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‘A prosecutor’s work does not entail communication’
According to the order signed by Viorel Morari, the Service of Information and Communication with the Media of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office is responsible for ensuring the communication with the press in order to efficiently manage institution’s relations with the public and with the journalists, as well as to streamline the dissemination of the information of public interest.
‘As an exception, the APO’s prosecutors are allowed to interact directly with the media representatives only with the prior approval of the prosecutor concerned’, says the APO’s order Anastasia Mihalceanu sent us.
‘Prosecutors have other things to deal with rather than communicating with the media. However, should media interact with the prosecutors in the courts or should we have a case of public interest requiring us to hold a press conference, the prosecutors are allowed to speak’, Anastasia Mihalceanu told Media-azi.md.
Chief Prosecutor’s order has made it harder for journalists to work
Victor Mosneag, investigative journalist at Ziarul de Garda, argues that this order has made it hard for the journalists who write about the lawsuits involving cases of corruption. ‘Now, it’s almost impossible for a journalist to talk to an APO’s prosecutor since everyone makes reference to that order. Moreover, prosecutors do not talk to journalists even when they are directly targeted in an article. Although the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson is trying to answer to journalists’ requests, there are a lot of cases when she fails to do it. Hence, we receive late answers even to elementary things and questions’, Victor Mosneag said.
The journalist argues that more often than not the media representatives need to talk directly to the prosecutors, taking into account that some questions may arise even during the discussion. ‘In this situation, we only get written, very laconic, and often incomplete answers’, Mosneag complained.
The authorities barricade themselves
Journalist Mariana Colun from the Center for Investigative Journalism also notes that lately, the communication with APO’s prosecutors has become much more complicated. ‘Until the order was passed, Mr. Morari would answer the phone at almost any decent hour and would be, in fact, aware with most of the court cases we were interested in. Now, it’s obvious that all the questions go to the Press Service and it’s harder to receive an answer’, Mariana Colun explained.
The journalist notes that, in general, it is also harder to obtain information from other state institutions, the later becoming more and more closed for the media. ‘In recent times, Moldova witnesses how the authorities at all levels (including ministries, Prosecutor’s Office) limit journalists’ access to information. Only the National Anti-Corruption Center is more open, but it depends on the court case. It becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish the truth from untruth; there is a lot of false information in the public space, and when we want to know the right answer, we are provided only with a handful of information. I don’t know whether the authorities have something to hide or they simply barricade. I don’t know what the reason is, but it’s not disputed that it becomes harder to document both investigations and ordinary news’, Mariana Colun added.
According to her, journalists’ sources also communicate increasingly rare with the media in order to provide unofficial information. ‘People don’t want to talk, they’re afraid of something. If you find something and call someone to discuss this, the sources are more afraid to speak. There are situations when civil servants come to us with an informal conversation and they simply disappear or avoid talking to us the moment we ask them for some evidence. They’re scared’, the investigative journalist added.
In November 2017, the press wrote that the former Minister of Health, Labor and Social Protection, Stela Grigoras, issued an order requiring that institutions subordinated to the ministry coordinate all invitations to and interviews in broadcast programs with the Service of Information and Communication with the Media.
Also in November 2017, shortly after being appointed as interim mayor of Chisinau, Silvia Radu issued a disposition obliging the employees from the Mayor’s Office administration to communicate with the press only through the Public Relations Department.
