Russian journalist Anna Kurbatova was deported from Ukraine to Russia on Wednesday 30 August and barred from returning for 3 years, accused of spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda. The EFJ and IFJ join their affiliate the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) in condemning the deportation of Kurbatova and call on the Ukrainian authorities to lift the ban. “Russian propagandist Anna Kurbatova, whose forcible expulsion has been decided, has crossed the Ukrainian-Russian border”, said Ukrainian Secret Service (SBU) spokesperson Olena Hitlayanska. “She has been banned from entering our state for three years”. According to Russian news agencies, Kurbatova has been given an official…

UPDATE : Mathias Depardon has been released and deported from Turkey on 9 June 2017 after 32 days of captivity. The gathering in Brussels on Monday 12 at 5 pm (Place Luxembourg) is maintained for asking the release of all journalists in jail.   — A joint call for French freelance photographer Mathias Depardon’s release by the Turkish authorities had been made by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), two other press freedom groups and 19 news organizations for which he has worked. Depardon, 37, has been detained arbitrarily for the past eleven days in Turkey. EFJ and the 21 organizations…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its affiliates in Germany (Deutscher Journalisten-Verband – DJV and Deutsche Journalistinnen- und Journalisten-Union – dju in ver.di) have today condemned the Turkish authorities for deporting the German photojournalist, Andy Spyra, who was covering the anniversary of the Armenian genocide for Der Spiegel on 29 March. Spyra was stopped and searched by the Turkish authorities on 28 March when he arrived at the Istanbul airport. The authorities accused him of carrying “military-style equipment” and deported him the next day following an overnight detention. He explained in his recent Facebook post that “the military equipment…

From the 16th to the 20th of September 2023, member of the EFJ Steering Committee Anna Del Freo travelled to Ukraine. She accepted the invitation of Sergiy Tomilenko, another member of the EFJ Steering Committee and president of the National Union of Journalist of Ukraine (NUJU). She went to the country, invaded by Russia, together with Anteas Alessandria, an Italian association of volunteers that already promoted several projects to help Ukraine’s population. Thanks to the support of the association, Anna Del Freo was able to visit her colleagues, who live and work in a country at war. She also conveyed…

Kurdish journalist Perihan Kaya, who found refuge in Switzerland, is facing deportation to Croatia as her asylum request has been rejected twice. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Swiss affiliate impressum and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in asking the Federal Supreme Court (BVGer) to refrain from deporting the journalist, who faces imprisonment in Turkey. Perihan Kaya risks deportation to Croatia, the first country through which she travelled when fleeing Turkey. Going back to Croatia would be extremely dangerous for the politically prosecuted journalist, who had been detained for two days there, where she was subjected to inhumane treatments similar to torture by Croatian police…

The New York Times – Critics say a new media law signed by Zelensky could restrict press freedom in Ukraine (30.12.2022) The Kyiv Independent – Zelensky signs media law criticized by journalist groups as authoritarian (30.12.2022) Politico – Europe troubled but powerless over Twitter’s journalist ban (16.12.2022) France24 – L’interdiction des médias russes par l’UE, “un dangereux précédent” (09.12.2022) La Croix – À Bruxelles, des Assises pour partager les « valeurs communes du journalisme » (25.11.2022) Euractiv – European Federation of Journalists chief slams press freedom in Greece (22.11.2022) Hetq – Swiss Government Motions for Press Freedom in Country’s Finance Sector (20.11.2022)…

After a series of British journalists, Russia has banned, on Monday morning, the Danish public television correspondent in Moscow, Matilde Kimer. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) call for the reversal of these decisions. On the morning of 1 August, on arrival at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, Matilde Kimer had passed through passport control but was arrested after collecting her luggage. At an airport office, she was handed a document stating that she was denied entry to the Russian Federation “for security and defence reasons” and should therefore be deported immediately. After a five-hour wait at the airport in Moscow,…

Belarus’ human rights situation has deteriorated further in recent weeks. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) believes this deterioration should be viewed in the context of the grave and systemic human rights violations the authorities committed in the run-up to the 2020 fraudulent presidential election and in its aftermath, for which there has been no accountability. The EFJ joins Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights and Article19 in demanding action by the UN Human Rights Council to establish a new mechanism assisting the process of accountability for human rights violations in Belarus. Developments in recent weeks mark a…

Update (01/09/2020): Law enforcement officials detained eight more journalists while covering student demonstrations in Minsk on 1 September: Nadzija Kalinina (TUT.BY); Aliaksei Sudnikau (TUT.BY); Sviatoslav Zorki (KP); Mikita Nedaverkau (KP); Maryja Eliashevich (KP); Andrei Shauliyuga (Belapan); Maria Vaitovich (Euroradio); Raman Hadun (Market). —————————- The Belarussian Association of Journalists (BAJ) reported on Sunday eleven new cases of detention of journalists in Belarus. This brings to 141 the number of journalists detained in the country since 9 August. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) demands the immediate release of journalists and the lifting of charges and prosecutions against them. According to the…