Journalists should not face criminal charges for their work, OSCE Representative says following criminal indictment against journalist in Luxembourg
VIENNA, 28 April 2015 – Following criminal charges recently brought against an investigative reporter in Luxembourg, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today said that journalists should not face criminal charges for what they say or write.
According to several reports, on 23 April criminal charges were brought against Edouard Perrin, a French investigative journalist with the TV production company Premières Lignes Télévision, who reported on an alleged system of tax avoidance used by multinational corporations in Luxembourg. He is accused of being a co-author or accomplice to theft, breaching professional confidentiality and fraudulent access to data systems. If convicted, Perrin could face imprisonment.
“Investigative journalism is one of the pillars of free media. Journalists must be free to report on issues of public interest without fear of prosecution and imprisonment or any other sanction,” Mijatović wrote today in a letter to Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn.
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.