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Media organizations: Stop the slander campaign against journalist Ola Xama

Politiko 2024-03-07 13:55:47

Media organizations: Stop the slander campaign against journalist Ola Xama

The Safe Journalists Network, an alliance of organizations in the Balkan region, expressed deep concern and disappointment over the reactivation of a denigrating and defamatory campaign against journalist Ola Xama by the daily DITA and the Prapaskena portal.

Both media outlets have been sued for defamation by the journalist after a similar campaign undertaken last summer, following the publication of an investigation that Xama did regarding the role of the Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj in the Tirana incinerator affair.

"The Safe Journalists Network expresses deep concern and disappointment over the continuation and intensification of the smear campaign against journalist Ola Xama, an investigative journalist in Albania," reads the statement distributed Thursday.

"In a new series of articles on platforms such as the daily newspaper DITA and Prapaskena, Xama has been attacked as "dishonest", while the exposure of her private address and the attacks on her family members are not only reprehensible but also an open attempt to to intimidate him and push him into silence," the statement said.

Xama came under attack from a number of portals last summer after the publication of the investigation The Tirana incinerator project was proposed by Erion Veliaj, says SPAK.

After the publication of the investigation, Veliaj wrote in a private message to Xama, declaring her a "hitman for hire" and a "militant", a terminology that was multiplied by various online portals and DITA newspaper for days.

Xama filed a defamation lawsuit against Dita and Prapaskena in connection with these defamatory campaigns.

"The Safe Journalists Network stands in solidarity with Ola Xama, in support of her right to report freely and without fear. We call on the media in question to immediately stop their baseless and damaging attacks against Ms. Xama and respect the standards of integrity and ethics in journalism," the statement reads.

"We call on all actors to join us in protecting the rights of women journalists and promoting a media landscape in which women journalists can work without fear of attacks or discrimination."/ BIRN

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