The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has joined calls to repeal the decision to cut funding for the Slovenia Press Agency (STA) in a row over its alleged failure to respond to what media freedom campaigners describe as reckless and unlawful information requests. The Slovenian government confirmed on 30 November a decision by its communication office (UKOM) to cut STA monthly funds for October for allegedly failing to answer information requests related to its editorial content. The EFJ joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliates, the Slovenian Journalists’ Association (DNS) and the Slovenian Union of Journalists (SUJ)…

The undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), today raise serious concerns over the recent decision by the Government Communication Office (UKOM) in Slovenia to suspend financing of the country’s press agency. We believe the move to temporarily halt funding from the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) will seriously jeopardise its ability to keep citizens informed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and is the latest example of a wider effort by the current administration to undermine and stigmatise the country’s public service media. On November 30, UKOM director Uroš Urbanija communicated to…

Police prevented the work of journalists and attempted to detain the cameraman Hayk Sukiasyan of Yerkir Media TV during a protest in Yerevan, on 1 December. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliate, the Union of Journalists of Armenia (UJA), in strongly condemning these incidents and urges the authorities to investigate the case. Gegham Manukyan, director of the TV station’s political and media programs, said that the police had arrested Sukiasyan and put him in the car by force before being released shortly after. During the scuffle, a camera belonging to Yerkir Media was broken. A policeman said…