Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today released a comparative study “Defamation and Insult Laws in the OSCE Region” finding that criminal law remains an instrument to excessively limit media freedom. Commissioned by the representative and conducted by International Press Institute (IPI) Director of Press […]

Renowned Portuguese editor and IPI World Press Freedom Hero Nuno Rocha, who played a crucial role in defending press freedom in Portugal during the country’s transition to democracy in the 1970s, died on Tuesday, July 5 of complications from pneumonia. He was 83. “I remember [Rocha] as a person who stood firmly and steadfastly for […]

We, the undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), express our concerns over the recent wave of vexatious lawsuits against the investigative portal Network for Investigation of Crime and Corruption (KRIK) in Serbia. We believe that these lawsuits are a form of strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPPs) that aim to stifle scrutiny […]

A trend continues: in January of this year, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered yet another ruling against Portugal in a case involving a journalist sued for defamation. On this occasion, the journalist in question was José Manuel Fernandes, publisher of the online news site Observador. In 2010, the Lisbon Court of Appeal […]