Kurdish journalist Pehiran Kaya, who found refuge in Switzerland, is facing deportation to Croatia as her asylum request has been rejected twice. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Swiss affiliate impressum and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in asking the Federal Supreme Court (BVGer) to refrain from deporting the journalist, who faces imprisonment in Turkey. Pehiran Kaya risks deportation to Croatia, the first country through which she travelled when fleeing Turkey. Going back to Croatia would be extremely dangerous for the politically prosecuted journalist, who had been detained for two days there, where she was subjected to inhumane treatments similar to torture by Croatian…

21 May marked the Day of the Political Prisoner in Belarus. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned organisations in reiterating our condemnation of the Lukashenko regime’s ruthless crackdown on civil society and independent media. We continue to stand in solidarity with courageous Belarusians who persist in their fight for freedom. The international community will keep demanding the unconditional release of all political prisoners. In the shadow of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the Belarusian authorities have doubled down on the repression of dissenting voices. The judicial harassment of journalists, artists, activists and anyone who dares to claim…

Following today’s acquittal of the suspected mastermind in the killing of Slovak journalist Ján Kuciak, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned international media freedom organisations in expressing our profound disappointment, renewing our calls for justice and conveying our steadfast solidarity with the families of Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová. This acquittal of businessman Marian Kočner, which was announced earlier today following a retrial at the Specialized Criminal Court, represents another devastating blow to the fight for full justice for Ján and Martina’s killing. The judges voted 2:1 to find Kočner not guilty of ordering the…

In the context of the project Local Media For Democracy, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) interviewed Clare Cook, Media Adviser and Business Viability at International Media Support (IMS), the largest media development organisation in the Nordic region. Clare has talked to us about the work of IMS, a partner of the project, alongside the Center For Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and JournalismFund Europe. She touched upon the topics of digital natives, community and independent media, and the challenges faced by those outlets, especially in news desert areas in Europe. According to the Center for Media Pluralism and…

A new CEO, Roberto Sergio, has been appointed at the Italian public broadcaster RAI on 15 May 2022, following the resignation of Carlo Fuortes and various political pressure on journalists. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Italian affiliates, the FNSI and USIGRai, in denouncing a political takeover of RAI, which seriously endangers the public broadcaster’s independence. On Monday 8 May, the head of Italy’s public broadcasting group RAI, Carlo Fuortes, appointed by the previous government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, announced his resignation. Fuortes justified his departure by saying that he was being pressured by his supervisory authorities.…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) held its Annual Meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, on 11-12 May 2023. Organised by the Dutch journalists’ union NVJ, the event gathered 62 delegates from 41 journalists’ organisations from all over Europe joining forces to defend media freedom and the working conditions of journalists. As every year, decisions were taken on the budget, the EFJ work programme (see here the 18 resolutions and 5 statements adopted on national and European issues), the financial and activity reports. But the Annual Meeting is also an opportunity to provide a space for discussion to journalists’ trade unions…

Speech by Maja Sever (EFJ President) on 11 May 2023. Thank you for your kind words of support, welcome, and hospitality. My dear friends and colleagues, Unfortunately, our journalistic work has become such that, despite the pleasure of meeting and the hope that we will discuss and work successfully to strengthen journalism during these two days, I have to start with some sad news from Ukraine. One of us is gone; our college Arman Soldin, a 32-year-old French journalist born in Sarajevo, was killed while reporting in the war zone of eastern Ukraine. I invite you to pay tribute to Arman…

Journalist Arman Soldin was killed on 9 May 2023 in the afternoon in a shelling attack near Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine. The 32- year- old was working for the news agency Agence France Presse (AFP). The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) join their affiliates in Ukraine and France in expressing their condolences to Soldin’s relatives, colleagues and friends. The attack happened at around 4:30 pm on the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, a town close to Bakhmut, the epicentre of the fighting in eastern Ukraine for several months. Four AFP colleagues and a group of Ukrainian military personnel survived the attack uninjured.…