Journalist and activist Oleg Brega was accused by a group of parents of violating the Journalist’s Deontological Code. The parents said the activist filmed their children in the kindergarten’s bedroom without permission and posted images on the Internet. The case was examined by the Press Council, which established that the journalist didn’t violate the Code, but investigated a problem of public interest and signed the fact that the children sleep by two in one bed, IPN reports.
In their complaint to the Press Council, the parents and the kindergarten’s administration accused Brega of violating the Deontological Code’s provisions concerning the protection of the minor’s identity, respect for the intimacy of persons and respect for the private life and dignity. Furthermore, the complainers asked for public apologies for the publication of the images on the Internet.
Attending the Council’s meeting, Oleg Brega said he went to the nursery school in order to collect information about a conflict between an educator and the institution’s administrator. Meanwhile, he found out that the children sleep by two in one bed and entered the bedroom to film so as to have evidence. “I defended the public interest to know what’s going on in an education institution,” he stated. The activist noted that he filmed only several seconds and then placed several images on the Internet. “I chose pictures that do not show the children’s faces. The situation is not so serious for any of the children to be affected.”
While examining the case, the members of the Press Council identified no violations of the Journalist’s Deontological Code. “The professional deontology is based on the public interest in whose service the journalists should be, while the European Court of Human Rights, when it takes decisions concerning the mass media always takes into account the intention and good faith of the journalist. In this situation, Oleg Brega considered that it was a case of public interest that should be signaled,” said the Press Council’s secretary Petru Macovei.
The Deontological Code provides that the journalist must protect the identity of minors involved in the events with negative connotation, including as witnesses. Therefore, the videos and photos must be modified so as to protect the minor’s identity.
