Media NGOs demand punishing attacker of cameraman Victor Ciobanu

Media nongovernmental organizations seek punishment for the Anticorruption Center officer who attacked journalist and cameraman Victor Ciobanu on July 28, Info-Prim Neo reports. “We demand that the police investigate the case objectively and transparently and sanction the attacker,” it is said in a statement signed by several media NGOs. Victor Ciobanu was attacked while he was filming the Court of Appeals for a report. The officer destroyed his camera and the memory card containing pictures of the attack. The NGOs warn the public authorities to be respectful towards the journalists, especially during the election campaigns of 2010, when the events are of an increased interest to the society. ”In this connection, we underline the principle stipulated in the national and European legislation, which says the mass media has the right as well as the obligation to cover the events of public interest. Those who hinder the mass media from fulfilling their duty infringe the people's universal right to information,” says the statement signed by the Independent Journalism Center, the Independent Press Association, the Electronic Press Association, the Center for Investigative Journalism, and “Acces-info” Center.