The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ and IFJ) have today condemned the sentencing of two prominent Turkish journalists to two years behind bars for illustrating their columns with a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed published by French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. Journalists Ceyda Karan and Hikmet Çetinkaya, from the independent Cumhuriyet daily, were sentenced to two years each in jail by an Istanbul criminal court today. They went on trial in January last year on charges of “inciting public hatred” and “insulting religious values” after illustrating their columns with the controversial cartoon. Bulent Utku, lawyer for Hikmet Çetinkaya and…

Ukrainian freelancer Mikola Semena was today summoned for questioning in Crimea following charges of making calls to separatism and undermining Russia’s territorial integrity. If found guilty, he could face five years in prison. The International and European Federations of Journalists join their Ukrainian affiliates, the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU) and the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), in urging the Russian authorities to drop the unfounded charges against Semena. On 19 April, the Federal Security Service (FSB) agents in the region of Crimea raided and searched the house of Semena, confiscated his reporting equipment and briefly detained…

The General Meeting of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) on 25 & 26 April, 2016 adopted a series of resolutions and statements.   Download  Resolutions Resolutions 2016 by European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) Statements Statements 2016 Sarajevos by European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has elected its new Steering Committee for 2016-2019 during its General Meeting in Sarajevo on 25 and 26 of April.   PRESIDENT       Mogens BLICHER BJERREGARD Danish Journalists’ Union (DJ), Denmark  VICE-PRESIDENT     Nadezda AZGIKHINA Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ), Russia SC MEMBERS John BARSBY National Union of Journalists (NUJ), United Kingdom   Andreas BITTNER  German Federation of Journalists (DJV), Germany   Marijana CAMOVIC  Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM), Montenegro Anna DEL FREO  Italian National Press Federation (FNSI), Italy Yannis KOTSIFOS  Journalists’ Union of Macedonia and Thrace Daily Newspapers (ESIEMTH), Greece…

How can Public Service Media contribute in a positive way to the refugee crisis? This was the question asked by Nicola Frank, European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Head of European affairs, during the discussion organised by the EBU yesterday (April 27), where the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) was invited. Information for and about refugees are two sides of the same coin: on the one hand, newcomers need to have access of basic information when arriving in a host country. On the other hand, local residents need to better understand the stories of these refugees. Informing both sides is essential for social cohesion and…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today in its General Meeting in Sarajevo strongly supports the Journalists Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which has been a member of EFJ since last year, in its battle to raise professional standards and to strengthen the solidarity between the journalists both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and across Europe. It is inadmissible and of utmost concern that attacks against journalists stay unpunished. EFJ calls upon competent authorities in BiH to urgently investigate these cases and process them. The EFJ supports its colleagues from the BiH Journalists Association in their fight to protect the…

Speech by Mogens Blicher Bjerregård (EFJ President) Ladies and Gentlemen – distinguished delegates, observers and guests! International solidarity among journalist unions and association is of huge importance as cross border activities in Europe are constantly increasing. Being in Sarajevo listening yesterday at the pre-meeting to the challenges and encouragement you have in Bosnia & Hercegovina, the Balkans, The South Eastern Europe, there is an inspiration of hope. You have the severe problems in collective bargaining, in getting journalists to understand at all, that they have rights, but it is impressive to understand how meet this. After several conferences in this region of…

The safety of journalists remains the main threat to media freedom in the OSCE region, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović said today during her visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. During her visit, Mijatović also participated in the European Federation of Journalists’ General Meeting held in Sarajevo and delivered the keynote speech at the event. “Any rational discussion about the state of media freedom must begin with an analysis of the state of the safety of journalists,” Mijatović told some 100 delegates from journalist federations from across Europe. “It is unacceptable that journalists every day are…

The EFJ newsletter, EFJ Focus, is available in English and in French.   EDITORIAL Building stronger unions and quality journalism No one will doubt the importance of high quality journalism in a democratic society especially with recent revelations from the investigative reporting of the ‘‘Panama Papers’’ and ‘‘LuxLeaks’’. The revelations reaffirm that independent and quality journalism is a prerequisite and a fundamental pillar for democracy. This is why we need investment in journalism in order to allow journalists to do their job in an environment media freedom, decent working conditions and authors’ rights are respected. This will be the main topic…