Journalist Sergei Mingazov from the Russian edition of Forbes magazine was charged with spreading “false” information about Moscow’s military offensive in Ukraine, on 26 April 2024. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) denounces the accusations against Mingazov, a member of the Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU), an EFJ affiliate, and once again condemns the continued crackdown on independent journalists by the Russian authorities. A court in Khabarovsk today placed Mingazov under house arrest for two months for “reposting about the events in Bucha” on the Telegram channel Khabarovsk Mingazeta. Bucha is the Kyiv suburb where Russian troops have been accused…

Women journalists Antonina Favorskaya, known for her independent reporting, and Olga Komleva, a dedicated correspondent for RusNews, were arrested in March on charges of “extremism” linked to the coverage of the trials of the Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. If convicted, they will face up to six years in prison. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ), together with their affiliate the Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU), express deep concern over the unjust detention of Favorskaya and Komleva, in the context of a wider crackdown in Russia on press freedom. SOTAVision journalist Antonina Favorskaya, who recorded the last video of…

In a letter to Czech and European authorities, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins partners of the Safety of Journalists Platform in urging them to address security threats faced by exiled Russian journalists in the Czech Republic. We are deeply concerned for the safety of Irina Dolinina and Alesya Marakhovskaya of I-Stories, whose safety is threatened by probable Russian state agents.

The Russian authorities have taken intimidation of foreign correspondents to a new level: recently, the police began visiting journalists’ homes to dissuade them from covering demonstrations in Moscow by the wives of soldiers mobilised for the war in Ukraine. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Russian affiliate JMWU denounce this new form of censorship. After the mass arrests of journalists covering a rally of the wifes of Russian soldiers mobilised in Ukraine near the Kremlin on 3 February, the Russian authorities have moved on to a new form of pressure, which until now they have reserved for activists:…

On the evening of 10 January, a Russian missile attack damaged the Park Hotel in Kharkiv, injuring Anadolu’s reporter Davit Kachkachishvili, photojournalist Özge Elif Kızıl, and Ukrainian fixer Violetta-Anastasia Pedorych. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) strongly condemn the attack and demand that journalists should be treated and protected as civilians. Anadolu reporter Davit Kachkachishvili and photojournalist Özge Elif Kızıl, who were on duty at the Park Hotel at the time of the attack, were able to leave the hotel with minor injuries, Anadolureports. A hotel where Anadolu reporters covering war in Ukraine are staying targeted by missiles…

Russia launched two massive attacks in Ukraine between 29 December 2023 and 2 January 2024, which injured three journalists and damaged four newsrooms. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) condemned the attacks in the strongest terms and expressed solidarity with the media workers targeted. On 30 December 2023, two employees working for the German TV channel ZDF were injured by the shelling of the Kharkiv Palace Hotel which was mostly occupied by media workers at that moment. As a result, a security guard of foreign nationality who was working as a security advisor to ZDF, had to undergo…

On 27 and 29 December 2023, multiple journalists were detained by police in Moscow. Some of them were awaiting a verdict in the case of a group of activists accused for statements critical of the war in Ukraine. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Russian affiliate, the Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU), are demanding the immediate release of these journalists, who were only doing their job. The police arrested journalist Mikhail Lebedev on 27 December near the Prosecutor General’s Office in Moscow, while he was filming a solidarity picket of activist Oksana Osadcha, who was calling for…

Update (01/12/2023): A Russian court on 1st December extended the pre-trial detention of US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until 5 February. —————————– On 18 October, Prague-based journalist Alsu Kurmasheva working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was detained by Kazan Authorities on charges of ‘failing to register herself as a foreign agent’. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) strongly condemn the detention of an innocent journalist and demand Russian authorities release her immediately. The Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who lives in Prague, Czech Republic’s capital, arrived in Russia on 20 May for a family emergency. On her way back to…

The undersigned international media freedom and journalists’ organisations, including the International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ), are extremely concerned by Latvian government proposals to ban the broadcast of Russian language content on Latvian public service media. On 28 September, the Latvian parliament approved the “National Security Concept”, a government-backed policy planning document. It states that all “content created by public media must only be in Latvian and languages belonging to the European cultural space” from 1 January 2026. The move would essentially prohibit Latvian TV and Latvian Radio from continuing to produce content in Russian. Currently, Latvian TV and…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned journalists, press freedom organisations, and unions, in denouncing the war crimes committed by the Russian Federation against journalists in Ukraine and calling for immediate action to hold the perpetrators accountable. Deliberately targeting journalists, shelling their facilities, and engaging in arbitrary detentions and torture clearly violate international humanitarian law and press freedom. We urge authorities to take decisive steps to address these grave violations and provide increased support for front-line reporters.  We are alarmed at the continued targeting of media workers in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The recent missile attack in Pokrovsk is…

Dissident journalists Elena Kostyuchenko, a former reporter for the investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta, and Irina Babloyan, previously a journalist for the broadcaster Ekho Moskvy, believe they were poisoned in Germany and Georgia respectively in October 2022. The European and the International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) call on the competent authorities to thoroughly investigate these disturbing allegations and bring the perpetrators to justice. The Federations urged governments to protect Russian journalists in exile. German authorities are investigating a possible poisoning on Russian journalist Elena Kostyuchenko in October 2022, the Berlin prosecutor has confirmed, according to The Guardian. The alleged attack could have…

On 7 August, Russian missile strikes damaged a hotel, which is popular among journalists covering the war, in the city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region, in Ukraine. It is the second time in recent weeks that facilities used by media workers have been hit by Russian fire in Ukrainian cities. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) condemn the attack in the strongest terms and remind the Russian authorities that journalists and media workers operating in areas of armed conflict must be treated and protected as civilians and allowed to perform their work without interference. Russian strikes…

The Russian authorities continue to crack down on journalists in occupied Crimea. On 27 July, the police have arrested two more journalists there. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliate the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in denouncing these repeated arrests, which are clearly aimed at intimidating the press. On 27 July, Russian police arrested professional journalists Lutfiye Zudiyeva and Kulamet Ibraimov as they were preparing to cover the trial of three Crimean Tartar activists before the Crimean Supreme Court. Zudiyeva and Ibraimov showed their press cards to police…

RIA journalist Rostislav Zhuravlev was reportedly killed and three other journalists were injured during a Ukrainian attack in the Zaporizhzhia occupied region of Ukraine on 22 July. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) join their Russian affiliate the Journalists and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU) in calling for a swift investigation into Zhuravlev’s death. Rostislav Zhuravlev, a war correspondent working for the Russian state agency RIA Novosti, was hit in a Ukrainian strike in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, the Russian military announced on 22 July. Rostislav Zhuravlev died from his wounds during his evacuation to medical facilities, the military said. RIA also…

Prominent investigative journalist Yelena Milashina has been badly beaten and had fingers broken by masked men as she travelled to a court in Grozny, Chechnya, on Monday morning. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) condemn this brutal beating and demand an investigation into this vicious attack. Yelena Milashina, who writes for Novaya Gazeta newspaper, was travelling with a lawyer, Alexander Nemov. Their car was stopped by three cars with armed men as they drove to the capital, Grozny, to witness the trial of the wife of a former judge of the Republic’s Supreme Court. “It was a classic…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) commemorates the 20th anniversary of the death of Russian journalist Yuri Shchekochikhin today. Shchekochikhin, 53, then deputy editor of the independent Moscow twice-weekly Novaya Gazeta, died 12 days after being hospitalized in a Moscow clinic with what doctors said was an acute allergic reaction. He died suddenly on 3 July 2003 a few days before his scheduled departure to the United States, where he planned to meet with FBI investigators. His medical documents were either lost or destroyed by authorities. The EFJ and IFJ believe the journalist was poisoned to prevent him…