Polish journalists acquitted following 24-hour detention

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Polish Journalists Association (SDP) have welcomed the acquittal of two journalists, Jan Pawlicki and Tomasz Gzell who were arrested on 20 November during the coverage of a post-election demonstration in Warsaw. According to the EFJ affiliate, SDP, the police arrested TV reporter for TV Republika, Jan Pawlicki and the press photographer Tomasz Gzell of Polish Press Agency, in a demonstration where a group of activists entered and occupied the State Electoral Commission on 20 November. During the arrest, the journalists showed their press cards proving that they were not among the occupiers…

Russian authorities evict independent TV channel from premises

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Russian Union of Journalists  (RUJ) today have condemned the Russian authorities for forcing the independent TV channel, TV Dozhd, out from its premises in Moscow. According to the EFJ affiliate, RUJ, this is the second time in a few months thatTV Dozhd has been evicted from its premises due to its critical reporting on the authorities and political figures. Earlier this year, TV Dozhd was forced off the air when it was dropped from the schedules of several Russian cable TV services. It is considered as the last independent voice broadcasting on a public frequency in Russia.…

EFJ and IFJ Sign a Memorandum with the Council of Europe to Create an Online Safety Platform for Journalists

The European Federation of Journalists’ (EFJ) President, Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, and the International Federation of Journalists’ (IFJ) President, Jim Boumelha, signed today a “memorandum of understanding” on the creation of an online safety platform for journalists with the Council of Europe and three other media freedom partner agencies. The event took place during a conference jointly organized by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the French Senate at the Palais du Luxembourg, in Paris. Reporters Without Borders (RWB), Article 19 and the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) also signed the memorandum. The conference has involved many…

Mission to Spain: Public TV in Danger

(04.12.2014) English / Français en dessous – Freedom of expression must gain ground in Spain. This is the overall conclusion drawn by the International mission which is about to end in Madrid. For the first time, a consortium formed by the International Press Institute (IPI), Access Info Europe, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the World Association of Newspaper Publishers (WAN-IFRA ), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Open Society Foundations (OSF) conducted a four-day mission, from 1 to 4 December, in Madrid and Barcelona, to evaluate the state of freedom of expression in…

EFJ-IFJ alarmed by the creation of “Orwellian” information ministry

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) are alarmed by the creation of a government body to control information and the media in Ukraine. According to media reports, the Ukrainian Parliament on Tuesday 2 December has passed a proposal to create a new body called the Ministry of Information Policy with the aim of “confronting Russia’s formidable propaganda machine”. The government has appointed Mr. Yuriy Stets, a close ally to President Petro Poroshenko and the head of the Information Security Department of the National Guard of Ukraine, to lead the ministry. The EFJ and…

Solidarité avec les journalistes des bureaux de Moscou et de Kiev

(03.12.2014) La Fédération Européenne des Journalistes (FEJ) se joint à l’action groupée de ses syndicats-membres, les syndicats français de journalistes (SNJ, SNJ-CGT, CFDT journalistes) et le syndicat russe des journalistes (RUJ), et apporte son soutien aux journalistes travaillant sous droit local des bureaux de l’AFP en Russie et en Ukraine, dont les salaires ont été très sensiblement impactés par la chute du rouble. Les journalistes de ces bureaux ont demandé, avec l’appui des syndicats de l’AFP, une réévaluation de leurs conditions salariales avec un réajustement de la parité rouble-dollar pour faire face à la crise actuelle. La réponse de la…

Moscow – the unexpected journey

The Swiss journalist and writer, Roman Berger, recalled his journey to Moscow at the EFJ Annual Meeting and the struggle for journalists and their unions to be independent in a country like Russia where the state controls everything. “Moscow is not a media desert with only pro-government media” – this is Berger’s conclusion. By Roman Berger   The delegate from Estonia has summed up the reason of his presence at the EFJ Annual Meeting: “Only when I found out after my research that the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) is a critical organisation, my union was willing to send me…

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Espagne: la Fédération des syndicats de journalistes demande la démission du ministre de l’Intérieur

(1.12.2014) Affiliée de la FEJ, la Fédération espagnole des syndicats de journalistes (FeSP) a demandé, ce lundi, la démission du ministre espagnol de l’Intérieur, Jorge Fernández Díaz (Parti populaire). En cause: le maintien du projet de loi “Mordaza” sur la sécurité citoyenne, qui limite le droit des journalistes et des photographes à rendre compte des protestations publiques et des manifestations citoyennes. La FEJ, au même titre que de nombreuses autres organisations non gouvernementales (Amnesty International, Greenpeace, RSF…), a dénoncé la portée liberticide de ce projet de loi. Le Comité directeur fédéral de la FeSP, réuni dimanche à Madrid, a décidé…