Western Balkans' commitment to European norms for media freedom in question - Freedom House

April 28 (SeeNews) - Attacks against journalists by various perpetrators in the Western Balkans contributed to an overall decline in media freedom, raising questions whether these countries' governments are genuine in their stated commitments to European norms for media freedom and independence, independent watchdog organisation Freedom House said.

In Serbia multiple journalists suffered physical assaults, contributing to heightened self-censorship across the media sector, Freedom House said in its latest Freedom of the Press report released earlier this week.

The hostile rhetoric of the government of Aleksandar Vucic toward investigative journalists, reported censorship of journalists and media outlets and a decrease in the availability of critical, independent reporting placed Serbia among the countries to suffer sharpest decline in press freedom.

Attacks and death threats in Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina also raise concerns, with numerous violations committed against reporters who were investigating government corruption, Freedom House added.

The countries in Southeast Europe were evaluated as "partly free" in terms of press, except for Slovenia which ranked as "free" and Macedonia which entered the "not free" category. On a global level, press freedom declined to its lowest point in the last 12 years, the report showed. It ranks 200 countries based on scores in three categories - legal, political and economic environment.

In Macedonia, the region's worst performer, disclosures indicating large-scale and illegal government wiretapping of journalists, corrupt ties between officials and media owners, and an increase in threats and attacks on media workers pushed down the country's score to 62.

According to Freedom House, although the country's constitution includes basic protections for freedom of the press and freedom of expression, they are not implemented by the authorities. The organisation noted that despite the removal of the defamation from the penal code in 2012, a parallel change in the civil law authorized large defamation fines for reporters, editors, and media owners. Another reason for concern, according to the organisation, is that journalists in Macedonia have reported high rates of self-censorship.

Macedonia has a large number of broadcast and print outlets for its population but pro-government media hold a dominant position in the market. Journalists face low salaries, a lack of job security, and poor working conditions, leaving them more vulnerable to editorial pressure from owners, it added.

Details about the performance of the SEE countries follow: