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Media NGOs Condemn the Intimidations of a Private Company Against the Reporter Julieta Savitchi from CIJM

11 June 2019
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Media NGOs condemn the assaults, threats and intimidations of the manager SC ‘Rapid Link’ SRL against the journalist Julieta Savitchi, the author of the investigation ‘“The Present” of the Government for Newborns: Clothes of Suspicious Quality at Exaggerated Prices’ published by the Center for Investigative Journalism from Moldova (CIJM).

Thus, after the publication of the material on 27 May, the manager of the commercial company ‘Rapid Link’ SRL, Victor Baciu, sent a threatening letter to the author of the investigation: ‘We will be rough to you’; ‘You offended us in a dirty way and you dragged our name in mud, a name that we make with care day by day. You deserve the roughest treatment’.

We qualify such threats as serious breach not only of the rights of journalists whom the law guarantees freedom to receive and share information through mass media (Article 20 of the Law on Press). Note that according to Article 1801 of the Criminal Code, the intimidation of the media or the journalist for criticism can be subject to criminal liability.

We ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to investigate this case and apply the law to those who violated the legitimate rights of the journalist.

The threats and assaults against a journalist are not a solution in a democratic society and affect the fair relationship with the media. Any litigation can be solved through legal methods, and if one believes he/she was criticized unfairly by the media, they can file a complaint with the Press Council, an institution empowered to assess the professional behaviour and/or the quality of a journalist’s work.

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