Censorship

Following a hostile reaction from the media and pressure from international bodies such as the OSCE, the Albanian government has withdrawn a draft amendment that aimed to re-criminalize defamation of senior officials.

BIRN office in Albania had criticised an apparent initiative to restore defamation as a criminal offence in Albania and has called on the government to immediately distance itself from any such move.

On Wednesday, media reports said the government was intending to restore defamation as a criminal offence in the law code.

The Serbian government's use of "soft" censorship remains a threat to press freedom, a report issued on Thursday by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, WAN-IFRA, and the Center for International Media Assistance, CIMA, in Washington says.

Do?an Holding Honorary Chairman Ayd?n Do?an has once again refuted accusations against him regarding the Hilton Hotel in Istanbul.

Do?an?s remarks Oct. 22 came hours after President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an mentioned the businessman in a speech, saying, ?He would have been in high spirits had we given what he wanted about the Hilton.?

In 1927 in the United States, Judge Louis Brandeis wrote a legendary dissenting vote. It was about freedom, freedom of speech and irrational fears. 

The world?s biggest book fair opened in Frankfurt on Oct 13 with a press conference by British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie, saying ?Expression of speech is fundamental to all human beings.?All attempts to curb free speech are ?an attack on human nature,? British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie said Oct. 13 at the start of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world?s biggest book fair.

Turkey?s Press Council has said censorship is still in place in Turkey, adding the country ranked 149th among 199 countries in press freedom reports, with 21 journalists in jail and a large number of ongoing cases filed against journalists, in a written statement issued to mark the 107th anniversary of Journalists Day.

A Republican People's Party (CHP) report has revealed the plight of culture and arts in Turkey, noting 65 cases of pressure, bans and censorship in the first half of 2015 alone.

Freedom of the media and freedom of expression "call for tireless efforts of the state, NGO sector, media and citizens."

That is what officials stated at a gathering on Monday dubbed, "Freedom of expression, media freedom and (auto) censorship in OSCE countries."

Do?an Media Group has announced that it will file complaints against two pro-government media outlets over ?an ongoing campaign of lies and slander.?

?Baseless accusations and lies by some newspapers and broadcasters close to the government, which target the Do?an Group, have increased in the recent weeks,? the group said in a statement on July 1.