Jörg Reichel, the regional manager of the German Journalists’ Union, dju in ver.di, was brutally attacked during “Querdenker” demonstrations against the Covid-19 measures in Berlin on Sunday 1 August. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its German affiliates dju in ver.di and the German Journalists’ Association (DJV), in expressing solidarity with its member and calling on the authorities to conduct a swift investigation to hold the attackers to account. On 1 August 2021, an unauthorised Querdenker demonstration took place in Berlin. Thousands of demonstrators marched through the city, leading to numerous clashes with the police and about 600 arrests. Journalists were…

The Ivanovo District Court in Belarus has delivered today its verdict in the case of Sergei Gordievich, a journalist with the website 1reg.by. He was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for “insulting Lukashenko” and “defaming police officers”. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemns this wrongful conviction in the context of a new wave of repression of journalists and independent media in Belarus. Sergei Gordievich, a correspondent for the website 1reg.by, was accused of insulting and slandering the illegitimate president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, as well as insulting two police officers in a discussion on the…