Trump Hails Poland as a Beacon of Freedom. Rights Groups Beg to Differ. – New York Times

Press freedom

The new government moved swiftly in 2015 to replace the management at state-run television and radio outlets, and it then passed a law giving itself direct control over the hiring and firing of executives of state news media.

More recently, it has discussed plans to restrict foreign investment in privately run Polish media companies and repolonize the industry.

The Polish governments attacks on the media are attacks on liberal democracy, said Michael J. Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House, an organization that monitors press freedom around the world. The group said that legislative, political and economic means were all being used to stifle the media and limit dissent.

The government has come under fire for legislation aimed at women, especially a 2016 bill to ban nearly all abortions in the country. The bill failed after thousands of people protested in 90 Polish cities.

Last month, the government passed a bill requiring a prescription for the morning-after pill for emergency contraception, which had been available over the counter to any woman over the age of 15. The health minister cited concerns about harmful health effects, even though the World Health Organization says the pill poses little to no risk.

Restricting access to the morning-after pill will have devastating consequences for women and girls living in a country which already has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, Anna Blus of Amnesty International said in a statement.

A version of this article appears in print on July 7, 2017, on Page A10 of the New York edition with the headline: Called Beacon of Freedom, Poland Has Its Detractors.

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Trump Hails Poland as a Beacon of Freedom. Rights Groups Beg to Differ. - New York Times