Committee to Protect Journalists - Albania

CPJ concerned about Fatullayev's safety, calls for his release

2011-03-21T18:32:11Z

New York, March 21, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm today about reported threats in prison against embattled editor Eynulla Fatullayev, at left. According to CPJ interviews and local press reports, Fatullayev has feared for his life since his recent transfer to a new jail, prompting him to request that he be isolated from other inmates. Now in solitary confinement, his health has deteriorated and he has not received medical treatment, according to CPJ research.

According to Anar Gasymov, a member of Fatullayev's legal team, the journalist's life is in danger. Fatullayev received a tip that hostile inmates have been getting ready to assault him since he was transferred to Prison No. 1 in Baku on March 2, Gasymov, told the independent Caucasus news website Kavkazsky Uzel.

Attacks on the Press 2009: Europe and Central Asia Developments

2010-02-16T05:00:20Z

Albanian editor attacked following critical reports

2009-11-04T20:56:43Z

New York, November 4, 2009—Assailants badly beat Mero Baze, chief editor of the independent Albanian daily Tema and host of the prime-time television show “Faktor Plus,” at a bar in the capital, Tirana, on Monday, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the attack and calls on authorities to bring the assailants to justice.

Police block newspaper staff from entering offices

2009-01-09T20:57:49Z

New York, January 9, 2009--The Committee to Protect Journalists is disturbed that the Albanian authorities today blocked the offices of the daily Tema, which recently published stories alleging official corruption.

Bomb damages office of popular daily newspaper

2005-12-19T17:00:00Z

New York, December 19, 2005—An explosion on Sunday evening damaged the Tirana headquarters of Shekulli, Albania's most popular independent daily, but staff members escaped injury, according to international press reports.

Editor-in-Chief Robert Rakipllari said 15 staff members were working when the bomb exploded outside the newspaper building, The Associated Press reported. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, nor had anyone made any recent threats against the newspaper. "I'm sure this was some type of warning, but I can't explain it," Rakipllari told the AP.

CPJ urges assembly speaker to back defamation reform

2005-05-23T16:00:00Z

Dear Mr. Speaker:

The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide, encourages you to support pending legislation to reform Albania's criminal and civil defamation laws.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe commissioned the London-based anticensorship organization Article 19 to review Albania's defamation legislation in September 2004. Article 19 concluded that Albania's criminal and civil codes are not in compliance with international press freedom standards and, instead, promote self-censorship. In the Criminal Code, articles 119 (on insult) and 120 (on defamation) set penalties of up to two years imprisonment; articles 239 and 240 of the Criminal Code provide special protection for public officials. Articles 617 and 625 of the Civil Code contain vague definitions that do not clearly establish truth as a defense or set standards of liability.

Attacks on the Press 2004: Albania

2005-03-14T16:46:45Z

Albania

Prime Minister Fatos Nano and his socialist government continued to pressure independent and opposition media in 2004, using criminal and civil defamation complaints as a stick and politically motivated state advertising as a carrot.

Attacks on the Press 2003: Albania

2004-03-11T17:07:40Z

Albania's contentious political environment and economic underdevelopment continued to make the country a relatively chaotic and difficult place for the independent press in 2003. Journalists faced government pressure, criminal libel lawsuits, arbitrary dismissal by politicized owners, and limited access to basic government information, particularly when investigating official corruption and organized crime. Furthermore, low professional standards, an editorial emphasis on sensationalism, and the financial influence of political parties over many media outlets give journalists little public credibility and often force the press to practice self-censorship.

Attacks on the Press 2002: Albania

2003-03-31T17:10:25Z

Despite some modest media-related reforms implemented by Parliament in 2002, Albania's contentious political scene and economic underdevelopment continue to make the country a relatively chaotic and difficult place for the independent press. Journalists face government harassment, criminal libel lawsuits, arbitrary dismissal by politicized owners, and limited access to basic government information, particularly when investigating official corruption and organized crime. Furthermore, low professional standards, an editorial emphasis on sensationalism, and the financial influence of political parties over many media outlets mean that journalists have little credibility with the public.

Attacks on the Press 2002: The Hague

2003-03-31T17:06:30Z

December 11

Jonathan C. Randal, The Washington Post

The U.N. International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague (ICTY) ruled to limit compelled testimony from war correspondents. The decision, announced at the tribunal's Appeals Chamber, came in response to the appeal by former Washington Post reporter Jonathan C. Randal, who had been subpoenaed to testify in the case of former Bosnian-Serb housing minister Radoslav Brdjanin, who is facing charges of genocide because of his alleged role in the persecution and expulsion of more than 100,000 non-Serbs during the Bosnian war. The subpoena against Randal was set aside, and he is no longer required to testify.

Attacks on the Press 2002: Kyrgystan

2003-03-31T17:05:15Z

Emboldened by the growing number of U.S. troops in the country, President Askar Akayev has used the threat of international terrorism as an excuse to curb political dissent and suppress the independent and opposition media in Kyrgyzstan. Compliant courts often issue exorbitant damage awards in politically motivated libel suits, driving even the country's most prominent newspapers to the brink of bankruptcy.

Attacks on the Press 2002: Slovenia

2003-03-31T17:02:20Z

Press freedom is generally respected in Slovenia, but journalists investigating sensitive issues continue to face occasional intimidation or pressure in retaliation for their coverage.

Attacks on the Press 2002: United Kingdom

2003-03-31T17:00:45Z

Press freedom is generally respected in the United Kingdom, but CPJ was alarmed by a legal case in which Interbrew, a Belgium-based brewing group, and the British Financial Services Authority (FSA), a banking and investment watchdog agency, demanded that several U.K. media outlets turn over documents that had been leaked to them. The case threatened to erode the media's ability to protect sources, and to deter whistle-blowers from talking with the press.

Attacks on the Press 2001: Europe & Central Asia

2002-03-26T17:11:50Z

The exhilarating prospect of broad press freedoms that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union a decade ago has faded dramatically in much of the post-communist world. A considerable decline in press freedom conditions in Russia during the last year, along with the stranglehold authoritarian leaders have imposed on media in Central Asia, the Caucasus, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova, has put journalists on the defensive across the region.

Attacks on the Press 2001: Albania

2002-03-26T17:11:25Z

Independent journalists in Albania continue to struggle with economic underdevelopment, highly partisan politics, and security risks. Low professional standards and stalled government reforms of media laws further compounded journalists' problems in 2001.

High taxes and printing costs, poor distribution networks, low advertising revenues, limited business skills, and endemic corruption keep editors and publishers dependent on financial subsidies from political parties. Because most media owners are affiliated with one of two dominant political parties--either Prime Minister Ilir Meta's ruling Socialist Party (SP), or Sali Berisha's opposition Democratic Party (DP)--news coverage tends to be highly partisan.