Freedom of the Press - Moldova (2002)

Status: Partly Free
Legal Environment: 22
Political Influences: 20
Economic Pressures: 17
Total Score: 59

Population: n/a
GNI/capita: n/a
Life Expectancy: 68
Religious Groups: n/a
Ethnic Groups: Moldovan/Romanian (65 percent), Ukrainian (14 percent), Russian (13 percent), other (8 percent)
Capital: Chisinau

The constitution prohibits insulting the state, and a calumny law forbids defaming senior government officials. Nearly 1,000 libel suits have been filed in the decade since Moldova became independent. In 2001, the constitutional court struck down a parliamentary amendment intended to limit the restriction on Russian-language broadcasts. Parliament approved an amendment to the press law banning financial support from foreign governments for Moldovan media. Official European observers criticized the nation's electoral code for denying "sufficient information" to voters to make "a fully informed choice." Privately held television stations and newspapers were accused of clear bias toward individual parties and candidates in the 2001 election, which returned communists to power. Moldova's Ministry of the Economy, Department of Privatization, Chamber of Trade and Industry, State Customs Office, and Journalists' Union opened the Center for Public Information in 2001. The Center is intended to provide information on social and economic issues to the press.