Uruguay. Newspaper publishes Ossigeno data on attacks to journalists

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This observatory on freedom of the press in Italy applies “a rigorous method and monitors attacks geographically and chronologically”

In March 2018, Uruguaian newspaper Bitacora published a piece by Pierluigi Morena entitled “The danger of reporting about the mafia” (“El peligro de informar sobre las mafias“) . 3.475 journalists have been threatened in Italy since 2006 for bringing information to the public. A relevant number came from the mafia, the article reports.

In 2018, there have been 51 threats and the article highlights that this data have been collected and published by Ossigeno per l’Informazione, described as “The observatory that keeps the lights on attacks to journalists under duty.” The article refers that there have been 22 phisical attacks, 21 intimidations and damages. Moreover, there are 19 journalists under round-the-clock police protection. The article goes on providing an overview of the mafia highlighting that where the phenomenon is most deeply rooted in politics and society, freedom in general gets limited and risks of reporting about the secret tights and the consequences on power and economics go higher.

Another article called “In Europe two investigative journalists have been killed in six months” (“Dos periodistas de investigación europeos asesinados en seis meses”) explores the role of organized crime in the killings of the Slovakian and Maltese journalists who were both investigating the mafia structures in the Slovakian and Maltese governments. The piece presents the events to the death of Jan Kuciak, his journalism activities, President Fico’s resignation, the debate at the European level with the recent EU Parliament mission to Slovakia to oversee the follow up investigations of the journalist’s killing. In the conclusion, a comparative perspective is presented in relation to those countries where the mafia threatens journalists.

For Italy, data are presented and Ossigeno is presented as “an observatory on press freedom in Italy reporting that 1900 journalists have been attacked by way of violence being addressed to them including their property fired and direct intimidations.”

IF