Moldova is among the countries where the press is not free, the annual report “Freedom of the Press” says. The report was publicised in advance of the World Press Freedom Day by “Freedom House”. Moldova is placed 144 among 195 analysed countries, being surpassed by Burkina Faso and a series of developing countries from Africa and Asia, where the press is considered partially free. The report asserts that the Moldovan government often infringes on legally guaranteed press freedoms. It mentions about the disputes occurred in the case of the new Audiovisual Code, after neglecting to involve civil society in its development. Also, the report says that President Vladimir Voronin’s government controls the public company Teleradio Moldova, which encompasses all public broadcast outlets under the new Audiovisual Code, and censorship is reportedly imposed on the stations. Owners of both state-run and private media continue to promote self-censorship, and many journalists avoid controversial issues, like Moldova’s poverty and unemployment, that might cost them their jobs or draw libel suits. Journalists tend to be divided along political lines, reflecting the viewpoint of either the authorities or the opposition. In September, after the Romanian television station Pro-TV broadcast reports that were highly critical of the Moldovan interior minister, ministry officials arrested Ghenadie Braghis, a sales director of the Chisinau branch of Pro-TV. They denied him access to legal counsel, and accused him of seeking a USD 1 thousand bribe from a client to seal an advertising deal. Also, the report asserts that in the separatist Transnistria region, media are sharply restricted and politicised, as most news outlets are controlled, owned, or funded by the Transnistrian authorities. In 2006, in a similar study conducted by “Freedom House”, Moldova was placed 146th according to the press freedom index. In 2005, Moldova was 137th and in 2004 – 127th. Among the countries with “not free” media are included several former soviet countries: Armenia (142); Kyrgyzstan (147), Azerbaijan and Russia (164)l Kazakhstan and Tajikistan (166), Belarus (186); Uzbekistan (189) and Turkmenistan (191). The five worst-rated countries continue to be Burma, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, and Turkmenistan. In these states, which are scattered across the globe, independent media are either nonexistent or barely able to operate, the press acts as a mouthpiece for the ruling regime, and citizens’ access to unbiased information is severely limited. “Partially free” is the press in Romania (90), Ukraine (112), Georgia (120). The authors of the report assert that the situation of press in the world has worsened during the last few years in the countries of Latin America and former soviet countries. The best scorers are Finland and Island. These countries are followed by Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Andora, Hollabd, New Zeeland and Liechtenstein. Estonia shares the 17th place with USA, being the highest-ranked country in the former soviet area. Other two Baltic countries – Lithuania and Latvia – hold the 29th and 31st place. Out of the 195 countries and territories examined, 74 (38 percent) were rated Free, while 58 (30 percent) were rated Partly Free, and 63 (32 percent) were rated Not Free.