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Like last year, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are the best placed countries of the region, although their positions in the Index are dispersed. However, according to the Index, these countries enjoy a relatively good level of pluralism of opinions and low censorship from authorities.
A disadvantage shared by the four countries is significant social polarization, which causes a sometimes insecure climate for journalists, who are often harassed by various pressure groups. At the same time, the political preferences of media outlets in this region depend on trust owners, and respect for the employees’ freedom of expression is still limited.
An interesting aspect of this year’s Index is the position of Romania in the top: it ranked 45th, higher than the United States of America (46th).
According to the authors of the report, the USA has fallen 13 places this year due to the authorities’ efforts to stop information leaks from public institutions, especially those related to supervision of the population. “The trial and conviction of Private Bradley Manning and the pursuit of NSA analyst Edward Snowden were warnings to all those thinking of assisting in the disclosure of sensitive information that would clearly be in the public interest,” Reporters Without Borders say.
Other notable incidents that caused a worse position for the USA in the Index were the seizure of Associated Press phone records in order to identify the source of a CIA leak; a court order for a The New York Times journalist to testify against a former CIA employee accused of leaking classified information; and trial against freelancer Barrett Brown (for whom the prosecution is requesting 105 years in prison), who published confidential information that hackers obtained from the Stratfor agency, which has close ties to the federal government.
The first position in the top has been taken by Finland, followed by the Netherlands, Norway and Luxembourg. Position 180 in the Index belongs to Eritrea.
