Thread by @MediaFreedomEU

🔴Join #MFRR panel on the role of the police in 1 Hour.

What happens when police fail to protect or actively attack journalists? Discussions w/ @renatemargot from @EFJEurope, Larissa Rausch @afpfr, @AmeerAlhalbi & Stoyan Tonchev.

▶️ w/ simultaneous French language translation

🔴 LIVE in 15 min:
here ➡️ bit.ly/3lqzLST

We will be live-tweeting.
Choose btw French or English.

🔴High-level speakers on today’s panel:

Larissa Rausch, Agence France-Presse @afpfr
Stoyan Tonchev, Liberta.bg
Ameer Al Halbi @AmeerAlhalbi freelance photographer
CHAIR: Renate Schroeder @renatemargot @EFJEUROPE

#MFRR Summit

. @renatemargot: The Policecodex, created & adopted in 2009 by @ecpmf, @efj, @obct & more organisations.

Journalists should have the right to identify police staff & to document their work.

1⃣ of #Policecodex: "Any violence by police staff against #journalists is unacceptable"

Larissa Rausch shares her experience of being detained by police after shooting a documentary on the Greek island of Samos. Each journalist was interrogated one by one & not allowed to make any phone calls.

See the alert on Mapping Media Freedom here ➡️bit.ly/3eTxxtY.

The German media crew was accused of espionage & their equipment taken aways. Lawyers were not allowed to be present.

"The police took us under false pretext & they clearly humiliated us." - Larissa Rausch during #MFRR Summit.

Stoyan Tonchev from #Bulgaria on #MFRR Summit:

"We are melting as a nation. The problem w/ the freedom of speech in #Bulgaria is that #Press is censured due to the #media's financial dependence on the authorities."

In #Bulgaria, Stoyan Tonchev faces political pressure & police attempted to involuntarily commit him to a mental health institution for his reporting. Media outlets did not file complaints due to their financial dependence on the state. #MFRR alert: bit.ly/3cIgf00

On #MFRR Summit, Stoyan Tonchev shows bravery against the extreme police pressure he faces & states:

"My mission is to tell the truth. For that reason I need financing".

Police violence is a structural problem & there has to pressure from the @EU_Commission emphasizes Larissa Rausch. "After the incident, I couldn't sleep for a week. It took me a while to speak about that incident, but you really need to speak up about it".

#MFRR Summit

. @renatemargot: "We all know that media viability in many countries is very low. We have problems with sustaining #independent journalism."

"I just want to work. The EU needs to stop working with corrupt governments. Police have to work for the people & for the journalists. That's my dream", tells Stoyan Tonchev on #MFRR Summit.

. @renatemargot replies to Stoyan Tonchev on the role of the EU that the EU is consitutued of several member that it is a political will of the member states in the end that counts. #MFRR Summit

"We are not in an ideal situation. Things are getting worse, but we are fighting together. We feel that the @EU_Commission is supporting us", states @renatemargot on #MFRR Summit.

Stoyan Tonchev: "Journalists have to tell the truth & protect each other".
#MFRR Summit

. Photographer @AmeerAlhalbi was brutally attacked & wounded in the face by a police baton deliberately aimed at him. He states that pictures have the power to identify the responsible police officer. Article 24 might change that.

Check the MMF alert: bit.ly/2OC9tRF

"The relationship between the police & journalists and the need for dialogue and training is fundamental", @renatemargot points out on #MFRR Summit.

. @renatemargot 's message to the journalists & photographers:

"Keep your courage. Keep your commitment. We need people like you to continue the search for truth in a time where truth has become a rare model."

#MFRR Summit