The Press Council said that any criminal act must be punished in accordance with the law, not by harassment methods at the limit of public lynching. In this connection, the self-regulatory institution called on the journalists to promote each person’s right to a fair trial, regardless of the gravity of the offence they may have committed, IPN reports.
The Press Council examined the case after an article published on the portal www.moldova.org showed scenes of humiliating and degrading treatment against an alleged offender and contained information allowing identifying the given person. After the Council notified the portal, the article was withdrawn from the website. The Council established that the given text was taken fully by the information portal www.hotnews.md, while the channel REN TV Moldova broadcast a feature that contained pictures of degrading treatment used against alleged offenders.
The members of the Press Council determined that the media outlets that disseminated these materials violated the principle of presumption of innocence and the person’s right to a fair trial. By showing pictures with the public humiliation of an alleged offender and indicating his name and place of work, the mass media stimulated public lynching.
The examined materials show a group of Chisinau activists who say that they fight pedophilia. Posing as minors, they identify suspected pedophiles through social networking sites, arrange meetings with them and beat and humiliate them in different ways. The Council members said the accusations made against these persons are very serious and these cases should be examined by the police, while the persons who know such cases must inform the police. “The journalists have the deontological obligation to promote and respect the human rights, including the right to dignity of everyone, even of alleged offenders. Given the serious accusations made against them, the publication of data showing their identity puts their life in danger and can provoke lynching,” said the Press Council head Ludmila Andronic.
In the adopted decision, the Press Council says that the mentioned media outlets violated the provisions of the Journalist’s Deontological Code concerning the presumption of innocence and the right to private life and dignity. It demands taking editorial measures to correct the deontological violations by withdrawing the materials or editing them.
