Fri, 14 February, 2025

“Reporters Without Borders”: In 111th place, Macedonia is “Balkans’ bad boy”

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The newest report from “Reporters Without Borders” has ranked Macedonia 111th according to the index of freedom and calls the country “Balkans’ bad boy”.

According to “Reporters Without Borders”, the freedom of the media has decreased in the whole region, however, the decline of the rule of law is most visible in Macedonia.

The report points out that defamation was removed from the Criminal Code in 2012, but prosecutions were replaced by civil actions with the possibility of heavy fines and jail terms for journalists and media owners.

“There were many reports of threats, violence, harassment, and intimidation of journalists during political demonstrations in 2016, but of those responsible, few were charged. Political instability affects the work of journalists, and pressure from the ruling party has led some media outlets to censor themselves”, says the new report.

Macedonia is in 111th place, and is in last place from all the countries in the region. Serbia is in 66th place, Bosnia and Herzegovina is in 65th place, Croatia 74th, Albania 76th, Kosovo 82nd, Greece 88th and Bulgaria was ranked in 109th place.

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