The Representative on Freedom of the Media of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Harlem Désir, has called on the Maltese authorities to drop a request to Times of Malta to disclose a source of information used in a report on a planned takeover of the Manoel Island project.
Times of Malta revealed on Friday that the Malta Financial Services Authority had asked the Times of Malta to disclose the source/s of its information.
Times of Malta refused, pointing out that, as a public watchdog, the independent press had not only the right but also the duty to report on matters of public interest.
Désir in a statement agreed with Times of Malta and urged the MFSA to withdraw its request.
“The confidentiality of journalistic sources is an important element of media freedom, widely recognized and protected by international standards and Maltese legislation. The new Media and Defamation Act that came into force in Malta on 14 May 2018, includes strong protection of sources. This is a test case,” Désir said.
In 2017, The OSCE media Freedom Representative provided legal advice to the Government of Malta upon its request, in the drafting of the Media and Defamation…
