Page 3 - Ekspress Meedia News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

The most significant problem surrounding the controversial fining of two journalists with investigative weekly Eesti Ekspress is that the prosecutor's office has been unable so far to demonstrate how the journalists had significantly harmed the public interests of an ongoing money laundering investigation connected to Estonia's largest lender Swedbank, sworn attorneys Oliver Nääs and Sander Potisepp argue.

The media must be vigilant in democracies in cases where the judiciary or the state begin to limit journalists' activities or threaten them with penalties, sworn attorneys Karmen Turk and Maarja Pild say.

A court has fined two journalists a thousand euros each, following publication of an article which alleged the former management at major lender Swedbank had been involved in money laundering activities.

The recent fining of two journalists and their employer over an article about alleged money laundering by former management employees of major lender Swedbank is a positive thing, justice minister Maris Lauri (Reform) says, as it opens up debate on what the media can and cannot cover.

Following the decision of Harju County Court to impose a fine on two journalists with investigative weekly Eesti Ekspress, after the publication of an article disclosing money laundering suspicions against former management at Swedbank, the two major organizations representing both the private and the public media in Estonia have issued a joint statement.