The Press Council will recommend the police and the prosecution service not to offer videos of crime scenes to journalists until the investigation is not over. The Council took attitude after the TV channel Canal 3 broadcast a feature and a program where an alleged killer provided details of how he raped and killed a minor girl from Drochia, IPN reports.
Press Council secretary Petru Macovei said such images must not be furnished to media outlets during the investigation as there may be cases when crime suspects are pressurized into admitting guilt. Thus, the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial can be violated.
The Press Council reiterated that the good journalistic practices at international level recommend broadcasting crime reconstruction or offense images only after the investigation is completed and the court passes a final decision. It is also important that the images should not contain too many morbid details. “It’s impossible to anticipate who the viewers are and what their age, education, intentions and predispositions are. That’s why the journalists must be responsible and must not offer morbid details of the crime to the general public and must broadcast crime reconstruction images only after definitive sentences are pronounced. The investigation bodies should be as responsible. They often hurry to report crimes, including by providing the mass media with crime reconstruction images,” stated Petru Macovei.
The Press Council members established that by broadcasting that feature and program, Canal 3 violated the Journalist’s Deontological Code, namely article 4.5, which says that the journalists do not provide morbid details of crimes, accidents and natural disasters or details of suicidal techniques to the public.
