After being notified by several users of social networks, the Press Council examined the reports of several TV channels about the visit of a group of underage inmates from Goian Jail at a lyceum in Chisinau. The Press Council found that the reports violated ethical rules concerning identities of minors involved in negatively-perceived events, IPN reports.
The story broadcast by Canal 2, Canal 3, Prime TV and Publika TV was about a group of underage prisoners from Goian Jail who visited the “Spiru Haret” Lyceum in Chisinau. The visit was organized by the jail administration who thought that this would facilitate the inmates' social reintegration. The TV reports included interviews with the minors that showed their faces. According to the members of the Press Council, this violated the professional ethics of journalism. The UNICEF guidelines for reporting about children and youth encourage journalists to consider and respect the best interest of the child when interviewing minors in conflict with the law. Revealing the identity of a convicted child may hinder his or her social reintegration.
Ludmila Andronic, chairwoman of the Press Council, said that the intention of the journalists and of the jail administration was a good one, meant to help the socialization of underage prisoners, but both the jail staff and the journalists forgot to protect the children's rights. “They broke the law in their childhood and have been punished for this, but we must offer them the chance of reintegration in society. Journalists should have filmed them from behind or should have covered their faces”, explained Andronic. The Press Council also highlighted that broadcasting personal data about a child that is under investigation or has been sentenced is illegal unless the child is hiding or running from law enforcement, according to the Law on protection of children against the negative impact of data, which came into effect in July 2013.
In its decision adopted on December 18, 2014, the Press Council ascertained that broadcasting the faces of underage inmates violated article 4.13 of the Journalist's Deontological Code, which obliges journalists to protect the identities of minors involved in events that are perceived negatively by editing the photos or the footage to hide the faces. The Council asked the journalists and editors to be more careful and protect the identity of children in conflict with the law. A similar request will be sent to the administration of the Goian Jail.
