{"id":53155,"date":"2025-07-03T17:14:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T14:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cji.md\/declaratie-pe-marginea-sporirii-numarului-de-cazuri-de-agresare-si-intimidare-a-jurnalistilor\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T12:20:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T10:20:04","slug":"declaratie-pe-marginea-sporirii-numarului-de-cazuri-de-agresare-si-intimidare-a-jurnalistilor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cji.md\/en\/declaratie-pe-marginea-sporirii-numarului-de-cazuri-de-agresare-si-intimidare-a-jurnalistilor\/","title":{"rendered":"Statement on the increase in the number of cases of assault and intimidation of journalists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Against the backdrop of an increase in the number of cases of intimidation of journalists, the Independent Journalism Center, together with co-signing organizations, calls on the authorities of the Republic of Moldova to strengthen, as a matter of priority, legal guarantees regarding the safety and protection of journalists in order to address emerging threats to the press and counteract the culture of impunity.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

In recent months, we have witnessed with deep concern an alarming escalation of attacks against media representatives, manifested in physical harm, offensive harassment, and intimidation of reporters covering protests or approaching politicians to obtain answers.<\/p>\r\n

In the last two weeks alone, at least five reporters have been intimidated, assaulted, and\/or harassed. At the PSRM rally on June 23, reporters from the F\u0103r\u0103 Filtre media project, Constantin Niculae and Veronica Gherbove\u021bchi, were targeted with intimidation and physical aggression<\/a> by some of the participants in the demonstration. Nadejda Ro\u0219covanu, a photojournalist for Jurnal.md, was also assaulted<\/a> last week, on June 27, inside the capital’s City Hall, by municipal councilor Ludmila Polodiuc, vice president of the MAN faction. On July 1, during a court hearing on the criminal case of the Gagauzia governor, journalist M\u0103riu\u021ba Nistor from Ziarul de Gard\u0103 was intimidated and threatened<\/a> by Alexei Lungu, president of the “\u0218ans\u0103” party, affiliated with Ilan \u0218or. On July 3, TV8 journalist Andrei Captarenco also became the target of aggression. He was struck on the head with a flag<\/a> by a protester who had come to support Bashkan Evghenia Gu\u021bul at a new court hearing.<\/p>\r\n

The signatory organizations strongly condemn these cases, emphasizing that the actions of the attackers and harassers constitute a violation of the right to physical integrity, individual freedom, and safety, as well as an interference with the special rights guaranteed to journalists.<\/p>\r\n

According to the Law on Freedom of Expression, the state guarantees freedom of expression of the press, and the illegal obstruction of media activity is a criminal offense. We emphasize that bodily harm or injury to health, insults, and offensive accosting of persons in public places are acts criminalized by law.<\/p>\r\n

The undersigned organizations strongly condemn the illegal actions of the perpetrators against the press and point out that such violations cannot be tolerated.<\/p>\r\n

We note with regret that the special guarantees for the protection of the media currently enshrined <\/strong>in the national legal framework \u2013 specifically, Article 180\/1 of the Criminal Code, which criminalises actions that intentionally obstruct the work of the media or intimidate journalists for their criticism \u2013 are insufficient and ineffective<\/strong>. This finding is supported both by the lack of cases of practical application of this mechanism and by the proliferation of impunity, especially among certain categories of politicized perpetrators with hostile attitudes towards the press.<\/p>\r\n

We call on the authorities of the Republic of Moldova to treat the reported problem as a priority and to ensure:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n