Local TV station publicly summoned by Romania’s watchdog CNA over journalistic investigation on organ trafficking

Romania’s audiovisual watchdog CNA decided on Thursday (January 30) to publicly summon local Digi 24 TV station following a series of stories on alleged organ trafficking in Bucharest. According to a CNA statement, the TV station didn’t respect the audiovisual law concerning the correct information of the public during its news programs broadcasted in October 24 and October 25 last year, which presented a journalistic investigation on a possible organ trafficking at Fundeni Clinical Institute in Bucharest. On October 25, 2013, the TV station’s informative programs included news related to the investigation, which started following the story about organ trafficking with the agreement of doctors from the Fundeni Institute, reports local news agency Mediafax. Digi 24 presented fragments of the story marked with the ‘hidden camera’ label and broadcasted statements of the Fundeni Institute manager, the president of the College of Doctors in Romania and an officer from Organize Crime. Following these programs, CNA received a complaint from a specialist within Fundeni’s Department of Renal Transplant. She said that she appeared in some blurred footage broadcasted by the TV station within the organ trafficking story, but that many people recognized her. “I was filmed without my consent, perhaps with a hidden camera (…) Digi 24 TV didn’t present my position, but used blurred images of me in the context of disclosing doctors and nurses’ involvement in organ trafficking,” reads the complaint received by CNA, quoted by Mediafax. Present at CNA’s meeting on January 30, a representative of the RCS & RDS company - which holds the license of Digi 24- said the story was meant to draw attention over a problem and not accuse certain people. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Sxc.hu)