MFRR condemns ‘absurd’ €10 million lawsuit against L’Espresso magazine by sacked Vatican Cardinal

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) to express serious concern over the €10 million euro lawsuit launched against Italian news magazine L’Espresso by a former Vatican Cardinal over its reporting on his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal involving the use of Holy See funds. The lawsuit hinges on a report L’Espresso published on 24 September 2020 which broke the news that investigations by the Italian Finance Police had implicated the cardinal in the embezzlement of €100,000 of Vatican money to a charity organisation controlled by his brother in the Cardinal…

Violence against journalists intensifies in Russia

UPDATE 02/02/2021: Supporters of Alexei Navalny rallied in Moscow and St. Petersburg after a court sentenced the Kremlin critic to prison, on 2 February. Police detained 23 journalists, mainly in Moscow. —————————– The Russian Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU) and the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) recorded on 31 January at least 120 cases of detention, obstruction and violence against journalists while covering protests in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Russia. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) call on the Russian authorities to stop intimidating journalists and let them do their job. On…