logo logo

Agerpres – National News Agency: Current news with reliable information for a well-informed society.

Bucharest

Piaţa Presei Libere nr. 1, sector 1

Phone: +4 021.2076.110

office@agerpres.ro

Two active alerts regarding Romania posted on CoE's Safety of Journalists Platform

Image

Two alerts regarding Romania have been issued this year on Safety of Journalists Platform ,the Council of Europe (CoE) platform promoting the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists, which on Tuesday released its annual Europe press freedom report.

The two active alerts were filed on February 18, 2026: one signals a smear campaign, death threats and harassment against journalist Emilia Sercan, and the other concerns the situation of investigative journalist Brindusa Armanca and PressHub publication facing multiple defamation lawsuits over published reports.

According to the platform, a total of 15 cumulative alerts were issued for Romania in 2015-2026, of which three each in 2016, 2018 and 2025.

Smear campaign, death threats and harassment against journalist Emilia Sercan

On 12 January 2026, investigative journalist Emilia Sercan published an article on the PressOne news portal alleging that at least 56.68% of the 247-page doctoral thesis of the Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, contained text copied from other authors. In the aftermath, she faced intense smear, death threats and harassment., according to the alert published on the Council of Europe platform.

On social media, Minister Marinescu questioned the timing of the publication and the reasons for him being targeted, which was echoed by politicians, media outlets, journalists and online influencers, particularly those aligned with the Social Democratic Party (PSD). They accused Sercan of acting with political motives, suggesting that her investigation aimed to influence upcoming appointments in the justice system. PSD issued a public statement describing Sercan as an 'impostor,' and alleging that the investigation was an attempt to remove the Minister of Justice from office. The party reaffirmed its 'full political support' for Minister Marinescu and rejected what it called attempts to politically subordinate the justice system.

As the narrative spread across television channels, online media and social platforms, Sercan reported receiving hundreds of messages of intimidation, discreditation, and direct death threats on her social media accounts.

Investigative journalist Brindusa Armanca and PressHub face multiple defamation lawsuits

Since 2022, investigative journalist Brindusa Armanca, the news portal PressHub, and other media like Libertatea, Click, Ziarul de Iasi, Sursa de Vest have been facing multiple defamation lawsuits brought by Beniamin Lup, president of the WorldTeach Association Romania, an NGO registered as working against human trafficking. The lawsuits relate to a series of articles published by PressHub since 2022, authored or coordinated by Armanca, examining alleged inconsistencies between Lup's claims about the activities of WorldTeach and information obtained through journalistic research, including on the functioning of a centre for victims of human trafficking in the municipality of Fardea, and on the organisation's funding..

PressHub was established by Freedom House Romania as a collaborative platform for dozens of media outlets in Romania and abroad. The Association of Independent Journalists of Romania (AZIR), Romanian section of the Association of European Journalists (AEJ), has expressed concern that the accumulation of legal actions and the scale of damages sought may have a deterrent effect on investigative journalism and may qualify as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), also known as abusive lawsuits.

The European Union has passed legislation to protect people who speak out on matters of public interest from abusive legal action aimed at silencing them. In Romania, the directive is in the process of being transposed into national legislation. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Mariana Ionescu; EN - editing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)

Display count: 541

The content of the www.agerpres.ro website has the exclusive purpose of public informing.
All the information published on this website by AGERPRES is protected by relevant legal dispositions.
It is forbidden to copy, reproduce, recompile, decompile, distribute, publish, display, modify, create derived components or products or full services, as well as any exploitation of the site's content.
Details in the section Terms of Use. If you are interested in picking up AGERPRES news items, please contact the Marketing Department – marketing@agerpres.ro.
The use of the Comments section entails your obligation to respect the AGERPRES terms and conditions in regards to the publishing of comments on the www.agerpres.ro.


Other news in category

English 20-09-2026 00:21

President Nicușor Dan to attend the High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly

President Nicușor Dan has several meetings and events scheduled in New York between 20 and 23 September, as part of his participation in the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, according to the agenda published by the Presidential Administration. The President is scheduled to deliver Romania's national statement during the High-Level Week of the session

English 18-09-2026 15:53

President Dan says Foreign Ministry investigating Orlivka school case

President Nicusor Dan said on Friday that Romania's Foreign Ministry has opened an investigation into the case of the school in Orlivka, Odesa region, where a Year 1 class taught in Romanian was closed. Speaking at a news conference held after the Carpathian Integration Initiative 'Carpathian 8' Summit, he said that 'remarkable progress has bee

English 18-09-2026 14:44

Bolojan: We will try, within our possibilities and depending on our electoral weight, to form a Government

President of the National Liberal Party (PNL) Ilie Bolojan said on Friday that, although Siegfried Muresan's nomination for prime minister came three months late, the party would deal with the situation 'responsibly' and seek to form a Government based on its electoral weight. 'Yesterday, about 30 minutes beforehand, I learned from the piece of

English 18-09-2026 14:07

Siegfried Muresan: We will start work on a government programme; beginning of next week - discussion with MPs

Prime Minister-designate Siegfried Muresan announced on Friday that he was starting work on the government programme together with the National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR) and the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR), mentioning that he would present the priorities at the beginning of next week and, based on these, would hold an "extremely tran

English 18-09-2026 13:05

CCIR's Daraban: The diaspora is not a sentimental issue but a chapter in the national economy

The experience gained by Romanians in the diaspora in competitive markets must be transformed into investment, jobs and exports, believes Mihai Daraban, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR). According to a press release from the organisation sent to AGERPRES, the institution is strengthening its partnership with ROUNIT - Reunited

English 18-09-2026 12:59

European Commission approves ANSVSA's Action Plan to unblock sheep and goat exports

The Action Plan of the National Veterinary Sanitary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) for unblocking exports of sheep and goats has been approved by the European Commission, allowing exports of carcasses and products to resume under the differentiated vaccination scheme. According to an ANSVSA release sent to AGERPRES on Friday, the approved solution protects

English 18-09-2026 12:08

Health Insurance House launches project on cross-border exchange of medical images, laboratory results, discharge reports

The National Health Insurance House (CNAS) announced on Friday the launch of the European project 'Romanian Medical Images, Laboratory Results and Discharge Reports' (RO-MI-LR-DR), for the cross-border exchange of medical images, laboratory results and discharge reports. The project is funded through the EU4Health programme, with the European Health an

English 18-09-2026 11:22

'Socola' Institute of Psychiatry in Iasi to hold new memory testing campaign at weekend

The 'Socola' Institute of Psychiatry in Iasi has announced that it will hold the third edition of its 'Memory Testing Campaign' on Saturday and Sunday, a campaign addressing people of all ages and aimed to identify individual risk factors that may predispose people to memory disorders, while also providing participants with specialist counselling.

English 18-09-2026 10:42

'Brancusi and His Muses' exhibition opens at Art Safari

'Brancusi and His Muses', the largest exhibition dedicated to the great sculptor to be held in Romania during Brancusi Year, opened on Thursday evening at the Art Safari New Museum. Curator Doina Lemny said she wanted the initiative to be different, allowing the public to enter the artist's studio atmosphere. 'It is true that Brancusi's wor

English 18-09-2026 08:45

Bucharest International Film Festival - BIFF 2026 begins; eight films from Europe and Asia

Bucharest's only international feature film competition, which will run from Friday until 27 September, brings together eight films from Europe and Asia this year, seven of which will be screened in Romania for the first time. 'The selection brings to Bucharest productions that have won awards or been presented at major international festivals such as

English 18-09-2026 08:27

President Dan attending inaugural Summit of Carpathian Integration Initiative, in Ukraine

President Nicusor Dan on Friday is attending the inaugural Summit of the Carpathian Integration Initiative, in Ukraine's Ivano-Frankivsk region, at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Presidential Administration said that a series of related events will take place on the sidelines of the Summit, including the Carpathian Economic

English 18-09-2026 08:12

Romania's Alexandru Jecan and Bogdan Pavel reach doubles semi-finals at Szczecin Open

Romanian pair Alexandru Jecan/Bogdan Pavel reached the semi-finals of the doubles event at the challenger tournament in Szczecin (Poland) - Szczecin Open, on Thursday evening, with total prizes worth 203,900 euros, after defeating Polish duo Piotr Matuszewski/Filip Pieczonka 6-1, 3-6, 10-6. Jecan and Pavel prevailed after one hour and 10 minutes against the se

English 17-09-2026 17:44

Siegfried Muresan accepts proposal for PM office

MEP Siegfried Muresan announced on Thursday that he accepts President Nicusor Dan's nomination for the post of prime minister of Romania. 'I accept the proposal made by the President of Romania,' Muresan said in a post on Facebook. President Nicusor Dan announced on Thursday that he was nominating MEP Siegfried Muresan for the prime

English 17-09-2026 17:29

Art Safari New Museum opens year's second season including Brancusi, Mungiu exhibitions

Art Safari New Museum opened its second exhibition season of the year on Thursday at Amzei 13. Until 20 December, art lovers can discover, among other things, an exhibition about Brancusi and the muses who influenced his work, curated by Doina Lemny, as well as an exploration of the Pop Art movement, curated by Alexandre Eram, featuring icons of the movement from Warhol to B

English 17-09-2026 17:25

President Dan nominates Siegfried Muresan for prime minister office

President Nicusor Dan on Thursday nominated MEP Siegfried Muresan for the prime minister office. On Thursday, Nicusor Dan held consultations at Cotroceni Palace with the leaders and representatives of the political parties and formations represented in Parliament.  The President said he was waiting for Siegfried Muresan to accept the request.