The Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) warned publicly the TV channel Pro TV Chisinau for broadcasting a feature with serious violations of the legal norms, IPN reports.

Of the 49 seconds of the feature “The partner’s revenge” (of January 19), the film that violates the female protagonist’s right to a private life and dignity accounts for 39 seconds. The woman’s face wasn’t blurred enough so that her features can be detected.

The BCC members held that by broadcasting this feature, the TV channel violated a number of norms, including the Broadcasting Code, the Broadcaster’s Code of Conduct, the Journalist’s Deontological Code, the European Convention on Transfrontier Television, and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

“This is an inadmissible mistake made by journalists who claim to be professionals. It is regrettable that now we will be able to issue only a public warning as Pro TV channel hadn’t been penalized earlier,” said the head of the BCC Dinu Ciocan.

Council member Mariana Onceanu-Hadarca said the feature violates the person’s right to a private life. “This subject had unprecedented public resonance given that civil society reacted to it. The common sense norms were definitely violated. Unfortunately, this notion does not have a legal definition and many broadcasters cynically profit from this legal gap,” she stated.

Member Cristina Matu said the feature lacks professionalism and was produced with the aim of increasing the rating. “The penalty is minor, but this is the law,” she noted.

Earlier, the Press Council ascertained that Pro TV violated the right to a private life and dignity of the feature’s protagonist and recommended the channel to apologize publicly within a news program.