On 6 November, Rita Csik, a journalist with the daily Nepszava newspaper, was charged with the “deliberate breach of a state secret” under Article 221 of the Hungarian Penal Code that is titled, “Violation of a State Secret,” which dates from the 1970’s. Csik’s prosecution arises from an article written by her in May 2004 […]

In two recent decisions involving the Finnish government, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) reaffirmed the fundamental principle of press freedom and the right of the media to report on matters of public interest. Seija Selistö of the Vaasa newspaper Pohjalainen brought the case after she authored an article concerning a patient who died […]

On 20 October, Congressman Chung Rae Jung of the Uri party, which has a parliamentary majority, tabled a proposed amendment to the “Registration, etc. of Periodicals Act” titled, “Act on Preserving the Functions of Newspaper, etc. and Protecting the Interests of the Readers.” The act contains a number of provisions that are deeply hostile to […]

On the eve of his visit to Vienna, Austria, the International Press Institute (IPI) calls on the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, to reconsider the need for a new press law and to ensure that any new legislation meets the requirements of the Constitution and international standards on press freedom and freedom of expression. For […]