媒体监督组织报告全球新闻自由度下滑
记者和媒体维权人士星期二聚集在赫尔辛基纪念世界新闻自由日之际，获得今年联合国教科文组织吉列尔莫·卡诺世界新闻自由奖的阿塞拜疆著名记者伊斯马伊洛娃的缺席引人注目，她因揭露政府腐败的报道被判处7年半徒刑，目前正在狱中。
保护记者委员会（CPJ）说，世界各地有大约200名记者像伊斯马伊洛娃一样被关在狱中，而监禁并不是政府打压媒体的唯一方法。
泰国记者普拉维也受邀前往赫尔辛基，但执政的军政府禁止他出境，这算是一个很小的代价，他最近写道，“其他地方的记者面临长期拘留，甚至被暗杀。”
自由之家在最新年度报告中说，全球新闻自由已经下降到十多年来的最低点。这份报告对199个国家和地区，包括民主和独裁地区作出评价。报告指出，“世界上仅有13％的人口享有新闻自由，也就是说，当地政治新闻报道强有力，记者的安全有保障，政府基本不太插手媒体事务，新闻界也不受繁重的法律或经济压力。”
Media Monitors Report Decline in Global Press Freedom
When journalists and media rights activists gather in Helsinki to mark World Press Freedom day Tuesday, there will be a notable absence: Journalist Khadija Ismayilova, recipient of this year’s UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, is currently serving a 7.5-year sentence in Azerbaijan for her work exposing government corruption.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says some 200 journalists like Khadija are currently jailed across the world. And prison isn’t the only way that governments co-opt or suppress the media.
Thai journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk was also invited to Helsinki, but the ruling military junta has banned him from leaving the country – a small price to be paid, he recently wrote, “as journalists elsewhere face long-term detention or even assassination.
Global press freedom has fallen to its lowest point in more than a decade, notes Freedom House in its latest annual report, which scores 199 countries and territories, democracies and autocracies. “Only 13 percent of the world’s population enjoys a free press—that is, where coverage of political news is robust, the safety of journalists is guaranteed, state intrusion in media affairs is minimal, and the press is not subject to onerous legal or economic pressures,” the report finds.
欧盟与土耳其移民协议面临免签证问题挑战
土耳其公民可能很快就能享受前往欧洲的免签证待遇，这是欧盟和安卡拉为遏止难民流动而达成协议的一部分。作为回报，土耳其承诺打击人口贩运，并将移民留在土耳其境内。
然而，许多欧洲议员威胁要在免签证问题上动用否决权，阻止这一移民协议。
欧盟数据显示，今年3月抵达希腊岛屿的难民略多于2.6万人，不到2月份总人数的一半。欧盟官员说，这说明与安卡拉之间的协议正在起作用。
土耳其表示，他们正按计划在6月份的最后期限前满足欧洲提出的所有条件，并坚称免签证条款是移民协议中不容商量的部分。
但在德国，分析人士说，人们担心会有大批库尔德人从土耳其涌来，寻求庇护，这种担心加强了民众对反移民主张的支持。
右翼政客希望从对移民恐惧中获益之际，布鲁塞尔的一些议员则威胁要设法以人权问题为由阻止土耳其的移民协议。
大赦国际指责安卡拉将数百名未注册的难民强行送回叙利亚，甚至对试图非法越境的叙利亚人开枪。
EU Visa Block Threatens EU-Turkey Migrant Deal
Turkish citizens could soon benefit from visa-free travel to Europe, as part of the deal between the EU and Ankara to stem the flow of refugees. In return, Turkey has pledged to crack down on the smugglers and keep the migrants on Turkish soil.
However, many European lawmakers have threatened to use their veto on the visa issue to block the migrant deal.
European Union figures show just over 26,000 refugees arrived on the Greek islands in March — less than half of February's total. EU officials point to those numbers as proof that the deal with Ankara is working.
Turkey says it is on track to meet all the criteria laid down by Europe ahead of the June deadline — and insists visa-free travel is a non-negotiable part of the migrant deal.
But in Germany, analysts say fears over a wave of Kurdish asylum seekers from Turkey are driving up anti-immigration support.
While right-wing politicians look to benefit from fears of migration, some lawmakers in Brussels have threatened to try to block the deal with Turkey over human rights concerns.
Amnesty International accuses Ankara of forcefully returning hundreds of unregistered refugees back to Syria — and even of shooting Syrians trying to cross the border illegally.
