The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the BH Journalists Association, in condemning the brutal attack on BN TV correspondent Vladimir Kovačević. On 26 August 2018, two masked persons physically attacked commercial channel BN TV correspondent, Vladimir Kovačević, in front of the building he lives in, in Banja Luka. Kovačević was going home after reporting about the latest protest organised in the city by the group “Justice for David”, calling on the authorities to uncover the truth about the murder of a young student from Baanja Lulla. According to the journalist, the two unknown perpetrators were waiting…

A hearing on “Threats to media freedom and journalists’ security” is being organised by the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), on 6 December in Paris. A specific motion was tabled on this issue. A parliamentary report on the matter will be prepared next year. The EFJ President Mogens Blicher Bjerregård will participate in this hearing.

Over 40 journalists have disappeared or been killed in the territory of Serbia since the break of former Yugoslavia in 1992, but only few investigations were concluded, even with interference and support from international organisations. The Commission for the Investigation of Murders of Journalists in Serbia has been working in solving the cases since 2012. The decision to expand its capabilities and resources to further the fight against impunity for murders of journalists was announced by the president of the Commission Veran Matic, on 2 August. The scope now is set to include murders of journalists on the territories of Kosovo and…

Death threatening emails were sent to editor and journalist Natallia Radzina, currently based in Poland, on 22nd July, raising concerns on safety and protection of the journalist. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) expressed a deep concern over the threats to the well-known journalist and requested the Polish authorities to take necessary actions to ensure the safety of journalists. Natallia Radzina has been receiving threats previously, but the intimidating style and arrogance of the letters pushed her to bring the contents to the general public, she said, and added that the letters will not stop her from working. The journalist…

UPDATE 27.07.2018 An indictment was brought against the attacker of journalist Hrvoje Bajlo, former footballer Jakov Surać by the Zadar district attorney. Jakov Surać was accused of causing severe physical injuries and death threatening, considered to be crimes against life and body, and against freedom of a person by the court. The indictment also states that the attack was connected to the journalist’s work. —————————– Croatian journalist Hrvoje Bajlo was attacked on 24th of June at a parking lot in town of Zadar by a former NK Zadar football player and businessman Jakov Surać. Physical assault was preceded by insults directed towards work of Bajlo, followed by threats to…

A van was intentionally crashed into the office building of one of the largest Dutch daily newspapers De Telegraaf located in Amsterdam, at early hours of Tuesday morning, 26 June. Nobody was hurt during the crash, Dutch police stated in a tweet. It is not the first incident of this nature, as last Thursday, 21 of June, a man was arrested after an incident in the Sloterdijk area of Amsterdam, where a man fired an anti-tank weapon into a building of media organisations. The Dutch media organisations has been under threat from organised crime for some time now, with two…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) called on the Ukrainian government to launch a national action plan for the protection of journalists, in cooperation with Ukrainian journalists’ unions. Ricardo Gutiérrez, General Secretary of the EFJ, attended the OSCE expert conference, organised in Kiev, on 26 June, by the OSCE Representative on Media Freedom, Harlem Désir. Pointing out the deterioration of media freedom in the country, since 2015, Gutiérrez called on Ukrainian authorities to launch an action plan for the safety of journalists, together with all the relevant stakeholders, including the EFJ affiliates in the country, the National Union of Journalists…

The EFJ GS Ricardo Gutiérrez will attend next meeting of the CDMSI (the EFJ is an observer member of the CDMSI). The CDMSI will consider the Draft Strategy for the Implementation of the CM Recommendation on protection of journalism and safety of journalists and other media actors, prepared by the secretariat. Discuss and approve it. Consider and comment on the Draft Implementation Guide to Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)4, prepared by the Secretariat Valuable practices in the area of safety of journalists will be presented, including: the Action plan on Defending Free Speech, by the CDMSI representative of Sweden, and the Audit of Freedom…

The EFJ GS Ricardo Gutiérrez will attend the next meeting of the Council of Europe Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI). CDMSI will consider the Draft Strategy for the Implementation of the CM Recommendation on protection of journalism and safety of journalists and other media actors, prepared by the secretariat. Discuss and approve it. Consider and comment on the Draft Implementation Guide to Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)4, prepared by the Secretariat Valuable practices in the area of safety of journalists will be presented, including: the Action plan on Defending Free Speech, by the CDMSI representative of Sweden, and the Audit…

Delegates of the Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Journalists, meeting in Lisbon, Portugal on June 6, 2018 have mandated the Steering Committee members of the EFJ to adopt an urgent motion on “threats against journalists in Ukraine” in order to put an end to climate of threats, violence and persecution against our colleagues in this country. Following the decision, the Steering Committee members have adopted on June 8, 2018 the following motion : The Annual Meeting of the EFJ, meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, on June 6th, 2018, condemns the increasing verbal and online violence against journalists in Ukraine.…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls again for an investigation into the suspicious death of Russian journalist Maksim Borodin. From Ekaterinburg (Ural, Russia), where he is attending the EU International Conference on Professional Standards and Ethics of Journalism in the Digital Age, the EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez calls on Russian authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the death of Maksim Borodin. He died a month ago, after falling from the balcony of his fifth-floor apartment, on 12 April in Ekaterinburg. “It is not the first time we face such a “mysterious” death in Russia. Public authorities should…

The EFJ-IFJ has submitted the following alert to the Council of Europe’s platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists : Kyrylo Vyshynsky, a Ukrainian journalist working for Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novotsi in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, was detained on 15 May 2018 on allegations of treason. His arrest came hours before raids by Ukrainian security service (SBU) at the news agency’s offices. According to media reports, the authorities suspected Vyshynsky, who was granted Russian citizenship in 2015 by Presidential decree, of allegedly collaborating with Ukrainian armed separatists in Eastern Ukraine. The prosecuting officials in…

A Roma, alla Protomoteca del Campidoglio. Crediti per i giornalisti. Tavola rotonda: i rischi dei giornalisti e i sistemi di protezione. Patrocinio Unesco “Trasparenza e libertà di informazione nello Stato di diritto. Giornalisti minacciati e sistemi di protezione”: è questo l’argomento del Convegno internazionale organizzato da AGCOM e Ossigeno per l’Informazione, con il patrocinio dell’UNESCO e in collaborazione con l’Ordine dei Giornalisti del Lazio, che si svolgerà martedì 8 maggio 2018 a Roma. L’evento è inserito nel programma europeo delle celebrazioni per la Giornata Mondiale per la Libertà di Stampa, indetta dall’ONU. Il Convegno è aperto al pubblico ed è riconosciuto dall’Ordine…

It was as sad and enraging as it was utterly humbling: hundreds of media freedom activists gathered on 16 April in eight cities worldwide to remember Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was murdered six months ago to this day, and to call on the Maltese government to finally bring those to justice who ordered her killing. Vigils were held in Valletta, London, Brussels, Berlin, Dresden, Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Washington DC. The EFJ co-organised with CPJ, RSF, TI, Il Kenniesa the gathering in Brussels and the ECPMF did the same in Dresden and Berlin. As shows the Daphne Project. 45 journalists from 15 different countries have been…

Please join the Right Honourable Tom Brake MP on Monday, 16th April from 6 to 7 pm in Committee Room 17 of the House of Commons for: A journalist killed: The pursuit of justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia, six months on Speakers: Paul Caruana Galizia, son of Daphne Caruana Galizia Rebecca Vincent, UK Bureau Director for Reporters Without Borders Maggie Murphy, Senior Global Advocacy Manager for Transparency International Moderated by Tom Brake MP On 16th October 2017, Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was tragically murdered by a car bomb. Caruana Galizia was a courageous investigative journalist whose reporting exposed corruption…