Slovakia: Deteriorating press freedom prompts advocacy mission

On 25 and 26 November, partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) will conduct a solidarity and fact-finding mission to Slovakia to assess the state of press freedom in the country amid a scaling back of democratic freedoms.

The organisations participating in the mission are ARTICLE 19 Europe, the International Press Institute, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF).

As the environment for freedom of expression, media pluralism, and independent journalism becomes increasingly hostile, the delegation will meet with leading media organisations, press freedom advocates, and political leaders to discuss the key challenges to freedom of expression in the country and explore potential solutions.

The mission will focus on key topics including media capture, the dissolution of the public broadcaster Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS), smear campaigns targeting journalists, impunity for crimes against them, and the steps needed to align Slovak legislation with international and European standards.

As the protection of freedom of expression deteriorates to a critical point, the mission will show solidarity with independent media and urge the authorities in Slovakia to refrain from verbal and legal attacks on the press. Additionally, we remind the government of its obligation under international law to create an enabling environment where journalists can work freely and without fear of retaliation.

Key areas of concern

The MFRR partners have consistently expressed deep concern regarding the deterioration of media freedom in Slovakia. The critical challenges include:

• Attacks on the independence of public service media: In July 2024 the relatively independent public broadcaster, RTVS, was dissolved to be replaced by the new institution, Slovak Television and Radio (STVR). This included new rules which enabled the government to replace the leadership with their own appointees facilitating the politicization of the STVR.

• Media capture : The MFRR research shows that Slovakia's media market is heavily influenced by government and vested interests. There's clear evidence of an imbalance in the allocation of state advertising funds to media outlets due to a lack of regulation. Additionally, the media landscape remains highly concentrated, with the oligarchic group Penta controlling a significant share of the market. The Slovak government has also pressured private media, including the leading commercial broadcaster, TV Markíza.

• Legislation and legal measures restricting media freedom and freedom of expression: Since September 2023, the Slovak government has introduced several draft bills that restrict media freedom. These included a draft bill labelling civil society organizations which receive over €5,000 annually in foreign funding as 'foreign-supported'; the amendment of the media law changing a "right to a correction" and the amendment to the Access to Information Law, allowing officials to charge for "extensive" information requests. Prime Minister Robert Fico also recently filed a SLAPP case against Peter Bárdy, editor-in-chief of Aktuality.sk, and Ringier Slovak Media, the publisher of the book Fico - Obsessed with Power, for using Fico's photo on the cover.

• Safety concerns and impunity for crimes against journalists: The lack of justice for the 2018 assassination of Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, has intensified concerns over the safety of journalists in Slovakia. Until this day, full justice has not yet been served for either the assassination of Kuciak and Kušnírová or for other crimes against journalists such as their massive surveillance by "Kočner's squad", a network of individuals paid to supply information to the businessman.

• Verbal attacks and smear campaigns against journalists: Journalists in Slovakia continue to face both physical and online attacks. These have rapidly intensified since Prime Minister Fico's re-election in September 2023. The survey, conducted by the Investigative Centre of Ján Kuciak (ICJK) within the project Safe.Journalism.sk in 2023, showed Slovak journalists are most frequently targeted with online and verbal attacks.

In the first six months of 2024, MFRR documented a total of 28 press freedom violations targeting 43 media-related persons or entities. Government and public officials were the most common (67.9%) source of violations documented , of which most were related to verbal attacks like discrediting, intimidation, and harassment.

Engagement and advocacy

The MFRR delegation will hold a press conference on November 26, 2024, at 2:30 PM in Bratislava, to present its initial observations and recommendations. An additional press release will be produced shortly after, to further detail the mission's preliminary findings. Following the mission, the coalition will also disseminate the report based on the mission findings and recommendations.

For further information about the press conference, contact Teona Sekhniashvili at [email protected] or Ronja Koskinen at [email protected] .

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