Appeal to the Ruling Party and the Embassies Regarding Restricted Access of TV8 and Jurnal TV Journalists to PDM Briefings

Media NGOs appeal to the ruling party which for a few weeks has been repeatedly restricting access of TV8 journalists to the party’s press briefings. On 2 October the access of Jurnal TV journalists was restricted as well.

Such actions violate rights of both journalists and citizens. In particular, freedom of the media to receive and share information (Article 20 of the Law on Press), as well as freedom of the audience to be informed (Article 6(1) of the Law on Freedom of Expression) are violated.

Actions of the PDM are also impeachable according to Article 180¹ of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova which provides sanctions for intentional obstruction to the activity of a media outlet.

Note that according to the Law on Political Parties, political formations are ‘democratic institutions of the state of law, promote democratic values and political pluralism, contribute to the formation of public opinion’.

The State supports political parties financially (Article 5 of the Law on Political Parties). Thus, the activity of the ruling party is of public interest, and all journalists shall have access to its press briefings to be able to cover the discussions and announcements that subsequently materialize in official papers and initiatives affecting the whole society.

Media NGOs condemn restriction or selective provision of access to events of public interest for journalists. Such restrictions are contrary to the rule of law, principles of democratic governance and common European values.

We urge the ruling party to reassess its attitude towards TV8 and Jurnal TV and to ensure their free and unconditional access to the mentioned events. At the same time, we ask PDM to respect media representatives and treat all journalists equally.

We also call on the embassies and diplomatic missions accredited in the Republic of Moldova to take notice of this arbitrary conduct of the ruling party. Thus, we want to bring to their attention that illegal practices restricting the freedom of unwanted media outlets and honest independent journalists become more and more frequent.

Independent Journalism Center
Association of Independent Press
Association of Electronic Press
Center for Investigative Journalism
Press Freedom Committee 
Association of Independent TV Journalists 
‘Access-Info’ Center
RISE Moldova