The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) condemned the pressures that are made on journalist at Investigation Reporting Lab (IRL) Maja Jovanovska. The verbal pressures followed the investigation story about construction works in the last few years at the Taftalidze area in Skopje.
As informs AJM, during the weekend the owner of the construction company Nastel – Zaoran Azmanov has sent messages to Jovanovska with instructions about how she should have inform about issues rleated to construction. These messages were sent to journalist Jovanovska’s telephone immediately after her story was published at IRL about the destruction of the Taftalidze are by construction companies.
“In order to calm the situation, IRL’s editor in chief, Sashka Cvetkovska, has warned Azmanov that these reaction towards the journalist represent pressure and has instructed him to use legal instruments or to appeal at journalist associations. As a reaction to this, Azmanov reacted with upsetting and accusatory messages”informs AJM’s press release.
AJM expects that MOI to summon business Azmanov and to explain why was he disturbing the journalist Jovanovska and why was he using threats and discriminatory tone.
Apart from this, informs AJM, Jovanovska was sent a telephone threat by sending her recorded sounds of explosions. The telephone number from which the recording was issued was sent to MOI, and the content is a threat and an effort to frighten the IRL’s journalists.