The EFJ together with its Austrian and German members GPA-djp and Deutscher Journalisten-Verband (DJV) declare their solidarity with the presenter of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) Armin Wolf, who has been under massive hostility from politicians and supporters of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) for days. The FPÖ is a member of the Austrian government. The trigger was a live interview on ORF 2 on 23 April with FPÖ Secretary General Harald Vilimsky. He was invited as a candidate to the european parliament elections. Wolf compared a cartoon on a FPÖ election poster to one showing a…

Journalist Lyra McKee was shot dead while she was covering the riots at the Creggan housing estate in the city of Londonderry (Derry), Northern Ireland, on Thursday night 19 April. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) join their affiliate the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the UK and Ireland in condemning this killing and call on a full investigation into her death. A former Belfast Telegraph journalist and a NUJ member, Lyra McKee, 29, was a freelancer and a novelist. The riots took place in the run-up to the Easter weekend, which…

 Johanna Vehkoo, a Finnish journalist, has been found guilty of defaming local city counselor Junes Lokka by referring to him as a racist and ‘nazi clown’ in a 2016 Facebook post. The politician is known as an anti-immigration activist with a history of making far-right extreme pronouncements, for which he was fined. Vehkoo  has written extensively about ‘fake’ news, hate speech and the problems they pose for journalism. The court found that Vehkoo’s comments on her Facebook page constituted a personal attack on Lokka and that she did not focus her criticism on his politics.  She was ordered to pay…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IJF) today expressed serious concerns over the new Russian law on “fake” news and the “lack of respect for the state, the authorities, and society”, warning it is likely to have a chilling effect on freedom of expression in the country. The EFJ and IFJ urge the Russian authorities to review the legislation which came into force on 18 March and to give greater consideration to representation of the Union of Journalists of Russia (RUJ), an EFJ-IFJ affiliate. Under this law, the “flagrant” disrespect for the state, public authorities, official symbols and society…

Following calls for anti-government protests at the Serbian private TV Pink offices, the  European and International Federation of Journalists (EFJ and IFJ) today joined their Serbian affiliates NUNS, UNS and SINOS in urging protesters to refrain from all forms of violence against journalists and appealing to all stakeholders to ensure journalists’ safety and the protection of the media’s property. In statement signed by eight media organisation, including three IFJ and EFJ affiliates NUNS, UNS and SINOS said that citizens have the right to express their dissatisfaction with the social or political situation in the country through peaceful actions, including protests…

After lawyer and civil rights activist Zuzana Čaputová was elected as Slovakia’s first female president on 30 March 2019, EFJ and several freedom of expression organisations joined the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) to send her a letter, drawing attention to the press and media freedom situation in the country.     To: Ms Zuzana Čaputová 2 April 2019 Dear President-elect Čaputová, Congratulations for winning the presidential election in Slovakia on 30 March 2019.  Your victory marks a strong demand of the Slovak people for change, for true democracy under the rule of law – one year…