UPDATE (31/10/2017) – On 30 October 2017, 64 senators from the ruling coalition (PSD-ALDE) voted the controversial draft law (16 senators voted against and 27 senators abstained). Alexandru Giboi, AGERPRES General Director, wrote in a press statement that the Romanian minister of Culture “Lucian Romascanu is preparing the dissolution of AGERPRES as an independent press agency”. ————————— The Romanian trade union of journalists MediaSind expressed its concerns about the new draft law intended to regulate the national news agency AGERPRES, to be discussed on 11 October 2017 by the Romanian Parliament. The new law foresees that any political majority could decide to dismiss…

Several journalists working in Hungary for foreign media outlets alerted the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) about the harassment they have been subjected to. The EFJ condemns those attacks and calls on the Hungarian authorities to stop harassing the journalists in question. “Propagandists”, “spokespeople”, “drug addict”: this is the kind of verbal attacks journalists reporting on Hungary’s campaign against George Soros have received, directly from the government or some pro-governmental media outlets. The EFJ recently submitted the following two cases on the Council of Europe platform for the safety of journalists. The Website 888.hu Publishes a List of Eight Journalists Described as…

The lack of protection of journalists’ authors rights in Spain undermines their living standards and journalism ethics. A delegation of the IFJ/EFJ authors’ rights expert group (AREG) members met in Madrid on 2-3 October in solidarity with Spanish affiliates (FES-CC.OO, FESP, FAPE, ELA) to develop a strategy to change Spanish intellectual property law for a better protection of journalists’ rights. The print sector was specifically targeted. To date, Spanish publications are considered as collective works and journalists cannot claim any recognition for their authors’ rights, either from a moral rights’ (right to integrity and paternity) or an economic rights’ (remuneration…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes Commissioner Jourova’s decision not to initiate  EU-wide legislation to fine internet companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Microsoft, for failing to take down hate speech. “We would like to see the laws we have in place offline enforced also online”, EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said on Thursday 28 September during a press conference. Instead, the Commission proposes a guidance to internet companies about how they improve their record by complying with a voluntary code of conduct created last year and so far adopted by Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. “Our key challenge now will…

Serbian weekly Vranjske novine will cease publishing, announced founder and editor-in-chief Vukasin Obradovic on 18 September. The paper claims it has been subject to intense political and economic pressures, including financial inspections allegedly aimed at compromising its finances. As a sign of protest, Obradovic had gone on hunger strike for a couple of days. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) stand in solidarity with Vukasin Obradovic and join their affiliates in Serbia in denouncing the oppression many media and journalists are currently experiencing in the country. According to the Independent Journalists’ Association (NUNS), Vranjske novine has been subjected to political and economic…

On 19 September 2017, the European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) have submitted the following case on the Council of Europe platform for the protection of journalism: On 2 September 2017, members of the far-right Autochthonous Croatian Party of Right (A-HSP) gathered in front of weekly Novosti’s office in central Zagreb and burned a copy of the magazine, which is published by the Serb National Council in Croatia. According to the Western Balkans Regional Platform for Advocacy of Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety, A-HSP accused Novosti journalists of spreading hate against Croatians and called on the Croatian government to…

A Montenegrin journalist working for Dan newspaper, Vladimir Otasevic, reported that the Prime Minister’s brother, Velizar Markovic, had threatened his safety during a phone call on Monday 11 September. In the conversation, Otasevic was asking for a phone number of the Prime Minister’s other brother when Markovic  insulted and verbally threatened him, saying that he shouldn’t be surprised if someone ends up dead at the end. An audio recording of the conversation was released by Dan on Tuesday. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today strongly condemned the death threats and backed its affiliate in Montenegro, the Trade Union Media…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) condemn the court’s decision to maintain the five Cumhuriyet journalists and media workers in pre-trial detention, after a 13-hour long hearing at Silivri prison, on 11 September 2017. The court ordered their detention despite clear demonstration by the defendants’ lawyers that the accusations of “without being a member of that organisation, spreading propaganda on behalf of an illegal terrorist organisation” were completely baseless. An international delegation including the EFJ-IFJ, IPI, PEN International, Norsk PEN, PEN Vlaanderen, RSF, foreign consulate representatives, foreign press correspondents and MEP Rebecca Harms has attended the hearing and shared solidarity…

The European and International Federations of Journalists welcome the release of two Azerbaijani journalists, Mehman Aliyev and Alexander Lapshin, on the 11th of September 2017. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev today pardoned Russian travel blogger Alexander Lapshing. He was arrested in Minsk in December 2016 and extradited to Azerbaijan, after the Supreme Court in Belarus decided to send him to Baku despite the objections from Moscow. Lapshin was accused of illegally visiting Nagorno-Karabakh, the disputed territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and calling for independence of the region. The second journalist, Mehman Aliyev, editor-in-chief of the Turan news agency, has been released today from pretrial detention, on condition that he…

A Special report on the status and cases of threats against journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) was published on Monday 28 August 2017 by the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman of BiH. The publication highlights the very bad employment status of journalists in the country, as well as the increase of violence, harassment and attacks against them. Some of the key findings highlighted in the report are: According to the BiH Journalists’ Association research, between 34% and 40% of journalists work in Bosnia and Herzegovina without adequate employment agreements, while those working with agreements are not sufficiently protected. Journalists…

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the European Federation of Journalist invite you to attend the event “Ever-changing & ever so urgent: The Future of Financing Journalism” to take place on 7 September in Brussels, from 12 to 14h. The media environment is becoming increasingly digital and mobile and more and more people consume news directly on social media. While the potential to reach a wide audience has never been higher, this fast-paced, algorithm-driven news reality can pose a challenge to financing quality and investigative journalism. When sensationalist – sometimes fake – news gain most ad revenue and shares, the incentive…

Update 25.04.2018: The Danish inventor Peter Madsen was given life sentence without parole for premeditated murder and sexual assault of Swedish journalist Kim Wall on 25 April 2018 in Copenhagen. Judge Anette Burkø said:“The court has been unanimous in coming to this result. This is a cynical and pre-planned sexual assault of a particularly brutal nature on a random women who, in connection with her journalistic work, accepted an invitation for a sailing trip on the accused’s submarine.” The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) today joined their Swedish affiliate, Swedish Journalists’ Union (SUJ), in expressing their sadness following the confirmation…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) in condemning the physical attack against investigative journalist Parim Olluri in Pristina on 16 August 2017. Parim Olluri, who is also the executive director of Insajderi.com portal, was attacked by three unknown men while he was going home with his partner around 10 at night. The attack happened in front of his apartment in Bajram Kelmendi street in Pristina. Olluri was beaten up causing light injuries. His partner was not harmed but lost consciousness as a result of the attack. Both were taken to the hospital for…

Adria Media Group (AMG), a major Serbian publishing house, announced on 1 August that it would cease publishing the Serbian edition of the popular US-owned Newsweek magazine. AMG’s National Bank of Serbia accounts were frozen by the Serbian government in early July, the group reported. AMG quoted the Tax Administration Office saying in a statement on 6 July that the blocking of AMG’s bank accounts was made “to secure the collection of public revenue for which the control process is in progress, as there is a risk that the taxpayer will hurt, disable or make it ineffective”.  Requests for further…

UPDATE (15/09): Loup Bureau was released on 15 September 2017 after 51 days in custody. French journalist Loup Bureau was arrested on Wednesday 2 August by the Turkish police following five days of detention in southeastern Sirnak province on the Iraqi-Turkish border. He is detained on charges of “assisting a terror organisation”. Loup Bureau, 27, is a freelance journalist who worked for Arte, TV5 Monde, Slate. French news agency AFP reported that his charges are related to a report he had done in 2013 with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria – considered by Ankara as a terrorist organisation…

The EFJ is closely following the proceedings that started on Monday 24 July in Istanbul against 17 prominent journalists, editors and board members of Cumhuriyet newspaper, including Can Dündar, Kadri Gürsel, Murat Sabuncu and Ahmet Şık. EFJ president Mogens Blicher Bjerregård participated in the court case on 24-25 July and met several journalists and EFJ affiliates. Below a personal account of his impressions: Press freedom must be protected, and not put on trial as it has happened this week in Istanbul with the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet. 17 journalists and executives are accused in a completely political and fabricated way for…