The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), as a partner of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), joined press freedom and freedom of expression organisations, journalists’ organisations, journalists and media workers to condemn threats against journalists in Northern Ireland. We, the undersigned, condemn the threats made by the South East Antrim Ulster Defence Association (UDA) against journalists at the Sunday Life and Sunday World in Northern Ireland. Early in the morning of 8 May, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) visited the homes of a number of journalists to warn them about credible threats, including threats of physical violence against their colleagues…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) co-signed, together with 25 organisations, a letter to the European Commission requesting to take action at the European level to address the threat of vexatious litigations against journalists, activists and trade unionists – also known as SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). The letter reads: “The incidence of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) is notable throughout the European Union. Shocking as the extent of documented suppression of public interest activity may be, we are acutely aware that we are only able to document the tip of the iceberg. Inequality of arms facilitates coercive…

The European and International Federations of journalists (EFJ/IFJ) strongly condemned the smear campaign taking place in the streets of Athens against four sport journalists and union members. Around 10 000 posters featuring photos and names of the four journalists were plastered in the early hours of the morning in the streets across Athens on 6 May. Insulting words against the journalists such as “slanderers“, “shameful for 10 euros“, “impostors” were printed on the posters. Three of the targeted journalists are members of Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers (JUADN), and IFJ/EFJ affiliate while the fourth is a member of the…

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners are concerned about the increased violence against media professionals at protests and demonstrations across EU Member States and Candidate Countries in the last months and call for increased protection. The recent violent attacks against media workers during demonstrations in Germany, three assaults in a few days, and similar threats witnessed across Europe, are establishing a worrying trend. The right to free assembly and association is a vital underpinning of a modern and pluralist democracy and has itself come under significant threat across Europe. However, threats against the press and media further weakens their ability…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) together with its affiliate in Sweden Journalistförbundet (SJF) strongly condemned the online smear campaign targeting Swedish cartoonist Mahmoud Abbas since 21 April 2020, following the publication of his cartoon. Cartoonist of Palestinian origin Mahmoud Abbas is residing in Sweden. He is a Swedish citizen. On 20 April 2020, his cartoon about the collapse of international oil prices went viral on Twitter in Saudi Arabia. It shows a person in a Gulf Arab dress and a rolling barrel of oil behind. The character was identified by the audience as crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the cartoon…

There are currently 905 lawsuits filed against journalists and media outlets in Croatia, with plaintiffs claiming almost HRK 68 million, according to the results of an annual survey conducted by the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) earlier this year and published on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (May 3rd). Out of the 23 surveyed media outlets, 18 have a pending lawsuit for publishing “violation of honour and reputation”. Most lawsuits are filed against Hanza media (Jutarnji list, Slobodna Dalmacija and Sportske novosti), with as many as 502, weighing an average of HRK 100,000. Styria (Večernji list and 24 sata)…

While many European governments use the Covid19 crisis to massively restrict media freedom, the report of a fact-finding mission to Scandinavia shows policies and approaches that can inspire change for the better. Representatives of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) visited Denmark and Sweden from 15 to 18 December 2019. They followed the questions: Why does Scandinavia regularly lead the rankings for media freedom? What can governments and media actors in other countries learn and adopt from this region? In summarising the report, ECPMF’s…

Originally published on journo.com Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS) has depicted a grim picture with a special report that was published on World Press Freedom Day. The report was authored by TGS legal and labor experts Ülkü Şahin, İlyas Coşkun and Beste Dönmez Gedik to record the press freedom violations in Turkey from April 2019 to April 2020. According to the report, which is 150-page-long with its annexes, 85 journalists are currently in Turkey’s prisons. Throughout the past year, Turkish courts ruled for a total prison sentence of 178 years in 166 legal cases against journalists. Meanwhile, 37 journalists were physically…

On this World Press Freedom Day, the undersigned organisations honour those who work tirelessly to help keep the public informed and call for robust support for independent journalism. Millions of people around the world are looking for reliable, fact-based, and gender-sensitive journalism that can help them navigate the biggest shared challenge of our lifetime. The need for trustworthy information has never been greater and more urgent than during this pandemic. Access to timely, high-quality information is imperative during a global health crisis; it is one of the key pillars required to slow the spread of this virus, mitigate its impacts,…

Launch of the 2020 Annual Report by the partner organisations to the Council of Europe Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists Attacks on press freedom in Europe are at serious risk of becoming a new normal, 14 international press freedom groups and journalists’ organisations, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), warn today as they launch the 2020 annual report of the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalists. The fresh assault on media freedom amid the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened an already gloomy outlook. The report analyses alerts submitted to the Platform…

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) has opened the 2020 call for its Journalists-in-Residence (JiR) programme for a period of up to six months, between June 2020 and February 2021. The programme is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), which works to provide swift and efficient support to journalists under threat. The JiR programme is unique as it provides a safe haven for media professionals from the European Union Member States and Candidate Countries who are at risk and need to take a break away from a hostile working environment. Journalists and other media professionals are given temporary shelter,…

The Covid–19 pandemic has brought the world to a lockdown and revealed just how important independent media and the free flow of information are at times like these. The crisis has unveiled the many factors that can converge to repress media freedom. A freedom that is already under fire from different directions, private and public alike. On the occasion of the 2020 World Press Freedom Day, the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) invite you to a virtual discussion on how to counter the abusive strategies used by governments to limit press freedom in the current Coronavirus pandemic. When: Monday 4 May at 18:30-20:00…

Media freedom organisations have united under the umbrella of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and made their first contribution to the urgent debate on Corona-virus. It is urgent because there is a state of emergency to safeguard public health. But some governments are abusing this situation in order to stifle critical questions and pursue their own political agendas. At a top-level online meeting the newly launched MFRR presented its findings on this critical issue to Věra Jourová, who is the Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency. The briefing of the Media Freedom Rapid Response In…

Journalists and media companies need ambitious packages to effectively face the devastating social and economic impact of the global COVID-19 crisis on the media sector. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) published on 8 April its proposals for recovery plans at the European and national levels (in English and French) and presented them to EU Commissioners Véra Jourová (DG Values and Transparency) and Thierry Breton (DG Internal Market). Journalists’ unions throughout Europe have followed with concrete measures to save journalism not only now, but also into the future. Croatia The different financial packages announced by the Croatian government have not…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), together with 23 journalists-, press freedom- and civil society organisations, has circulated joint recommendations to the European Commission and the European Parliament Civil Liberty’s (LIBE) Working Group on the Rule of Law, and other interested stakeholders. We believe the new European Rule of Law Mechanism needs strengthening in order to prevent breaches in the EU Member States. In July 2019, the European Commission announced the launch of the European Rule of Law Mechanism: a new policy process aiming to promote rule of law culture and prevent breaches in the European Union (EU), under the…

The Trade Union of Croatian Journalists (TUCJ) and the Croatian Journalists Association (CJA) urged in a letter the government “to save journalism” by taking financial compensation measures for the media sector. If nothing is done, mass layoffs will occur and media will shutdown, they warned. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliates in urgently requesting a media recovery plan. The government didn’t include the media sector in its financial relief packages intended to help the economic activity affected by the pandemic and the earthquake. “Job losses and pay cuts have already begun. They could eventually lead to a…