BC Reacted via a Statement to the Assault of BTV Cameraman: ‘Media Freedom is One of the Pillars of the Rule of Law’

During its meeting on 22 February, the Broadcasting Council (BC) condemned, via a statement, the assault and intimidation against the shooting team of Balti BTV television broadcaster by the PDM candidate on the single-member constituency No 9, Serghei Buzurnii.
The statement was supported by consensus by all the members of the Council. ‘Media freedom is one of the pillars of the rule of law and a guarantee of the democratic processes and institutions, and such assaults and intimidations from behalf of election contestants, during the election campaign, are contrary to both national law and democratic principles internationally recognised’, mentioned the BC statement.
The Broadcasting Council expressed its concern about such abuses and restrictions against journalists and called on all election candidates and political parties to show maximum responsibility, not to avoid the duty to uphold the rights of media representatives and thus to guarantee them the opportunity to freely practice the profession of journalists.

Previously, Eugen Gumeniuc filed a complaint with Balti Police against Buzurnii, and the copies of this complaint were sent to the Central Electoral Commission and the Broadcasting Council. In his turn, Buzurnii qualified these complaints as speculations and instigations.  
We remind that on 15 February, BTV cameraman Eugen Gumeniuc, being in Sadovoe village (Balti) for work-related purposes, was hit by the mayor’s car while filming an electoral poster of the PD candidate hanging on Mayoralty’s windows. Buzurnii denied that such an incident occurred.
 
Media NGOs condemned the acts of assault and intimidation against the cameraman and requested the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to initiate appropriate investigation on the basis of Criminal Code, and to make its results public.