The Commercial Court in Kosovo has postponed a government decision to close down Klan Kosova, the country’s most popular private TV station.
According to Klan Kosova, organisations such as Article 19 Europe, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), International Press Institute (IPI), OBC Transeuropa (OBCT), SafeJournalists Network, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have evaluated, among other things, the independence of the judges in the case.
“Our organisations welcome this important decision and appreciate the independence of the judges, who decided in accordance with international standards of media freedom. We now call on the government not to appeal the decision and warn that such action would undermine the already damaged credentials of press freedom.
“Any final shutdown of Klan Kosova by the government would deal the biggest blow to press freedom and media pluralism in Kosovo since the country’s independence and destroy confidence in continued progress, which our organizations noted at the beginning of this year”.
These organisations have also called on the Independent Media Commission (IMC), the media regulator in Kosovo, to postpone any decision on Klan Kosova’s broadcasting licence until all legal procedures on this issue are completed. They have also mentioned the boycott of the conference of the Minister of Trade, Industry and Enterprise, Rozeta Hajdari days ago by journalists as a sign of solidarity with Klan Kosova.
“Furthermore, we welcome the last act of solidarity with Klan Kosova, demonstrated by most of the country’s media community during the boycott of the press conference of Minister Rozeta Hajdari. The recent acts of pressure by officials against journalists and activists who support Klan Kosova only raise further questions about the administration’s commitment to media freedom.
“Our organisations will continue to closely monitor and respond to future developments involving the Kosovo Klan and will call for the continued engagement of Western embassies and international organizations in this matter to ensure that Kosovo’s positive progress in the freedom of the media should not be dealt a heavy blow”.
