Kosovo dispatch: Kosovo is witnessing an alarming decline in press freedom

Ernesa Shala is a JURIST workers correspondent from Kosovo and a current graduate of the College of Pristina School of Legislation.

In a deeply regarding flip of occasions, Kosovo has fallen to 99th place within the 2025 Reporters With out Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Index, the bottom rating in over 15 years. This decline is a damning indictment of the of state democracy, accountability, and elementary rights in Kosovo right now.

That is the second consecutive yr of regression. From a promising 56th place in 2023, Kosovo dropped to seventy fifth in 2024 and now finds itself close to the underside of the European desk, performing worse than any nation within the Western Balkans and plenty of authoritarian states world wide. The explanations behind this decline are systemic and alarming: political interference, regulatory manipulation, authorized harassment, and threats to journalists’ security. At a time when a rustic ought to be reinforcing democratic establishments, the house for unbiased journalism is as a substitute shrinking.

Whereas Kosovo’s media panorama seems pluralistic, with a mixture of non-public broadcasters and powerful digital platforms resembling BIRN and Kosovo 2.0, this variety masks a extremely susceptible media financial system. Monetary dependence on promoting income which is commonly tied to political patronage creates fertile grounds for affect and censorship. Editorial freedom is routinely compromised by media homeowners with shut political or enterprise ties, turning many retailers into automobiles for vested pursuits quite than platforms for public accountability.

The case of the Kosovo public broadcaster RTK is an instance of this drawback. The appointment of its director, concurrently a former member of the ruling Vetëvendosje social gathering, has significantly undermined public belief within the broadcaster’s neutrality and independence. This rising politicization of media establishments displays a broader effort to seize and management the narrative.

Kosovar journalists right now work in an more and more hostile setting. Investigative reporters who uncovered corruption or problem highly effective actors usually face harassment, threats, and even bodily assaults. In December 2024, a crew from Kallxo.com was attacked by masked assailants whereas reporting in north Mitrovica. Though assaults are condemned, they not often result in authorized accountability. The dearth of efficient investigations emboldens perpetrators and sends a chilling message to the press.

This tradition of impunity is strengthened by the rising use of SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits In opposition to Public Participation), that are authorized actions designed to intimidate journalists and drain their sources. Politicians and enterprise figures alike are exploiting the civil authorized system to silence vital voices, making a local weather of worry that daunts scrutiny.

On the coronary heart of this disaster lies the collapse of regulatory independence. The once-autonomous Unbiased Media Fee (IMC) has been weakened by legislative reforms that threaten its impartiality. Its failure to uphold honest requirements through the 2025 basic election, alongside authorities boycotts of sure non-public shops, resembling Klan Kosova, spotlight a sample of systematic repression.

Equally troubling is the federal government’s more and more aggressive rhetoric. Journalists are routinely vilified, accused of undermining the state, and focused in coordinated smear campaigns on-line. This poisonous discourse has normalized hostility towards the press, emboldening extremists and weakening public assist for journalism as a pillar of democracy.

The federal government’s actions and inaction converse volumes. As a substitute of protecting the press from stress, it’s changing into a supply of it. Fairly than supporting transparency, it’s fostering opacity. And as a substitute of defending journalists, it’s permitting, if not encouraging, their persecution.

Opinions expressed in JURIST Dispatches are solely these of our correspondents within the discipline and don’t essentially mirror the views of JURIST’s editors, workers, donors or the College of Pittsburgh.