Local censorship goes global as media under siege

New York, February 21, 2012

Repressive governments, militants, and criminal groups across the globe are leveraging new and traditional tactics to control information, with the aim of obscuring misdeeds, silencing dissent, and disempowering citizens, according to Attacks on the Press, a yearly survey released today by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

As demonstrated by Syria's media blackout or Egypt's unplugging of the Internet, local suppression of information -- whether by technology, legal persecution, or violence against journalists -- has global repercussions.

"Navigating political unrest, environmental disaster, and other disruptions cannot be done effectively when information is censored," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. "In a globalized information age, censorship is a transnational violation that must be emphatically countered."

CPJ found that in Europe and Central Asia, authoritarian states have become emboldened as some countries in the West increasingly deviate from their set press freedom standards. "All across the region, the celebration of a vibrant press as a key pillar of society is marred by a series of tactics to intimidate, harass and imprison journalists," said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova. "The perils of reporting the news are alive and well in Eurasia, even within the European Union."

In the Arab world, journalists face unpredictable new threats, and in Asia intimidation has a chilling effect. In Africa, investigative reporting is considered a threat to development, while in Latin America, state media serves as a politicized weapon against the independent press. Worldwide, Internet crime laws put journalists in potential peril.

Attacks on the Press, the definitive annual assessment of the state of press freedom worldwide, features analytical essays by CPJ experts along with an overview of media conditions in more than 100 countries and regional data on anti-press violations. The book also documents individual cases and provides a census of journalists killed (46) and imprisoned (179) in 2011.

Key Europe and Central Asia trends include:
Across the European Union, the gap is widening between "model countries," such as Finland or Sweden, and others, such as Hungary and Bulgaria, where the space for a free press is increasingly restrictive. The state of press freedom inside the European Union is crucial to the EU's credibility in public diplomacy. Too often, the EU and its member states appear torn between principles and realpolitik.

In Russia, despite some progress, impunity remains the norm in violent attacks against the press. Authorities notably change their tone, openly condemning crimes against journalists; but the rhetoric is largely unmatched by results. As tens of thousands protest a flawed December parliamentary vote and demand social change, journalists are detained.

As Azerbaijan was preparing to host the popular Eurovision Song Contest, authorities continued to practice intolerance to press criticism. Local journalists faced violence and death for their work, while the foreign press was obstructed. Four years after prominent editor Eynulla Fatullayev was imprisoned on fabricated charges and more than a year after the European Court of Human Rights ordered his immediate release, he finally walked free.

After a rigged December 2010 presidential vote, authoritarian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko unleashed waves of repression against critics and political opponents in Belarus. The crackdown on news media prompted sanctions from the United States and the European Union. Prominent pro-opposition website Charter 97 and its editor, Natalya Radina, were forced into exile.

As Hungary assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union in January, a restrictive new media law came into force. The measure triggered protests at home and across Europe. The government of Viktor Orban remained defiant amid international criticism of its media policies. A leading opposition radio outlet lost its broadcast frequency.

Rising violence, censorship, and politically motivated prosecutions against the media marred the year in Kyrgyzstan. Parliament decriminalized libel, but moved to censor foreign press coverage. Ethnic Uzbek journalists were targeted for legal reprisals as a 2010 conflict cast a long shadow.

P.S.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization
that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.