Brussels, 06/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - During World Freedom of the Press Day on 3 May 2008, Reporters without Borders (RWB) for the first time ever, published the results of an investigation into violence against journalists in several countries of the European Union. RWB revealed the following:
France, journalists are exposed to physical reprisals when they cover unrest in the suburbs. Events have taken an even more disturbing turn since the November 2005 riots, particularly in the Paris area. In two and a half years, scores of photographers, cameramen and reporters have been physically manhandled.
Italy, the threat comes from the mafia, or rather the mafias which operate in the south of the country: the Camorra in Naples, the 'ndrangheta in Calabria, Cosa Nostra in Sicily and Sacra Corona Unita in Puglia. A total of around a dozen journalists work under police protection. Threats, anonymous letters, slashed tyres, scratched cars can be counted in hundreds. Every journalist who writes about the mafia, gets a message sooner or later, a signal warning that they are being watched.
Spain's Basque Country, journalists have been subject to, often for years, intimidation from the terrorist organisation Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA)..
Northern Ireland, several reporters continue to receive death threats, despite the peace process of the last few years and the formation in 2007 of a regional power-sharing government made up of former enemies from Unionists and Republicans. The threats come chiefly from gangs that have sprung from Protestant Loyalist paramilitary groups, such as the Ulster Defence Association. These are often involved in drug dealing and extortion/protection rackets. Dissident Republican splinter groups of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) - which has given up its weapons in compliance with the peace process - also intimidate journalists.
On 11 February 2008 in Denmark, the country's intelligence services, uncovered a murder plot against Kurt Westergaard, who drew the most controversial cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed. He has since been forced to live under the protection of the Danish secret services, changing his residence every two weeks. At 73, he continues to draw cartoons for Jyllands-Posten, but remains marked by the death threats he has received and the security surrounding him, probably for many more months. Violence against journalists was also committed in recent years in Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Cyprus. For further information: (http://www.rsf.org ). (O.J.)