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10 Feb, 14 tweets, 5 min read
Polish independent media suspends news coverage, web pages in blackout today, to protest a new advertising tax that seems aimed at undermining freedom of the press.
politico.eu/article/polish…
The ruling party in Poland has been trying to strangle the independent media for years, step by step...
They pulled lucrative state advertising from critical media outlets, damaging their financial viability.
ipi.media/in-poland-crit…
They purged management, editorial staff & reporters in state-run media when they felt those individuals were critical of the ruling party.
bbc.com/news/world-eur…
Already in 2016, hundreds of Polish journalists were fired, demoted, forced to resign or reassigned to non-reporting tasks, like archive duty.
digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2017/po…
Such politically motivated purges of state media have continued in Poland.
rsf.org/en/news/unjust…
State TV is in full control of the ruling party, and core shows like the flagship evening news program, “Wiadomości”, are nothing but pure propaganda for the ruling party.
coe.int/en/web/media-f…

nytimes.com/2019/10/11/wor…
Domination of the information sphere in Poland also happens via direct acquisition of outlets and titles. In December 2020, the government moved to take over most of the country's regional newspapers though state-controlled oil refiner PKN-Orlen...
...gobbling up some 20 regional newspapers, almost 120 local weeklies and over 500 websites, by buying the Polska Press publisher from Germany's Verlagsgruppe Passau.
politico.eu/article/poland…
The Polish authorities have not been shy about using more forceful measures against the press, too, including gagging orders, legal action and repressive, communist-era laws...
cpj.org/2019/01/gaggin…
...as well as police violence against journalists covering anti-government demonstrations.
cpj.org/2020/11/polish…
So, today's media blackout by Poland's independent news outlets is not just a protest over a tax; it's a protest at the ruling party's step-by-step strangulation of free media.
Statement by EU Commission Spokesperson on the latest threat to independent media in Poland
"The purpose of the tax is clearly political - to hurt media, to show the power of the state ... to tell us: 'If you keep being insolent, then we'll hit you even harder.'"
- Bogusław Chrabota, editor of Polish daily @rzeczpospolita.
euobserver.com/justice/150897

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Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
9 Feb
Trump's 2nd impeachment trial begins today: theguardian.com/us-news/2021/f…

Human Rights Watch's take: The authorities should also vigorously pursue criminal investigations into 6 January events, hold those responsible to account & ensure abuses are not repeated hrw.org/news/2021/02/0…
Important to realize that an impeachment trial in the Senate is not enough.

Federal & state authorities have an obligation to conduct thorough and effective _criminal_ investigations of these events and ensure accountability for them.
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15 Jan
3 Polish women are on trial for offending religious feelings by making posters of the Virgin Mary with a rainbow halo.

They face up to 2 years in prison if convicted.

Poland's authorities seem desperate to turn the country into Europe's Saudi Arabia.
politico.eu/article/poland…
A review of the Polish authorities' take on free speech:

- incitement to violence: perfectly fine (as long as it's against people the authorities hate);

- making a poster: absolutely unacceptable (if the poster offends the authorities).

All clear?

In EU member Poland...

...making a poster can get you 2 years in prison.

In the EU.

In 2021.
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Andrew Stroehlein Profile picture
14 Jan
How the Belgian government got caught up in human smuggling...

An ugly tale of how things worked under then State Secretary for Asylum & Migration @FranckenTheo of the Flemish nationalist party @de_NVA.

euobserver.com/migration/1505…
You may recall that Francken is known for:

- working with agents of Sudan when it was run by a man wanted for genocide, just to illegally deport asylum seekers.
bit.ly/2LPWycM
You may also recall that Francken is known for:

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- attacking human rights activists online.

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