RSF expands with first Central Europe bureau in Prague

RSF announced the opening of its Prague bureau on Tuesday, 14 October - its first bureau located in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. The inaugural event, titled "Journalism at a Tipping Point," was held in the Czech capital as part of the Forum 2000 human rights conference, founded by anti-communist dissident and former Czech president Václav Havel.

A message from the Czech president at Forum 2000

Committed to defending independent media and professional journalists, RSF invited speakers Stephen Capus, President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty(RFE/RL); Martina Majicek Poliakova, Director of Strategic Development at the Czech public service broadcaster Czech Radio; Myroslava Gongadze, a former journalist for US public broadcaster Voice of America(VOA) from Ukraine and widow of journalist Georgiy Gongadze, assassinated in 2000. The panel was chaired by RSF Director General Thibaut Bruttin and moderated by the Director of the Prague bureau, Pavol Szalai.

President Pavel met with Thibaut Bruttin and Pavol Szalai the day before the launch and hailed the initiative, saying: "At a time when disinformation and propaganda are increasingly used to manipulate societies and weaken democratic institutions, the work of RSF is more vital than ever [...] By hosting RSF's first office for Central and Eastern Europe, Prague reaffirms its role as a place where freedom of expression and responsible journalism are respected and protected."

The RSF Prague bureau is tasked with documenting and denouncing violations of press freedom and the right to information, supporting threatened journalists, combating impunity for crimes committed against reporters, fighting the propaganda that pollutes the information space, advocating before national and international authorities for systemic solutions, and giving ethical, transparent journalism a competitive edge in Central and Eastern Europe.

Press freedom under threat in Central and Eastern Europe

In recent years, RSF has advocated for justice in the case of the killing of journalistJan Kuciak in Slovakia (38th out of the 180 countries and territories in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index); for the protection of reporters against arbitrary surveillanceand violenceduring demonstrations in Greece (89th) and Serbia (96th); for preserving public media's independence in Poland(31st); for coordinated European Union actionagainst the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's "anti-model" of press freedom (68th); and for the swift and rigorous implementationof the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), legislation that included many RSF proposals. The recent RSF reporton Russian propaganda documents the scope of this menace to Europe's information space and calls for European sanctions against Kremlin disinformation outlets to be enforced.

Czechia rose from 40th place in the 2021 RSF Index to 10th place in 2025. As legislative elections approached this month, RSF and its Czech partners campaigned for all involved political parties to strengthen the political and legal framework ensuring journalists' safety and media independence. Earlier this year, RSF supportedthe increase in the public broadcasting fee, which benefits outlets such as Czech Radio, the 13th public service media outlet in the world to obtainJournalism Trust Initiative (JTI) certification. RSF's international initiatives have resonated strongly in this country, evidenced by the 262 Czech journalists who signed a letterin solidarity with the threatened journalists of Gaza.

Pavol Szalai, director of the new Prague bureau

Members of the advisory council of the RSF Prague bureau include Tomas Sedlacek, director of the Vaclav Havel Library, and Vera Jourova, vice-president of Charles University and former vice-president of the European Commission. This council will be expanded in the coming months.

The bureau's director is Pavol Szalai. Awarded Slovakia's "White Crow" prize for civic courage in 2017, Pavol Szalai joined RSF the same year as its Slovakia correspondent before becoming Head of the European Union-Balkans Desk at the NGO's Paris headquarters in 2020. Educated in Slovakia, Czechia, the United States and France, he worked as a journalist for the Slovak daily Smeand the European media network EURACTIV.

RSF thanks its first supporters for their backing, including the Czech digital company Seznam and the RSF German section, Reporter ohne Grenzen (ROG).

RSF worldwide

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, RSF is an independent international organisation that defends and promotes press freedom and the right to information. Present on every continent, RSF has 15 offices and sections around the world - including Paris (its headquarters), Brussels, Washington, Rio de Janeiro, Taipei, Dakar, Tunis, London and now Prague - as well as sections in Germany, Austria, Spain, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland. RSF also relies on its network of correspondents and partners in more than 150 countries. This network strengthens its global action and local roots.