The media situation in Moldova is getting worse and the rights of journalists are being violated, which also affects the public's right to be informed fairly and objectively. International reports show that the country's media remains polarised and heavily influenced by political leaders, and attacks on Moldovan journalists are increasing. Media experts and journalists are concerned that press freedom is in decline, referring also to the restrictions imposed by the authorities during the state of emergency imposed by COVID-19, such as the tripling of the deadline for providing information of public interest. This year, on the eve of Press Freedom Day, marked internationally on 3 May, two international reports have been published showing that the state of the press in Moldova is worsening. The Report on Attacks on Journalists, Bloggers and Media Contributors in Armenia, Georgia and Moldova 2017-2019 finds that the total number of threats against journalists in Moldova doubled in 2017-2019 and the number of physical attacks quadrupled. In total, at least 159 direct physical and non-physical attacks and threats have been recorded in our country in the last three years. Petru Macovei, executive director of the Independent Press Association (API) says that "in 2017-2019, attacks against journalists have increased, both physical abuse, when journalists are bullied, beaten, splashed with water or various objects, and non-physical attacks, when journalists are labelled in various ways, verbally threatened themselves and their family members, directly or on social networks, wiretapped and intercepted by authorities, etc.". The media expert regrets that the authorities have not punished the perpetrators of these abuses against journalists: "Although the number of physical attacks has quadrupled, no one has been punished. It so happens, that the peak moments of the political crises in recent years - August 2018 (especially 26 August 2018) and June 2019 (especially 8 and 9 June 2019) - were the most dangerous for the work of Moldovan journalists. Another finding is that the main source of attacks against media contributors in Moldova were representatives of the authorities." The report was produced by the international Justice for Journalists Foundation in partnership with API and other organisations and experts from Armenia and Georgia. Another report, same pessimistic conclusions. In the Press Freedom Index, conducted by the international organisation "Reporters Without Borders", in 2020 Moldova remains in 91st place out of 180 countries monitored. It should be noted that over the past seven years our country has steadily lost positions in this ranking, from 55th place in 2013. The document notes that the press in Moldova is extremely polarized and influenced by political leaders. According to Viorica Zaharia, President of the Press Council of Moldova, the stagnation on the 91st position could be considered as a progress, considering that by 2019 we had dropped 10 positions compared to 2018, when we were on the 81st place. The media expert has pessimistic predictions about Moldova's position in next year's ranking: "Given that several criteria are taken into account when calculating the Freedom of the Press Index, including access to information, and that during the pandemic period it was limited, it is possible that in 2021 we will remain in the same position or even go down. It remains to be seen how the authorities will behave in the coming months." Since the state of emergency was declared, the authorities have taken several decisions that make it more difficult for journalists to provide information of public interest. One of these decisions, issued by the Commission for Exceptional Situations (CSE) on 18 March, stipulates that the deadline for providing information of public interest during the state of emergency is tripled. Thus, while the Law on Access to Information requires public authorities to respond to requests for information within 15 working days, during a state of emergency the SSC has extended this deadline to 45 working days, which means, in practice, 63 calendar days. After this decision, it is very difficult for journalists to work to provide the public with accurate and operational information. Diana Popa, a reporter for TV8, says that any response is now delayed: "Information, which we used to get on the phone in a few moments or directly from the source (in the case of press conferences, for example), can now only be obtained through requests for information, and this takes a long time, and when you finally get it, it is no longer of interest or current. TV news has a limited shelf life and we can't afford to wait weeks and weeks for complicated answers to simple questions." Mădălin Necșuțu, correspondent in Moldova for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, also considers this restriction to be abusive: "We work with current events and we cannot write for 45 days about what is happening today. How could we write in early June about what happened in mid-March? It is absurd and contrary to both domestic laws on access to public information and Moldova's commitments under the Association Agreement with the EU." A decision by the president of the Audiovisual Council, described as censorship and abuse Another controversial decision, attempting to undermine press freedom, came from the Audiovisual Council (AC). The "immediately enforceable" provision, signed by Dragoș Vicol, president of the CA on 24 March this year, obliges, during the period of the state of emergency, the moderators of broadcasts to refrain from "the unadvised expression of their own opinion" regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and that "the only reliable, truthful, impartial and balanced sources are the competent public authorities in the country and abroad". Media NGOs criticised Vicol's provision, calling it an "abuse" and "censorship" that limits freedom of expression. On 26 March, media NGOs called in a public appeal for the annulment of the document, and on the same day the order was rescinded. Press conferences without journalists' participation After the declaration of the state of emergency (17 March), for almost a month and a half, journalists were not able to ask the authorities questions, as press conferences were replaced by online briefings without journalists' participation. On 13 April, a group of 25 media organisations and institutions signed a petition, launched by the Independent Journalism Centre (IJC), to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, calling for weekly online press conferences with journalists who can ask questions live. After several weeks of waiting, the Ministry organised the first online conference where journalists could ask questions. Anastasia Nani, deputy director of the IJC, says the authorities have so far communicated unilaterally and selectively gone to TV broadcasts: "Press conferences without questions from journalists mean an incomplete picture for citizens. In their request to the Ministry of Health, journalists have drawn the authorities' attention to the fact that the public interest is above the state of emergency." A few days without newspapers In times of pandemic, the print media have not been spared from restrictions either. On 27 March, the State Enterprise "Posta Moldovei" announced the "indefinite suspension" of the distribution of newspapers and magazines, invoking the special labour regime for the protection of employees during the state of emergency. The Independent Press Association (API) warned the authorities of the risks of stopping the publishing of periodicals, including the right of citizens to information. Subsequently, the Moldovan Post resumed distribution of periodicals. According to Tudor Iascenco, director of the regional newspaper "Cuvântul" in Rezina, "in exceptional situations, information prevails, and we have to provide people with this information, and most of those who subscribe to newspapers do not have access to the Internet, so they cannot get information from other sources". With the state of emergency in place, all newspaper kiosks in the municipality have been suspended. Chisinau. Journalists play a key role in times of crisis The restrictions imposed on the press and journalists during the COVID-19 pandemic by the governments of several countries are worrying international institutions. Marija Pejcinovic Buric, secretary-general of the Council of Europe, called on governments to stop unduly restricting media freedom. "The media must be free to report on all aspects of the crisis. Journalists have a key role and a special responsibility to provide timely, accurate and reliable information. The media must be able to scrutinise the authorities' decisions in response to the pandemic," said Marija Pejčinović Burić, in a statement published on World Press Freedom Day. Mariana Jacot