Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Co-Chairman
Rep. Christopher H. Smith, Co-Chairman
For Immediate Release

www.csce.gov
May 3, 2003

UNITED STATES HELSINKI COMMISSION RECOGNIZES
WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY

(Washington) - In recognition of today’s observance of World Press Freedom Day, the United States Helsinki Commission this week issued the following releases encapsulating the negative trends and growing list of restrictions against media freedom throughout many parts of Europe. Helsinki Commission Decries Central Asia’s Imprisoned Press Freedoms Co-Chairman Urges Romania, Other Countries to Repeal Criminal Defamation & Insult Laws Murdered & Imprisoned Journalists Remembered on World Press Freedom Day

Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell’s (R-CO) statements on media freedoms in Belarus and Ukraine: The Troubled Media Environment in Ukraine Regime Targets Independent Media in Belarus

Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Christopher H. Smith’s (R-NJ) statement on criminal defamation and insult laws: Repeal Romanian Criminal Defamation Laws

Additional material concerning freedom of speech and expression and freedom of the media are available on the Helsinki Commission’s Internet web site at www.csce.gov.

The United States Helsinki Commission, an independent federal agency, by law monitors and encourages progress in implementing provisions of the Helsinki Accords. The Commission, created in 1976, is composed of nine Senators, nine Representatives and one official each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.

Media Contact: Ben Anderson
202.225.1901

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