Police attacks on journalists surge across EU, most press freedom violations in Turkey: MFRR report

In the first six months of this year, Turkey saw the highest number of violations of press freedom across European Union member states and candidate countries, according to the Media Freedom Rapid Response’s latest report. 

From January to June, there were 575 media freedom violations, of which 307 took place in EU member states while 268 occurred in candidate countries, according to the report. 

Turkey witnessed 136 such cases, with “legal incidents” remaining the most common threat, accounting for 44.9 percent of the recorded cases. Turkey was ranked 165 among 180 countries in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders.

The report said that the number of attacks by the police against journalists seems to be on the rise across the European Union, compared to last year. “A total of 50 attacks by police were recorded by the MFRR in the first half of 2023: a higher number of attacks in six months than in the whole year 2022. Many of these attacks were recorded in France and Germany, with a respective number of 27 and 12 cases registered. Other cases occurred in Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Italy, Poland, and Spain.”

Across the European Union, the report noted, the most common attacks were verbal (35.8 percent) such as insults and discrediting of journalists. This was followed by legal attacks, which formed 24.8 percent of the total incidents, while physical attacks and attacks on property accounted for 21.2 and 16.9 percent of the count, respectively.

War-torn Ukraine, meanwhile, was the only EU member state or candidate country to have registered deaths of journalists during the six-month period, according to the report. “The tragic deaths and the recurring wounding of journalists in Ukraine illustrate the continued danger faced by media workers reporting on armed conflict and the courage of those who continue to report from frontlines in Ukraine despite these risks.

MFRR is funded by the European Commission. The report has been compiled by the International Press Institute, the European Federation of Journalists, and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom.