Skopje, 2 October 2025 (MIA) – The Interior Ministry (MoI) in a press release Thursday underscores its continuing and active cooperation with the associations and institutions protecting the rights and safety of journalists saying that freedom of the press and safety of journalists are the backbone of democratic society.

As part of the close cooperation between the MoI and the Journalists’ Association of Macedonia (ZNM), a link has been posted on MoI’s website leading to the registry of attacks on journalists, linked to ZNM’s website where the registry is published. The registry includes cases when the rights of journalists were violated – with details about what type of assault, location, status of the report and the procedure.  

“The Interior Ministry considers safety of journalists as one of the top priorities and efforts have been made in this field in recent years and the results from this commitment are visible. Among other things, a contact point was agreed that has contributed to quicker and more effective resolution of cases related to journalists. In coordination with ZNM, the Interior Ministry continues to work in this field,” said the press release.

The establishment of a national committee on journalists’ protection, it added, is a body made up of government institutions and non-governmental organizations working, amongst other things, in the field of journalism.

“Its establishment is in the works. Once it is completed, one of the top tasks will be to pass a national action plan on journalists’ protection. It is a process that is part of the Council of Europe campaign ‘Safety of Journalists’, in coordination with the national contact point. There is a high-level coordination between police, the prosecution and journalists’ organization, which contributes a lot to swift and efficient settling of the cases involving journalists. This cooperation should continue in the future to efficiently resolve any case involving attacks on media professionals. Having in mind the motto ‘We can always do better’, the police, the prosecution and journalists’ organizations will increase and improve the existing mutual cooperation,” said the press release.

The MoI added that the journalists’ safety manual, prepared in coordination with ZNM and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, is being applied by MoI after also being upgraded last year. “It will be further upgraded in order to improve and increase the level of safety of journalists, which is top priority by MoI’s top officials.”

The Ministry urges all journalists who will receive threats or be under verbal or physical attack, or any other type of pressure, to report to the police.

“MoI is obliged to sanction the perpetrators and to protect the right of the public to free information. Together with media professionals and civil organizations, we continue to build a safe environment where journalists can do their job freely and without fear,” concluded the press release.  

Photo: MIA