On the 58th. meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. In the format of the online meeting, a discussion was held on the topic: "the crisis of freedom of speech. Persecution of journalists and social activists in Europe“. The organizers of the discussion were the" Information Group on crimes against persons "and the Social Project" Verum", with the support of the Permanent Mission of Russia to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva.
Within the round table, experts, journalists and public figures from Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Finland, Germany and other countries assessed the current situation with freedom of speech in Europe and presented facts about specific cases of persecution of journalists.
Within the discussion, possible perspectives of development and ways of getting out of the existing state were discussed.
Dragana Trifkovic, director general of the Center for geostrategic studies from Serbia, spoke about the repressive measures being taken against independent journalists, intellectuals and public figures in Europe.
She said that the situation with freedom of speech in Europe has deteriorated sharply in recent years: "numerous journalists, intellectuals and independent politicians have found themselves under tremendous pressure from a system that does not allow a narrative other than that set up by the establishment. The US vice president spoke openly about this at the Munich Security Conference, which caused a shock in the European mainstream.“
"I can confirm from personal experience that assessments of negative trends regarding freedom of speech in Europe are not baseless.
Fake news is used as a pretext for repression against free-thinking people who speak out in public. Several organizations and media outlets in Europe have previously received grants to combat Russia's alleged "malign activities." In fact, it is an organized and financed aggressive information war against Russia,“ Trifkovic said.
In a further statement, she stated that the persecution of free thought was organized: "without any serious arguments and evidence, grant recipients made Reports, Analyses and media content in which they made accusations against public figures that did not fit into the generally accepted point of view. On this basis, the Albanian media in Kosovo and Metohija have been campaigning against me for many years, declaring me an agent of the Kremlin. In addition, on the same basis, a Baltic NGO prepared reports on the European spy network. In both cases, the entire scenario was fabricated and constructed using photos and social media posts that in no way support the allegations. Last year, while on vacation with my family in Greece, I was in an uncomfortable situation when I was stopped by the Greek secret police and asked if I worked for Russian intelligence services, showing me printed fake news from the Kosovo media. Greece does not officially recognize the fake State of Kosovo and it is very unusual to use fake news from the fake state as relevant sources. The question is, what is hiding behind this? There is an obvious mix of fake news backed by establishment and intelligence services used to persecute freethinkers.“
Dragana Trifkovic also reminded of the recent case of arrest in Riga of Professor Alexander Gaponenko, who participated remotely at the conference and from a scientific point of view spoke about ethnocide over Russians in the Baltic states, which according to her "confirms the fact that the situation in Europe is extremely alarming".
In her closing remarks, she proposed concrete steps to combat the persecution of journalists and social activists: "within the framework of the agreement on Indivisible global security, it is necessary to create mechanisms of control and accountability in journalism and the non-governmental sector. This includes the professionalization of the media and the restoration of the journalistic code. The creation of fake news, non-governmental reports and analyses based on fictional facts, as well as their placement in the media space, should be strictly sanctioned,“ Trifkovic concluded.
Source: Center for Geostrategic Studies
Instructions:
Dragana Trifkovic: when fake news becomes official Information - Center for geostrategic studies
Mrs. Goebbels, you were an amateur! - CENTER FOR GEOSTRATEGIC STUDIES
10. March 2025.
