Collection of written amendments (Revised version)
- Doc. 14229
- Attacks against journalists and media freedom in Europe
Compendium index
Amendment 22Amendment 9Amendment 20Amendment 10Amendment 21Amendment 23Amendment 12Amendment 1Amendment 13Amendment 2Amendment 14Amendment 15Amendment 24Amendment 18Amendment 17Amendment 19Amendment 4Amendment 5Amendment 6Amendment 7Amendment 8Amendment 25Sub-amendment 1 to amendement 25Amendment 3Amendment 11Amendment 16
- Legende:
- In favor
- Against
- No votes
- Withdrawn
Draft resolution
1The right to freedom of expression and information through the media is a necessary requirement for any democratic society. The Parliamentary Assembly therefore welcomes the establishment, in 2015, of the Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists and notes with concern that, unfortunately, the relevance of this tool has been confirmed by the high number of cases which have given rise to alerts on serious threats to media freedom in Europe. The Assembly therefore remains attentive to the situation of media freedom and the safety of journalists in Europe.
2Following Resolution 2035 (2015) on the protection of the safety of journalists and of media freedom in Europe, a few cases referred therein have been resolved. The Assembly welcomes in particular the release from detention of Khadija Ismayilova in Azerbaijan and the fact that, as suggested in Opinion No. 715/2013 of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), the Italian Parliament is debating a government bill aimed at abolishing detention for cases of defamation through the media.
3The Assembly regrets, however, that some concerns expressed in Resolution 2035 (2015) have to be reiterated, regarding:
3.1the Ukrainian film producer Oleg Sentsov, who was abducted from the Crimean Peninsula and sentenced by a Russian military court in Rostov-on-Don to 20 years imprisonment in Yakutsk, in Russia; the Assembly urges the Russian authorities to transfer him to the competent law-enforcement authorities of Ukraine without further delay;
3.2the closure of the broadcaster ATR and other Crimean-Tartar media in the wake of the illegal occupation and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine by Russian authorities; concerned about the general situation of media freedom in the Crimean Peninsula occupied by Russia, the Assembly calls on the Russian authorities to respect freedom of expression and information through the media also in areas which are de facto controlled by them outside the territory of Russia, in violation of Resolution A/RES/68/262 of the United Nations General Assembly;
3.3media freedom and security for journalists in the eastern parts of Ukraine which are still under the de facto control of belligerent separatist military forces supported by the Russian Federation;
3.4the past and continuing changes in media ownership in Georgia, which have an impact on media pluralism and diversity in Georgia.
4The Assembly notes with sadness that 16 journalists have died violently in member States since January 2015 and strongly calls on the competent prosecutors to thoroughly investigate the still not fully resolved deaths of:
4.1Pavel Sheremet, a Belarusian journalist who was working for Ukrayinska Pravda and Radio Vesti in Ukraine when he died in a car explosion in Kyiv on 20 July 2016;
4.2Mustafa Cambaz, a Turkish photojournalist with the newspaper Yeni Şafak who died of a gunshot wound to the head in Istanbul in the early hours of 16 July 2016 during the failed military coup d’état;
4.3Naji Jerf, a Syrian journalist who had made several films about atrocities by both “IS”/Daesh and the current Syrian Government, who was shot dead in Gaziantep (Turkey) on 27 December 2015.
5Referring to Resolution A/RES/68/163 of the United Nations General Assembly on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, the Assembly reiterates its call on member States to fully investigate the deaths of Elmar Huseynov (2005) and Rafiq Tagi (2011) in Azerbaijan, Paul Klebnikov (2004) and Anna Politkovskaya (2006) in the Russian Federation, Dada Vujasinović (1994) and Milan Pantić (2001) in Serbia, Hrant Dink (2007) in Turkey, Georgiy Gongadze (2000) and Vasil Klementiev (2010) in Ukraine, as well as Martin O’Hagan (2001) in the United Kingdom.
6Conscious of the difficulties and serious challenges Turkey is facing with regard to the failed coup d’état, the terrorist attacks, the crisis caused by the enormous number of refugees and the war in Syria, the Assembly expresses its concerns regarding the dramatic situation of media and journalists in Turkey under the decrees passed during the state of emergency, in particular the dissolution and seizure of assets of media companies, the detentions of writers, journalists, editors and executives of media companies, as well as the cases of deviations from criminal procedure law, including access to a lawyer and the right to be informed promptly of the nature and cause of the criminal charges.
7The Assembly calls on the Turkish authorities to:
7.1release from detention all journalists who have not been indicted for actively participating in terrorist acts, among others the writer and translator Necmiye Alpay, the writer and columnist Aslı Erdoğan, the journalist and writer Nazlı Ilıcak, as well as the head of the board of the newspaper Cumhuriyet, Akin Atalay, its editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu, its cartoonist Musa Kart, Kadri Gürsel and several of its columnists, and to immediately check and possibly improve their conditions of detention; the Assembly welcomes the statement by the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey, Mr Nabi Avci, that writers, journalists and cartoonists should not be tried in detention like murderers;
7.2review the emergency decrees in so far as they order the arrest of writers and media staff as well as the public seizure of media companies and their assets;
7.3consider treating as a priority the applications submitted to the Constitutional Court by media outlets or media staff;
7.4revise Articles 216, 299, 301 and 314 of the Penal Code in accordance with Opinion No. 831/2015 of the Venice Commission;
7.5revise Law No. 5651 on “regulation of publications on the Internet and combating crimes committed by means of such publication”, in accordance with Opinion No. 805/2015 of the Venice Commission;
7.6strengthen the editorial independence of the state broadcaster Türkiye Radyo Televizyon in accordance with its Resolution 1636 (2008) on indicators for media in a democracy;
7.7take into account the new country report on Turkey by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
8Concerned about media freedom in the Russian Federation, the Assembly calls on the Russian authorities to:
8.1drop its criminal charges for “separatism” and related offences against the Ukrainian journalists Anna Andrievska, Natalya Kokorina and Mykola Semena for their reports about the illegal occupation and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian Federation;
8.2release Roman Sushchenko, a correspondent for the Ukrainian national information Agency UKRINFORM in France since 2010, who has been detained in Moscow on charges of “espionage” since 30 September 2016;
8.3exert its influence over the belligerent separatist military forces in eastern Ukraine in order to ensure that journalists can report safely from those areas in accordance with its Resolution 1438 (2005) on freedom of the press and the working conditions of journalists in conflict zones;
8.4respond to the alerts published on the Platform to promote the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists, and collaborate effectively with the Council of Europe in upholding media freedom.
9The Assembly furthermore notes with deep concern that the protection of media freedom under Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ETS No. 5) is also absent in other territories of member States which are de facto controlled by separatist regimes, namely in Nagorno-Karabakh of Azerbaijan, Abkhazia and South Ossetia of Georgia and Transnistria of the Republic of Moldova. Therefore, the Assembly pays particular tribute to the few investigative journalists who dare shed light on the situation in those otherwise totally non-transparent and lawless areas.
10Referring to paragraph 2.7 of its Resolution 2064 (2015) on the situation in Hungary following the adoption of Resolution 1941 (2013), the Assembly welcomes progress in combating racist and xenophobic expressions in the media and calls on the Hungarian authorities to:
10.1revise the media legislation in accordance with Opinion No. 798/2015 of the Venice Commission;
10.2reconsider, in accordance with Decision No. SA.39235 of 4 November 2016 by the European Commission, Act XXII of 2014 on Advertisement Tax, which created a discriminatory tax on the publication of advertisements in the media in Hungary and hence has a negative effect on media freedom under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights;
10.3ensure that advertising contracts by public authorities and State companies are concluded with all media in a transparent manner, irrespective of their political position towards the government;
10.4strengthen media pluralism and diversity and ensure transparency of media ownership, especially where a media outlet is effectively held or controlled by a commercial entrepreneur who has been awarded public contracts.
11Noting the recommendation of 27 July 2016 by the European Commission regarding the rule of law in Poland, which also included concerns over media legislation on the State broadcaster Telewizja Polska that had been adopted on 30 December 2015 and had become effective on 7 January 2016, the Assembly asks the Venice Commission to prepare an opinion on this law.
12Noting the recent auction of private broadcasting licenses by the current Greek Government, the Assembly recalls that, while Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights allows States to require licenses for broadcasting, such restrictions need to be necessary in a democratic society and the award of such licenses has to be made in a transparent and reasoned process. Mere profitability concerns of private broadcasting are not a sufficient ground to revoke long existing licenses, especially as the digitalisation of broadcasting reduces the need, and thus the possibility, for governments to reduce the number of broadcasting licenses for technical reasons.
13Regarding the media situation in Belarus, the Assembly welcomes the report of 21 September 2016 by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus. The Assembly regrets that media pluralism and diversity are still absent. This fact limits the Belarusian people in exercising public control over government conduct and especially hampers the respect of democratic standards during elections.
14Several governments have tightened their anti-terrorism legislation by enlarging the criminal offence of aiding and abetting terrorist activities, as well as by allowing law-enforcement authorities to search and seize the work of journalists. However, overbroad applications of such laws are not permissible under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
15The Assembly is alarmed that journalists have sometimes been targeted by police action during violent demonstrations. While law-enforcement authorities can stop such demonstrations and order journalists to leave the scene, the physical integrity of those journalists and the integrity of their equipment must be respected. Media must not be hindered when reporting on such demonstrations, which are of public concern in a democracy.
16Welcoming the fact that investigative journalists have revealed government misconduct in some member States, the Assembly is furthermore alarmed that many of those journalists have faced pressure by governments, law-enforcement authorities or organised crime. The rights of whistle-blowers and the right of journalists not to disclose their sources must be respected. The Assembly invites the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), Transparency International and the Global Investigative Journalism Network to co-operate more closely in their work in this context.
17Noting that the situation of public service broadcasting is difficult in several member States, the Assembly recalls that the independence of such broadcasters from governments has to be ensured through law and practice. Governments and parliaments must not interfere in the daily management and editorial work of such broadcasters, which should establish in-house codes of conduct for journalistic work and editorial independence from political sides. Senior management positions should be refused to people with clear party political affiliations.
18Welcoming the efforts of the Ukrainian authorities to establish a strong public broadcasting system, the Assembly emphasises the importance of continuing without delay the full implementation of the public broadcasting law adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament in April 2014, and of transforming State media outlets into public service media.
19Welcoming the fact-finding work on serious violations of media freedom by professional media organisations throughout Europe, the Assembly calls on member States, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations to join forces with the Council of Europe and support its Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists. The Platform alerts and governmental responses should be used for in-depth analyses of serious cases of attacks on journalists and media freedom, especially where the severity and frequency of such attacks indicate systemic problems in member States.
Draft recommendation
1Recalling its Resolution … (2017) on attacks against journalists and media freedom in Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly thanks the Committee of Ministers for having established the Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists, which is a unique tool for professional media organisations to alert the Council of Europe about serious attacks against media freedom and for governments of member States to respond to these alerts through the Committee of Ministers.
2With regard to the high number of serious cases brought to the attention of member States through this Platform, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
2.1allocate adequate resources to the functioning of the Platform, enabling targeted follow-up to the alerts;
2.2remind member States of their commitment under Article 3 of the Statute of the Council of Europe (ETS No. 1) to co-operate sincerely and effectively in the realisation of the work of the Platform;
2.3include Belarus in the countries addressed by the Platform.
3In view of the serious threats to media freedom in conflict zones in member States as well as under the states of emergency declared by member States, the Assembly invites the Committee of Ministers to hold a thematic debate on this subject and stands ready to co-operate in such a thematic debate.