UPDATE 05.11.2016 – The Turkish court sent this morning 9 executives and columnists of Cumhuriyet newspaper to prison : Murat Sabuncu, Kadri Gürsel, Musa Kart, GürayÖz, Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Turhan Günay, Hakan Kara, Önder Çelik and Bülent Utku. All 9 @cumhuriyetgzt journos jailed in #Turkey We denounce these political decision with strong indignation #FreeTurkeyJournos #FreeKadri — Erol Önderoglu (@ErolOnderoglu) November 5, 2016 The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) today condemned the new wave of media repression by Turkish authorities following the detention of Murat Sabuncu, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Cumhuriyet, arrested this morning together with 15 other media staff of the newspaper. They are accused of assisting the so-called Fethullahist…

On 27 October, the president of the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA), Saša Leković, escaped a serious road accident after his car appeared to have been tempered with. He was driving on a motorway when his car started shaking and swerving. He was able to stop the car and found out that the right front wheel was twisted and two screws were half-sawed. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) denounces this apparent criminal act and joins its affiliate, the CJA, in calling on to the authorities to investigate and adequately respond to the incident . This event follows many threats against CJA president and other CJA members and…

The Turkish government issued on Saturday 29 October a decree shutting down 15 Kurdish media outlets: 11 newspapers, two news agencies and three magazines. The latest closures bring the number of media outlets shut down under state of emergency in Turkey to 168. The Turkish government declared a state of emergency on 20 July, following the failed coup attempt on 15 July. This situation allows the government to close any media organization by issuing a cabinet decree. Here is the list of media outlets targeted by the decree issued on Saturday: Newspapers: Özgür Gündem, Azadiya Welat, Batman Çağdaş , Cizre Postası…

The International and European Federations of Journalists today called on the authorities in Kosovo to guarantee effective protection of journalist Leonard Kerquki who has received threats. Leonard Kerquki, editor-in-chief of online portal Gazeta Express in Kosovo, has been receiving death threats after his report on war crimes during the conflict between Kosovo and Serbia was premiered on the website on 23 October. The documentary he directed addresses a sensitive aspect of the Kosovo war: the war crimes of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) against Serbian and Bosniak minorities. Leonard Kerquki began receiving threats on Monday 24 October 2016 on the…

In the past years, the media industry has undergone drastic changes due to the emergence of new technologies in the way news are produced and consumed as well as the structural changes driven by the economic crisis. Journalists’ organisations themselves also undergo changes to renew their commitment and strategies to counter new challenges. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) launched a handbook within the framework of a project, ‘‘Rights and Jobs in Journalism: Building Strong Unions in Europe’’, showcasing best practices of journalists’ organisations undertaken to tackle new challenges. The handbook was launched in a final conference held in Zagreb…

Enforcing labour rights and improving working conditions for journalists remain challenging in South East Europe and Turkey, as concluded in the Labour Rights Expert Group meeting of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) on 26 October in Zagreb. The meeting is partly funded by the UNESCO as part of the project “Building trust in the media in South East Europe and Turkey” that enables labour rights experts from the region to exchange views with their colleagues. Erisa Zykaj, journalist and representative from the Association of Professional Journalists of Albania (APJA) said that the enforcement of labour rights is yet to…

More solidarity among journalists is needed to improve the rights of freelancers working in conflict zones and to support the work of local journalists on the ground, agreed the participants of the workshop “Interpreting crisis: Reporting on Migration, Asylum Seekers and Syrian conflict”. The event took place on 24 October 2016 at the IFJ-EFJ headquarters in Brussels and was co-organised by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the Finnish Institute in London, the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux, Felm and MDI. The participants were concerned that the leading newspapers are not sending their own correspondents, not even using reports…

After a break of two years, Turkey once again has become “world’s biggest journalist-prison” and ranked low in press freedom and transparency on international indices. The State of Emergency (OHAL) declared following the coup attempt on July 15, and the Statutory Decrees (KHK) issued within the State of Emergency have brought various unlawful and excessive practices like closures, detentions and arrests among members of the Gülen Community and the Kurdish Media. Click to see the infographic The Government has often been criticized for “becoming distant from its goals of democracy” and “using the State of Emergency to speed up its…

Ninety journalists are currently in jail in Turkey for doing their job. Critical voices must not be silenced!  Today, on Friday 21, world journalists will sponsor journalists in jail in Turkey in a show of solidarity. Take action! How? Pick the name of a journalist jailed in Turkey from the list below, add the name of the journalist on an A4 paper, take a picture of yourself holding the sign and post it on social media #FreeThemAll Sign the petition. It will automatically send an email to President Erdogan via his spokesperson   This work can be done anytime throughout the…