Poland s Press Push Back at Government Control
Voice of America
04 May 2021, 09:35 GMT+10
When a Warsaw court blocked a state-controlled oil refinery from gobbling up a large regional news group last month, many celebrated the decision as a press freedom victory.
But celebrations may be short-lived. The next day, Daniel Obajtek, chief executive of the PKN Orlen refinery, declared that the deal to acquire Polska Press would stay in place.
There is no legal basis for limiting the company s rights resulting from the acquired shares, Obajtek tweeted. A few days later, PKN Orlen released its annual financial report showing that the acquisition had taken place before the court s decision and that it remains legally binding.
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Poland: Court suspends takeover of Polska Press by state-controlled company
Credit: Polska Press https://polskapress.pl/
A court in Warsaw has temporarily blocked a state-controlled oil company from taking over a regional press.
ARTICLE 19 welcomes the decision of the Regional Court in Warsaw to issue an interim measure suspending the takeover of the Polska Press publishing house by state-controlled oil company PKN Orlen.
As outlined in the recent International Press Institute report issued as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response coalition, of which ARTICLE 19 is a member, media freedom in Poland is under growing pressure from the authorities. In December 2020 it was announced that Polska Press publishing house owned by the German company Verlagsgruppe Passau would be bought by PKN Orlen, the state-controlled oil company. Polska Press group owns the majority of local newspapers, as well as over 100 weeklies and 500 websites, having access to 17 million readers in Poland.
Greece: MFRR reports on shocking murder of Greek TV journalist which demands an immediate response
The Media Freedom Rapid Response and ARTICLE 19 expresses horror at the fatal shooting of Greek crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz outside his house in Athens this afternoon and urges investigators to immediately establish whether the killing was related to his journalistic work.
According to reports, the veteran crime reporter was gunned down as he returned home from a shift on a daytime show on Star TV when he was ambushed by two men on a moped and shot at least six times with a silenced weapon, killing him instantly.