

The newspaper is 51 per cent owned by a Polish subsidiary of Norway's Orkla Media while the Polish State Treasury-owned PPW Rzeczpospolita holds the remaining 49 per cent.

In February 2002, criminal charges were laid against three members of Presspublica's managing board, the International Press Institute (IPI) adds. They were forced to hand over their passports and placed under police surveillance, actions that were taken without proper legal justification or the consent of a judge, IPI says.

In response to concerns raised by WAN and the European Newspapers Publishers Association (ENPA), the European Union and Council of Europe have stated that they will closely monitor the situation.

Visit these links:

- WAN: www.wan-press.info">http://www.wan-press.info/pages/article.php3?id_article=771">www.wan-press.info

- IPI: www.freemedia.at">http://www.freemedia.at/Protests 2002/Poland23.11.02.htm">www.freemedia.at

- ENPA: www.enpa.be/">http://www.enpa.be/">www.enpa.be/

- Profile of Poland's Media Landscape: www.ejc.nl




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Also from the Communiqué, 18 February 2003

RUSSIA: RUSSIAN JOURNALIST WINS OSCE JOURNALISM PRIZE 18 February 2003 UGANDA: MAGAZINE SEEKS SUBMISSIONS FOR FREE-EXPRESSION ISSUE 18 February 2003 AZERBAIJAN: CONGRESS TO DISCUSS PRESS COUNCIL, CODE OF ETHICS 18 February 2003 GEORGIA: "SERIOUS CONCERN" OVER PRESS FREEDOM: COUNCIL OF EUROPE 18 February 2003 INTERNATIONAL: MISA ALARMED AT PRESS-FREEDOM SITUATION 18 February 2003 VIETNAM: PEN LAUNCHES FREE-EXPRESSION CAMPAIGN 18 February 2003 THAILAND: JOURNALIST MURDERED 18 February 2003 IFEX MEMBERS ISSUE STATEMENTS ON INFORMATION SOCIETY SUMMIT 18 February 2003

Poland

ARTICLE 19 calls on president to veto media law 20 July 2009 Two newspaper editors to be held in police custody for 48 hours prior to libel trial 8 November 2007 Les services spéciaux arrêtent l'ex-ministre qui a dénoncé les mises sur écoutes de journalistes 30 August 2007 Secret services arrest former minister who exposed phone tapping 30 August 2007 Ex-minister accuses intelligence services of tapping journalists' phones 24 August 2007 See all alerts: Poland


Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia

RUSSIA: Journalist detained for questioning after publishing open letter to Putin 9 February 2012 RUSSIA: Government shuts HIV-prevention group's website 8 February 2012 AZERBAIJAN: Justice ministry harassment targets IRFS activities, says group's director 8 February 2012 KAZAKHSTAN / GERMANY: Make rights key to good relations, says Human Rights Watch 6 February 2012 RUSSIA: Authorities "at war" with bloggers in Chelyabinsk region 3 February 2012


 
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