Status: Free
Legal Environment: 2
Political Influences: 3
Economic Pressures: 4
Total Score: 9
Population: n/a
GNI/capita: n/a
Life Expectancy: 78
Religious Groups: Roman Catholic (75 percent), other [including Protestant] (25 percent)
Ethnic Groups: Fleming (58 percent), Walloon (31 percent), other (11 percent)
Capital: Brussels
The media enjoy strong constitutional protections. Restrictions on libel, pornography, and the promotion of racial or religious discrimination have only a minor effect on press freedom. In July 2003, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of protection of journalists' sources in a case involving police searches of media offices and journalists' homes in 1995. In January, the presenter of Radio Salam, an Arab-language radio station, was arrested for inciting violence against the non-Muslim population. Dual oversight boards seek to maintain balanced reporting on government-controlled radio and television networks. The press is highly concentrated among a few owners.
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