On 1st October, the Source Protection Act in Criminal Cases has finally become effective in the Netherlands. The law provides strengthened protection for the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, which have been recognised in several cases as an essential part of freedom of expression by the European Court of Human Rights. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its Dutch affiliate the NVJ in welcoming the law, defined by NVJ General Secretary Thomas Bruning as “necessary to the correct functioning of journalism”. With the Source Protection Act, there will always be a preliminary consideration by a judge before the police can have access to the sources data…

The European Federation of Journalists and its Italian affiliate FNSI will join a group of international press freedom and freedom of expression organisations from October 15-17 on a mission to Malta. The group will support local civil society actions marking the one-year anniversary of the death of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, and conduct fact-finding into the case and broader press freedom issues in the country. The group has requested meetings with government officials, including Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, as well as a wide range of civil society stakeholders. The EFJ will be represented by Anna Del Freo (FNSI), member…