Journalists, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, police officers and many other actors play a key role in preservation of the freedom of expression and freedom of the media in every society. Raising the capacities of these actors and creating new synergies among them with the same aim – better protection of freedom of expression – have been in the focus of the Horizontal Facility II intervention in the Western Balkans.

An online Regional Summer School on European standards: freedom of expression and freedom of the media was organised in July 2021 and attended by law and political science students and young professionals from the Western Balkans. It raised awareness and improved knowledge on information on media systems, roles and responsibilities of various actors in this field.

A selected group of 11 lawyers of the Bar Association of Albania attended a session on the European standards on freedom of expression and the media as set by the European Convention of Human Rights and related case-law. They will enlarge the pool of certified local trainers who will then be able to train their peers through a system of cascade trainings.

What are the types of behaviour that constitute online harassment and what are the forms of legal protection in the international law that are available in Bosnia and Herzegovina? These are some of the questions that were lively discussed at the multi-professional seminar for the representatives of the media and judiciary professional communities held in Tuzla.

The first online HELP course for legal professionals on freedom of expression was launched in North Macedonia for 40 judges, prosecutors and lawyers who will tackle various aspects of freedom of expression through the course. This HELP course will be tutored by Council of Europe experts from both the Academy for judges and public prosecutors, and the Bar Association of North Macedonia.

Attacks against journalists and other media actors constitute particularly serious violations of human rights because they target not only individuals, but deprive others of their right to receive information, thus restricting public debate. Police protection is of significant importance in cases of an immediate risk to the life or physical integrity of journalists, therefore a capacity building activity with police officers on protection and safety of journalists was organised in Serbia.