Last Sunday, Turkish voters narrowly approved constitutional changes that observers fear will lead to authoritarian rule under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. While international election observers have criticised technical aspects of the vote, Erdoğan’s crackdown on the press – including the jailing of at least 150 journalists – and nurturing of a state propaganda machine had […]

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 […]

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 […]

Following a three-day mission to Suriname as part of a six-country mission to the Caribbean, the International Press Institute (IPI) said today it looks forward to working with the Surinamese government on a legislative package that would decriminalise libel and insult as well as institute self-regulatory mechanisms to oversee media standards in the country. In […]