The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemns the Public security bill adopted on Thursday by the Spanish Parliament on the proposal from the People’s Party (the right wing conservative in power). The EFJ says the bill is hostile to press freedom and allows government to sanction journalists for taking pictures or filming police forces in the exercise on their duties. Article 26 provides that “unauthorised use of pictures, films or personal/professional data of authorities or members of security forces will be considered as serious offence because they could put their personal or their family’s security in danger.” The sanction provided for is…

Journalists and media workers at Radio France have been on strike since Thursday 19 March called by the unions (CGT, CFDT, FO, Solidaires and Unsa) to oppose the budget cuts. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Broadcasting Expert Group in its meeting on 26 March has expressed their support to the journalists in Radio France to defend public service broadcasting and their fight to maintain quality journalism and decent working conditions. “The management of Radio France announced a budget deficit of 20 million Euros. The employees are protesting against the potential cut of 300 jobs and the plan for…

Turkish cartoonists Bahadir Baruter and Ozer Aydogan, from the Turkish satirical magazine Penguen, have been found guilty of insulting Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a cartoon on the cover of the magazine’s August issue. The court sentenced both cartoonists to 11 months and 20 days in prison on March 24. That sentence was subsequently commuted to a fine of 7,000 Liras (2,500 euros) each. The cartoon depicted newly elected Erdogan arriving at his presidential palace and saying: “What a bland celebration. We could have at least sacrificed a journalist.” The prosecutor alleged that the cartoon was insulting in that one…

In a meeting with delegates of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) on Friday 20 March 2015, the EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Mr. Johannes Hahn, has called for more progress made on press freedom in the West Balkans and Turkey. Commissioner Hahn expressed his concerns about media freedom in West Balkans and Turkey and pointed out that it was not satisfactory to see these countries receiving the same critical comments every year. He confirmed that the Commission considers media freedom as a fundamental right and as a key element in the transformation of countries into democratic…

Board members of the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS), together with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), organised this weekend (21-22 March 2015) in Istanbul the union’s third Strategic & Development workshop in a year. This was an opportunity for the new board (elected at the TGS Congress in December 2013) to evaluate their recruitment and development strategies, identify new areas of potential growth, reassess all ongoing projects with partners and take the necessary steps to move forward. Although Turkey’s Constitution affirms the right of workers to form labour unions “without obtaining permission”, “to possess…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes today the release of the report of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks, at the end of his visit to Serbia from 16 to 20 March. “As regards media freedoms, the Commissioner welcomes the adoption in August 2014 of three important media laws aiming to ensure media pluralism and transparency of ownership. However, the Commissioner regrets that the implementation of these laws and other media-related issues are being discussed in a highly polarised and politicised context.” “While urging the authorities to refrain from any actions and statements which may have a…

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its regional organisation, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), today accused the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in Crimea of harassment and intimidation against independent media after journalist Natalya Kokorina (pictured on the left) was detained last Friday for six hours and denied access to legal assistance while her colleague Anna Andrievska (pictured on the right) is facing anti-state charges in relation to an article she wrote in 2014. The two journalists have worked at the news portal of the Crimean Centre for Investigative Journalism, in charge of providing journalistic training. After the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has today (16/03/2015) attended at the Press Club Brussels the presentation of a new report called Untold Stories – How Corruption and Conflicts of Interests Stalk the Newsroom published by the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN), a global coalition of 50 journalism and media support groups, including the EFJ. The EJN published report is gathering data and stories from distinguished journalists from 18 countries representative of different regions (Western Balkans, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Turkey, UK and Ukraine) that exposes how media managers are doing “deals” with advertisers to carry paid-for material disguised as news, how…

The European Federation of Journalists has sent a letter to the Minister of Information of Belarus demanding to abolish the provision in a media law forbiding freelance journalists from practicing journalism in the country. According to the Mass Media Law in Belarus, freelance journalists are banned from reporting in the country. The law only recognises employed journalists working for major media organisations in Belarus. Foreign journalists who are working in Belarus on assignments can also get press accreditations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus. The EFJ proposed to the government to organise a round table discussion with all…