Council of Europe Platform Tracks Violations of Press Freedom, Attacks Against Journalists

In April, the Council of Europe (CoE) made an unprecedented move, launching a platform that tracks attacks against journalists and violations of press freedom in its 47 member states. By mid-November, 99 alerts covering 25 countries had been posted on the site.

Among recent incidents: An ABC News cameraman was attacked and detained by Albanian police; riot police in Montenegro fired teargas at a group of around 30 journalists covering a protest of the opposition, and two Turkish journalists were imprisoned for “inciting armed rebellion.” There also were reports of threats to media in France, Belgium and Serbia.