SEEMO asked the Government to stop the pressures on journalists in Romania

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe, and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), expresses its outrage at recent government pressure on journalists in Romania.



SEEMO LETTER OF PROTEST: ROMANIA

H.E. Calin Popescu-Tariceanu

Prime Minister of Romania

Bucharest, Romania

Fax: +40 21 312 24 36

H.E. Monica Luisa Macovei
Minister of Justice

Bucharest, Romania

Fax: +40 21 310 16 64

Vienna, 23 February 2006

Your Excellencies,

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of
editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe,
and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), expresses its
outrage at recent government pressure on journalists in Romania.

According to information by the Civic Media Association in Bucharest, since
the beginning of February 2006, six Romanian journalists have been placed
under judicial pressure in Romania as a result of their professional
activities. On 7 February, anonymous sources provided two national dailies
from Bucharest, ZIUA and Romania Libera, with military documents about
Romanian and US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the newspapers
decided not to publish this information. The military information was sent
to the editorial offices on a CD copy, which was later handed over to the
authorities.

Afterwards, the Romania Libera corespondent from Vrancea county, Marian
Garleanu, was arrested on 16 February and released after two days. His
arrest was part of a broader investigation into the leak of military
information by a former Romanian soldier, which has been described by some
as classified.

Sebastian Oancea, another journalist from Vrancea county and a corespondent
for Academia Catavencu magazine in Bucharest, was also implicated in the
case by the authorities. His home was searched on 18 February, and his
personal CD’s and his computer hard disk were confiscated. On 20 February,
the public prosecutors in Bucharest charged and indicted Oancea for the
possession and distribution of state secrets.

Defense Minister Teodor Atanasiu said the information was two years old and
“doesn’t threaten our forces…but it is very serious that something like
this was leaked.”

Three journalists for ZIUA daily, Bogdan Comaroni, Doru Dragomir and Victor
Roncea, who is also a member of the Civic Media Association, are now also
under investigation by the public prosecutors for possession of the
information – in spite of the fact that the journalists informed the
authorities about the information and handed it over. Ovidiu Ohanesian from
Romania Libera is also being investigated in the same case. Elsewhere, Sorin
Rosca Stanescu, Director of ZIUA daily, and Petre Mihai Bacanu, Director of
Romania Libera daily, were questioned by the prosecutors about this case.

SEEMO strongly condemns the attempt to pressure journalists into revealing
their sources. Governments should not involve journalists in their criminal
investigations, nor intimidate them in order to influence their reporting.

We urge Your Excellencies to do everything in your power to stop these
practices and to prevent such cases from happening in the future. SEEMO
would also like to remind Your Excellencies that an open media environment
allowing for the free flow of information is a fundamental principle of any
democratic society.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Vujovic

SEEMO Secretary General

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