Strasbourg - The right of journalists not to divulge their sources of information won backing yesterday from the Council of Europe. The 41-nation council adopted a recommendation which would ban searches of journalists' offices or interception of their communications as a violation of the European human rights convention on freedom of speech.
European judges said "the protection of journalistic sources is one of the cornerstones of freedom of the press" and, therefore, of democratic society. There had to be convincing arguments made to justify removing this protection.
