The European Court of Human Rights released a judgement on 17 July, stating that the investigation of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya‘s murder “failed to look properly into who commissioned the crime”. The Court decided that the Russian government violated the Article 2 (right to life) of the European Convention on Human Rights and therefore, is due to pay 20,000 euros. The case was brought to the court by the family of the journalist, who was murdered in 2006. The press release of the European Court of Human Rights states: The Court found in particular that while the authorities had found and…

While the European Union is currently discussing the details to better protect whistleblowers at the EU level, Kosovo steps out introducing one of the most advanced laws in Europe to protect whistleblowers. Government of Kosovo has passed the draft law to the General Assembly for adoption on 14 June this year. The General Assembly will be voting on adoption in autumn this year. Being one of the top countries in struggle against corruption, as reported by the Freedom House, the aim of this legislation is to safeguard the possibility to inform and report wrongdoings inside the companies while ensuring the possibility to…

The European and International Federation of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) joined their Spanish affiliates in condemning the physical attack against photojournalist Jordi Borrás on 16 July after his coverage of a political event in Barcelona. Both Federations demand an immediate investigation on the attack and hold the aggressor accountable. According to the Federación de Sindicatos de Periodistas (FeSP) statement, the photojournalist, working for the newspaper El Món, was walking through Barcelona’s city center after a political event, when a man recognised him and approached him shouting “viva Franco” and “viva España”. Then, the man assaulted the photojournalist and punched him in the face. Borrás…