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Media freedom deteriorates (evropaelire.org)

By   /  29/04/2015  /  No Comments

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The Freedom House has published the 2015 annual report on the freedom of the media. The report, which covers 199 countries and territories, ranks Kosovo 100th in the list, compared to the 98th position it had last year. Zekirija Shabani, the chairman of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AGK), said he was not surprised by Kosovo’s ranking and said that an even more negative assessment was expected. “There is a marked increase of attacks, threats, blackmails and censorship against journalists this year. Last year we had 24 cases reported in the Association of Journalists, whereas since January this year we already have ten reported cases. This shows that the situation is deteriorating,” Shabani told Radio Free Europe. Vehbi Kajtazi, a journalist with Koha Ditore, said he came under pressure after he reported on corruption allegations inside the European Union’s Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX). Threats against Kajtazi were also highlighted in Amnesty International’s report on human rights. According to Kajtazi, the Freedom House report on media freedom provides an accurate description of the state of the media in Kosovo. “Last year, two lawsuits were filed against two people who threatened me. This is concrete evidence that these persons, whom I reported on and who did not like my work, chose the wrong way to communicate with a journalist. They chose threats and force as means of communication,” he said.

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