A mission to Serbia by the Ethical Journalism Network and the European Federation of Journalists this month has called for urgent action to strengthen journalism and independent media across the country. Aidan White, EJN Director, and EFJ Project Officer Mehmet Koksal talked with media leaders and journalism support groups during their visit on September 16-17. They found that problems of political bias, lack of transparency in ownership, manipulated state funding for favoured media, and a desperately weak economic situation all contribute to a deeply flawed media system. “The media crisis cannot be allowed to get worse,” said White. “It poisons…

update : Eutelsat has removed the signal of the Kurdish television as of 03/10/2016 at  10:00 The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has learn today (30/09/2016) that Eutelsat SA, the French satellite provider hosting over 6000 televisions channels, is planning “to remove immediately”  Med Nuçe TV, a Kurdish language television broadcasting from Belgium, from its transponder because “the content is not in line with public order directives of the term’s between us as well as with the laws which regulate TV distribution in Europe and surrounding countries”. According to EFJ sources, Eutelsat SA has received pressure from RTÜK (Turkish Radio Television Supreme Council)…

Update on 04.10.2016: Turkish authorities cut the signal of IMC TV, sealed the building of Hayatin Sesi TV, raided the office of Özgür Radyo and detained journalists / media workers. Update on 30.09.2016, IMC TV was added to the list of banned TV channels. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) have today (29/09/2016) backed its affiliates TGS and TGC in condemning the removal of at least 11 TV channels in Turkey including IMC TV, Hayatın Sesi, Azadi TV, Jiyan TV, Van TV, TV 10, Denge TV and Zarok TV from the national satellite platform TÜRKSAT. According to media reports, the administrative decision…

As well as launching new guidelines for migration coverage at the Jakarta World Forum for Media Development, the EJN co-hosted a session about online regulation which looked into ways journalists and others can define, identify and respond to hate speech. Today, the EJN is happy to announce that our 5–point test for hate speech is now available in seven new languages, including Albanian, Dutch, Indonesian, Macedonian, Serbian, Turkish, Ukrainian. The test is already available in Arabic, English and French. The 5-point test and its translations are supported by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ).

This morning (21/09/2016), the Caglayan Court of Justice in Istanbul heard 5 different prosecution cases against journalists. The EFJ-IFJ and its affiliates TGS (Journalists Union of Turkey), DISK-Basin-Is (Journalists Union of Turkey from DISK) and TGC (Journalists Association of Turkey) have been able to observe the following cases : the appeal in the MIT Trucks case where journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül  working for Cumhuriyet newspaper who were sentenced to 5 years in jail for revealing state secrets and arms trafficking between Turkish intelligence services (MIT) and Syrian armed rebel groups. The hearing was held in secret but this did not…

The attempted coup of July 15 and its harsh impact on Turkish media and journalists. An editorial by Bulent Mumay, of one of the journalists arrested in those days and later released, published by our partner Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso “Son of a bitch! Bastard, traitor!”. “Dishonored! So you’re a traitor? You should be beaten up…”. “Shut up!”. “Son of a bitch! You are going to pay for this!”. Such an endearing banter, although not too original, could belong in a fight between teenagers or delirious hooligans during a game. Neither is true, though – these are hateful messages posted on…

Journalists and media workers from South East Europe and Turkey are able to share best practices, illuminate present challenges in labour rights and benefit from legal expertise after joining European Labour Rights Experts Group. “If journalists’ working conditions are poor, how can media be the driver for sustainable and peaceful development in the region? By promoting these exchanges, UNESCO and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) aim for a collective upgrade of media professionals’ rights, for the benefit of publics and democracy,” commented Mehmet Koksal, project officer from EFJ. Under the EU-funded project “Building Trust in media in South East…

From 31 August to 2 September, an international delegation of civil society organisations visited Istanbul to demonstrate solidarity with writers, journalists and media outlets in Turkey. The failed coup of 15 July, in which at least 265 people were killed, has traumatised the Turkish population and the government must bring those responsible for the violence to account. However, this must be done on the basis of specific, individual evidence of involvement in a crime and with full respect for international standards on the right to freedom of expression, the right to liberty and security and the right to a fair…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is backing the urgent call of his affiliates in Turkey (TGS & TGC) demanding the immediate release of Turkish journalists Cemil Ugur and Halil Ibrahim Polat detained since end-August 2016 at the province of Mersin (Turkey) while reporting for the daily newspaper Evrensel.   According to their lawyer, both journalists still in detention under the state of emergency “are exposed to insults and threats in prison” and the local police refuse to give further details about their situation. The EFJ and its affiliates are strongly concerned about the situation of journalists, the length of their detention and the alleged threats…

On 2 September, the first hearing will take place in a trial concerning three former senior editors of Taraf daily newspaper, Ahmet Altan, Yasemin Çongar and Yildiray Oğur; and two journalists, Mehmet Baransu and Tuncay Opçin. The undersigned organisations believe the trial to be politically motivated and call on the government to drop all charges against the accused and to immediately and unconditionally release Mehmet Baransu, who has been held in pre-trial detention since his arrest on 2 March 2015. The charges pre-date the 15 July coup attempt, which the undersigned organisations also condemned; however, this is a trial of…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and 9 other partner organisations have been on awarded on 19/08/2016 Turkey’s Press Freedom Award given by an independent jury under the auspice of the Turkish Association of Journalist (TGC). The prize wants to thank the international coalition for their involvement in emergency press freedom missions of 2015 in between the two elections in Turkey. Mr Kadri Gürsel, journalist and IPI’s Turkish National Committee chairman, received the prestigious prize on behalf of the international coalition. The EFJ warmly thanks the jury for this meaningful collective award and look forward to continue its work and…

Updated (19.08.2016): 22 journalists detained in Özgur Gündem raid have been released. Özgur Gündem is the latest opposition newspaper in Turkey to be forcibly shut down following the crackdown on media in the wake of a failed coup. A court in Istanbul ordered the closure of the pro-Kurdish newspaper on Tuesday for spreading alleged propaganda on behalf of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The move comes as Can Dündar, editor in chief of another opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, resigned from his position, claiming he would live abroad after having been condemned to 5 years in prison for allegedly divulging state secrets.…

Charges of acquiring and divulging state secrets, membership of, and administration of a terrorist organisation brought against five journalists, including four former members of Taraf newspaper’s editorial and investigative staff, must be dropped and one of the accused, Mehmet Baransu, must be released immediately and unconditionally,the European Federation of Journalists,the International Federation of Journalists, PEN International, English PEN, German PEN, Swedish PEN, PEN America, Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists,, the Ethical Journalism Network, IFEX, Index on Censorship, Global Editors Network and Reporters Without Borders said in a joint statement today (14/07/2016). “These charges are a clear infringement of the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) supports the I am a journalist  #Bengazeteciyim campaign launched by journalists and media freedom advocates from Turkey.  European journalists stand in solidarity with their colleagues in Turkey who fiercely continue their job despite facing relentless attacks and attempts to silence them. The support is also extented to the 34 journalists and media workers in jail and to those facing arrest as retaliation for their exercise of their right to freedom of expression and freedom to inform. I am a journalist! Journalism is not a crime. In Turkey, oppression of the press is getting worse by the day.…

Suspended jail sentences for whistleblowers (12 months and 1.500 EUR penalty for Antoine Deltour and 9 months and 1.000 EUR penalty for Raphaël Halet) and acquittal for the investigative journalist (Edouard Perrin), that’s the verdict of Luxembourg court in the LuxLeaks case. Judges in Luxembourg delivered today (29/06/2016) a verdict in LuxLeaks case related to the prosecution of two whistleblowers and a journalist for disclosing confidential documents from auditing firm PwC that showed how 340 multinational companies used secret tax deals to avoid paying into the public coffers. A European Parliament’s study estimates that EU countries lose 50 billion to 70 billion EUR in tax…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) have alerted the Council of Europe about new worrying threats in Belgium against the protection of journalistic sources and the status of journalists. The Minister of Justice of Belgium, Koen Geens, announced his intention to increase sentences for violation of professional secrecy, which would permit wiretapping or computer tracing of journalists’ sources. According to media reports, the Minister also has plans to allow intelligence services to “withdraw the protection linked to the status of professional journalist” if these services consider that the beneficiary of that legal status in Belgium is not really a…