Last year, media freedom was under pressure throughout the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), said OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, speaking at a meeting of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw to review the implementation of human dimension commitments.

According to him, over the past year, media freedom has been pressured in many OSCE countries, if not all, TASS reported.

The safety of journalists is constantly under threat, he said, adding that they are being attacked, beaten and killed by different forces and for various reasons. 

According to Désir, the OSCE should strongly resist violence against journalists.

The protection of journalists is the duty of the state, the OSCE representative said. Impunity and passive investigation, lack of conviction gives rise to new cases of violence, Désir added.

As Desir noted, the problem remains not only the physical but also the legal security of journalists, restriction of their right to access information as the fight against terrorism should not be used to restrict media freedom.