Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), together with ITUC and DISK trade union leaders, went to Istanbul prison to show solidarity with Can Dündar and Erdem Gül, two journalists and trade unionists who are in jail accused of being spies and enemies of the state for having published articles about weapon trafficking to Syria by the Turkish secret services. European and International trade unions demand the immediate release of the journalists. “We are here to show solidarity with Turkish journalists. The Turkish authorities and President are neglecting fundamental rights and freedoms, such as right of…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have today condemned the attacks on February 11, 2016 with bombs and guns against pro-governmental Turkish daily newspapers Yeni Safak and Yeni Akit. According to media reports, a group of unidentified 3 or 4 masked persons have carried out an attack with Molotov cocktails and guns at 5:00 am against the headquarters of Yeni Safak daily newspaper in Istanbul. At around 5:30 am, the building of Yeni Akit newspaper in Istanbul have experienced the same type of attack with molotov cocktails thrown at the parking area. No…

Journalists across Greece stopped broadcasting on 11 February from 18:00 until 01:00 in a protest against government plan to reduce the number of TV licences in Greece to only four national commercials broadcasters. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) and its Greek affiliates (JUADN, PFJU, ESPIT and ESIEMTH) demand the Greek government to withdraw immediately the proposal and guarantee media pluralism and transparency in media ownership. According to the draft law voted on 11 February, the number of TV licences issued to commercial broadcasters will be limited to four. The independent authority (National Broadcasting Council ESR) will be  bypassed and the power to grant…