Legal intimidation and SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) are attempts to intimidate and silence public watchdogs through lengthy and expensive litigation proceedings by starting meritless lawsuits. These threats mostly target civil society actors participating in public debates, including human rights advocates, whistle-blowers, climate activists and even academics more broadly. Under the pretext of seeking justice or protecting their rights, those who start these actions only seek to drain them from their resources (time and money) and force them to self-censor. These abusive tactics have become a very effective way to repress dissent and limit the public’s access to truthful…

Today, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) publishes “Towards a safer haven: Advancing safety of journalists amidst rising threats in the Netherlands”. Following interviews with more than twenty local stakeholders, the MFRR concludes that policy and practice around the safety of journalists in the Netherlands in many ways constitutes a best practice example, thanks to its pioneering PersVeilig mechanism. Nevertheless, there remains a need to strengthen several areas to better protect journalists and media workers against the increasingly hostile climate pursuant to intensified societal polarisation and threats emanating from organised crime. The report details the findings and recommendations of the…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) is organising an international media freedom mission to the Netherlands. The mission will take at the beginning of 2022 and will be led by Free Press Unlimited and the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and joined by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and other consortium members. The aim of the mission is to map the decreasing security of journalists in the Netherlands, despite the establishment of PersVeilig (Press Safe) at the end of 2019 and the strong security mechanism for journalists. With attacks on journalists increasing, the public broadcaster NOS…

Dutch journalist Peter R. de Vries has died on 15 July at the age of 64, days after being shot five times in the street in Amsterdam in a targeted shooting. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) condemned the murder as another tragic blow to press freedom in Europe. On 6 July, Peter R. de Vries was a guest on daily television programme RTL Boulevard. After leaving the building, he was shot several times at close range, including in the head, in a side street near the studio. The police arrested three suspects. One was later released. Peter R.…

In the Netherlands, more than eight in ten journalists have experienced some form of aggression of threat, according to a new study carried out by I&O research for PersVeilig and published on 5 June 2021. Almost 700 journalists in the Netherlands responded to the new survey “Aggression and threats towards journalists 2021” which assessed the level of safety of journalists in the country. The results paints a bleak picture with more than 8 journalists out of 10 reporting having experienced violence or threats at some point in the course of their work. Four years ago, the figure was already high,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) strongly condemned the violent aggression against a Dutch photographer and his girlfriend in Lunteren last Monday 19 April. The EFJ joined its affiliate in the Netherlands, the NVJ, in demanding a strong response from the authorities to the increasing number of attacks against journalists and media workers. On 19 April 2021, an amateur photojournalist and his girlfriend were shooting photos of a car fire when several people became so aggressive towards them that they had to take refuge in their car. Shortly afterwards, footages show a digger pushing the car and sending it onto…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined today the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners in condemning the violence directed at journalists and media workers on Sunday 28 March in several Dutch cities and calling for increased protection. On Sunday 28 March, several journalists were reporting from churches in the towns of Krimpen aan den Ijssel and Urk about the gathering of hundreds of churchgoers despite strict anti-coronavirus regulations. Hostile and aggressive behaviour from individual churchgoers, sometimes leading to physical violence, soon followed and made it very difficult for journalists to continue their reporting. In Krimpen, Jacco van Giessen, a…

Riots have taken place in several cities in the Netherlands following the the government’s decision to impose a 9pm curfew to curb the circulation of the coronavirus, on Saturday 23 January. Several journalists were physically attacked in a context of growing hostility towards the press. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) join their affiliates in the Netherlands, the NVJ, in condemning the attacks and expressing alarm over the escalation of violence against media professionals since last year. The unrest has started last weekend in protest against the curfew which came into force on Saturday. At least seven cases…

Foreign journalists traveling to the Netherlands will be exempt from a travel ban and be able to leave quarantine to carry out vital newsgathering provided they are carrying an IFJ International Press Card (IPC). The protocol, negotiated between the Dutch Journalist Association, the NVJ, and the country’s authorities exempts foreign journalists in possession of the IPC and a letter issued by the union, are exempted from the travel restrictions currently in place. Journalists are still required to: get a visa when needed follow travel requirements follow corona rules in place, such as self-quarantine for 10 days, except for the time journalists…