Media NGOs concerned about attack on journalist Oleg Brega

Media nongovernmental organizations expressed concern about the attack made on journalist Oleg Brega on July 29, when he was conducting an investigation at the Slavonic University of Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a statement signed by a number of NGOs. “We consider that this is an unordinary case that is intolerable in a democratic society. When a private institution provides public services, it should be transparent and not restrict public access. Therefore, we demand that the competent bodies investigate this case objectively and transparently and penalize the attackers in accordance with the legislation,” it is said in a statement. The NGOs called upon the Ministry of Education to perform its own investigation and take measures so that the administrations of public or private education institutions do not allow such behavior towards the journalists. The statement was signed by the Independent Journalism Center, the Association of Independent Press, the Committee for the Freedom of the Press, the Journalistic Investigations Center, “Acces-Info” Center, and the Journalists Union. Oleg Brega said he was investigating a case when the administration of the Slavonic University refused to give back the documents to a student who announced that she does not want to continue her studies there. Invoking that the institution was private, several employees of the university did not allow Brega to film inside the Slavonic University in Chisinau. Irritated that the journalist continued to film him, the institution’s executive director Andrei Babenko hit the camera and the journalist. Later, another person tried to dispossess Brega of the camera. The journalist said he was closed in an office and not allowed to leave because he did not present himself and filmed in a private education institution.