updated (04/08/2015): Latest on netzpolitik treason scandal: German Justice Minister Heiko Maas effectively sacks Federal Prosecutor Harald Range. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its European organisation, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), have today called on the German government to immediately drop the investigation launched against two journalists, Andre Meister and Markus Beckedahl, over suspicion of treason. Following widespread criticism of the decision, the German prosecutor General Harald Range said on Friday that he was suspending the investigation, pending external expertise, “for the good of press and media freedom”. However, the IFJ and the EFJ are demanding that charges be…

updated (04/08/2015): Latest on netzpolitik treason scandal: German Justice Minister Heiko Maas effectively sacks Federal Prosecutor Harald Range. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its European organisation, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), have today called on the German government to immediately drop the investigation launched against two journalists, Andre Meister and Markus Beckedahl, over suspicion of treason. Following widespread criticism of the decision, the German prosecutor General Harald Range said on Friday that he was suspending the investigation, pending external expertise, “for the good of press and media freedom”. However, the IFJ and the EFJ are demanding that charges be…

The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM or ZNM), EFJ-IFJ affiliate, has issued a letter of concern (27/07/2015) addressed to intergovernmental institutions and non-governmental organisations regarding recent attacks against journalists in Macedonia. “Violence against journalists in Macedonia has escalated and taken dramatic proportions in the last several months. The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), over the period of four years, has registered 23 threats and physical attacks against journalists, of which half occurred in the first six months of this year, and the perpetrators have not been punished yet. The verbal death threats, the physical attacks and the destruction…

Working as freelance journalists can be considered as a crime in Belarus. Since the beginning of this year, the Belarusian authority has filed 24 cases (see infographic below) against freelance journalists imposing fines for their works. In all the cases, the journalists are accused of violating article 22.9 of the administrative code (unlawful production and distribution of mass media products). According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), an affiliate of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the total sum of the fines imposed on journalists so far this year amounted to 117 million Belarusian rubles (over 6.000 EUR). The EFJ…

Alongside their Spanish affiliates, the Federation of Journalists Unions (FeSP), the Spanish Press Federations of Journalists Associations (FAPE) and Periodistas de CCOO (FSC-CCOO),  the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its regional organisation, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), express their concern over the missing of three Spanish freelance journalists in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria. FAPE President Elsa Gonzalez told media that José Manuel López, Antonio Pampliega and Ángel Sastre entered Syria from Turkey on July 10 and were last heard from on July 12. The three journalists were reporting from the northwestern Aleppo region, a city divided between rebel…

The UK’s High Court has ruled that parts of the controversial surveillance law, the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA), violated article 7 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the personal data protection laws. The EFJ affiliate in the UK, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), has long been campaigning against DRIPA to ensure that the right of journalists to protect their confidential sources is protected. On Friday 17 July, the High Court of Justice of England and Wales found that UK surveillance laws are incompatible with the European convention on human rights and the EU charter…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), in partnership with Index on Censorship and Reporters Without Borders, has today (22/07/2015) published a new call for a crowd-sourced approach to map all violations, threats and limitations to media freedom in Europe. The online newsletter available on bit.ly/mappingmediafreedom1 is explaining step by step how to easily report the violations and use the mapping tool for advocacy. Correction for submission link (31/07/2015): https://mappingmediafreedom.org/reports/submit

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is calling today (20/07/2015) the EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini to raise the case of the Moroccan journalist Ali Lmrabet during her first visit to Morrocco on July 21 where she will hold meetings with government officials, members of Parliament and civil society. Mrs Mogherini, who is also the vice-president of the EU Commission, will discuss the EU-Morocco partnership and other areas of mutual cooperation related to trade, migration, security and climate change issues. “As the representative voice of European journalists, the EFJ is asking the EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs…

In Portugal the EFJ affiliate, the Sindicato dos Jornalistas‘s newly elected board initiated a freelance campaign starting with a survey about the situation of freelance journalists in Portugal, something which had not been conducted since 2001. In Portugal, trade unions still regard freelances as a new and sometimes unaccepted work form. The union had asked its members registered as freelancers (almost 10% of the total membership) to answer an online questionnaire. The main results which were recently discussed within the membership (see picture above), are the following: Age: average age is 41; Gender: 61.3% are men; 38;7% are female Employment…

The UK government is planning to introduce anti-trade union laws that will restrict strikes and hamper the basic human rights of workers, says the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), an EFJ affliate in the UK. According to the NUJ, the proposed bill aimed at curtailing trade union activity would impose a minimum 50% turnout in strike ballots, with public sector unions requiring at least 40% of those eligible to vote. Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary said: “Forget the language of fairness and rights being peddled by the Tories – this is the most cynical of attacks designed to finish what…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) strongly condemn the attack on journalist Sashe Ivanovski by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mr Vladimir Peshevski, on 15 July. The EFJ demands the Macedonian authorities to bring the attacker to justice. Ivanovski is a journalist working for an online portal. According to media reports, Ivanovski was attacked while he was questioning Mr. Peshevski on a recent wiretapping scandal in Macedonia. The attack was recorded and widely reported in the media in Macedonia. The EFJ says, “Such behaviours towards journalists are utterly unacceptable. Violence against journalists…

The International and European Federation of Journalists has published the second edition of its special bulletin called Set Journalism Free in Turkey. The bulletin details the agenda of the upcoming International Conference on Press Freedom and Labour Rights to be held mid-September in Istanbul, a summary of actions run by our affiliate TGS and the latest news about the international campaign on Set Journalism Free in Turkey. See the special edition HERE More information is available on our campaign page

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to assess current EU law on audiovisual media (Audiovisual Media Services Directive 2010/13/EU – AVMSD) to check if the current legislation is up-to-date for media in the digital era. According to the Commission’s communications, the consultation focuses on the following key topics: providing rules to shape technological developments creating a level playing field for emerging audiovisual media preserving cultural diversity protecting children and consumers safeguarding media pluralism combating racial and religious hatred guaranteeing the independence of national media regulators. During the review, stakeholders will be asked how effective the current law in…

As the media industry grows more freelances, so the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the UK and Ireland is trying to ascertain how to attract freelances into membership. The main question is: What services and benefits could the union offer to freelances that are not covered in our ’10 Reasons’ leaflet ? As everyone agrees, the priority for freelances in the current climate is to find work – work that pays! One of our members has suggested a Freelance Salon, an event with speakers who will discuss how to go beyond the traditional pitch to editors and navigate new…

The European Parliament’s initiative report  to make proposal to reform EU copyright/authors’ rights law fails to improve the contractual position of authors and performers. The report adopted in the plenary session yesterday in Strasbourg was drafted by German Eurodeputy Julia Reda and is the result of months of lobbying and heated debates in the hemicycle. The adopted text makes a number of proposals to amend authors’ rights legislation in the EU as a contribution to the European Commission’s upcoming revision package on authors’ rights to be issued by the end of 2015. While the adopted text makes a specific call…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today expresses its sadness and condolences for the loss of a great colleague, Mr. Santo Della Volpe, President of the Journalists’ Union of Italy (FNSI – Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana) who passed away early this morning at the age of 60. Della Volpe was elected as the President of the FNSI this January at its national Congress in Chianciano. He was a well-known TV journalist for the public channel of RAI, TG3. Della Volpe was also the founding member and Vice-President of the press freedom organisation “Article 21” in Italy. Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, EFJ…