Media NGOs condemn the attempts to intimidate Jurnal TV’s team at the Orhei mayor’s office building

Media NGOs are expressing their concern about the incident that occurred on Wednesday, 15 July, at the Orhei mayor’s office building. According to Jurnal TV channel, its team, which went to Orhei mayor’s office for information about the repairs that are taking place there, was assaulted, threatened and forced to leave the building. A person that refused to present himself assaulted the cameraman, hit the camera and ordered the institution’s guard to force the journalists out.

We find this incident an act of intimidation of the press, which is in flagrant contradiction with the media law, with the inalienable right of journalists to freely obtain information of public interest.

We are asking the Orhei Police Inspectorate to thoroughly investigate the case and to present the results to the public, including the name and position of the person who assaulted Jurnal TV’s team. We are asking the law enforcement to sanction this misconduct according to the current legislation in order to avoid such abuses against media representatives by public institutions in the future.

Independent Journalism Center
Association of Independent Press
Electronic Press Association
“Acces-Info” Center
Journalistic Investigations Center
Association of Independent TV Journalists