International Federation of Journalists: il Belgio non protegge i giornalisti
Una storia che resta tutta da decifrare. Ma un fatto è certo: un giornalista indagato può essere interrogato per un giorno senza potersi avvalere di un avvocato. Questo è inaccettabile secondo l’ International Federation of Journalists
Tra l’altro, il giornalista è stato poi rilasciato senza alcuna accusa a suo carico. Hans-Martin Tillack, di Stern, aveva condotto alcune inchieste su Eurostat.
Ecco il pezzo dall’EuObserver. La citazione completa si trova cliccando sul link in fondo.
‘’EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Secretary General of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Aidan White, has said that Belgium's poor legal protection for journalists makes it ""quite inappropriate"" for it to host the EU institutions.
Speaking at a conference in Brussels today, (2 April) Mr White said, ""the very thing we have to demand here, in Belgium, is the highest possible standards of freedom for journalists to do their work"".
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It is especially important to maintain press freedom in Brussels, he concluded, given that there are more foreign correspondents reporting on more vital decisions than anywhere else in the World.
According to the IFJ, more attacks on journalistic confidentiality have occurred in Belgium in recent years than in any other Western European country.
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Spotlight on Brussels
The situation in Belgium has been highlighted recently by fears of political pressure on journalists after a Brussels-based reporter was arrested by Belgian police.
Hans-Martin Tillack - a correspondent for Stern - was arrested at his home on Friday 19 March and taken to his office where computer equipment, mobile phones and files were seized.
He was questioned for ten hours without legal representation but was eventually released without charge.
The raid was triggered by allegations that Mr Tillack had paid for information relating to the EU's anti fraud body OLAF.
The investigative journalist has been a thorn in the side of Brussels officialdom for some time. He was the first journalist to report investigations into irregularities at the EU statistical arm, Eurostat, which led to the removal of the responsible officials.
More recently, he has written about MEPs allegedly falsifying signatures qualifying for daily allowances and MEPs employing their wives and family members.
He continues to protest his innocence.