08/12/2009 Culture, Science, Education and Media
Andrew McIntosh (United Kingdom, SOC), rapporteur of PACE Committee on Culture, on respect for media freedom, said he was shocked by the increase in attacks on journalists and media – at least twenty journalists have been killed since 2007 in Europe, including thirteen in Russia.
In his report, adopted today in Paris by the committee, Mr McIntosh takes stock of the situation in the member States, using three categories of violations: the most severe violations of media freedom – such as physical assaults, murders, intimidation, or impunity for crime targeting journalists – , violations arising from the misuse of governmental power to direct the media, and finally, threats linked to the “fusion” of media ownership or to the absence of professional or ethical misconduct.
“It is important to collate information on violations of media freedom on a continuing basis, to analyse this information systematically country by country and disseminate it to the governments of member states and to the media,” said Andrew McIntosh. "We need to draw as much attention as possible to these violations," he added.