At a glance
members working in this country
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Freedom of the Press 2016: Belgium
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Freedom of the Press 2014: Belgium
Ranked 4th in annual global media freedom report
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Freedom in the World 2014: Belgium
"Most of the country’s papers in the hands of a few corporations"
20 September 1996
Alert
Police raid and shut down Kurdish television station
Incident details
harassedOn 18 September 1996, Belgian police raided the offices and homes
of several Kurdish institutions and people in exile in Belgium.
Among the raids was that of the licensed Kurdish MED-TV
television station in Brussels. Police confiscated archival
material and closed down the station's office, forcing it to
discontinue broadcasting.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
the right to freedom of expression and the right to "to seek,
receive and impart information" as guaranteed by Article 19 of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Right and
Article 10 of the European Human Rights Convention which are both
signed and ratified by the Belgium government
their fundamental rights to freedom of expression in Turkey and
elsewhere in the Middle East, as a betrayal by the Belgian
government of the human rights principles that the European Union
and its members stand for on behalf of oppressed minorities
Kurdish institutions and people in Belgium are guaranteed their
right to express themselves freely without further censorship,
raids, or closures and that MED-TV in particular is immediately
allowed to resume broadcasting without any further harassment,
and that its documents and archives be returned without delay
Appeals To
His Excellency Jean-Luc Dehaen
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
16 Rue de la Loi
1000 Brussels, Belgium
the Belgian diplomatic representative in your country
(in Canada)
Embassy of Belgium
80 Elgin Street,
4th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1B7
Tel: +1 613 236 7267
Fax: +1 613 236 7882
Please copy appeals to the originator if possible.
Source
ARTICLE 19: Global Campaign for Free Expression
6-8 Amwell Street
London
EC1R 1UQ
United Kingdom
info (@) article19.org
Fax:+44 20 7278 7660