Belarusian riot police detained dozens of protesters in several cities on Sunday as thousands rallied for the ninth consecutive Sunday rally against the fraudulent election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. At least 40 journalists were detained in Belarus on Sunday. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) demands sanctions against those who try to censor mass protests by arresting journalists. According to the reports of the Belarusain Association of Journalists (BAJ), the EFJ affiliate in Belarus, Belarusian security forces detained journalists just before people gathered in the streets. BAJ registered 40 cases of detention of journalists in Minsk, Grodno, Vitebsk, Mogilev,…

The European Federation of Journalists today joined journalists’ and press freedom organisations in expressing dismay at the decision of a court in Montenegro to find journalist Jovo Martinović guilty of participating in drug trafficking, despite clear evidence he was working undercover as part of an investigation at the time. The Media Freedom Rapid Response partners and media freedom organisations strongly condemn today’s decision by the High Court of Montenegro to sentence investigative journalist Jovo Martinovic to one year in prison for participating in drug trafficking. While he was acquitted on charges for membership in a criminal organization and will not spend time…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has co-signed a letter with representatives of authors, performers, publishers and creative workers at EU level calling on the European Commission, national authorities and MEPs from V4 countries to reject demands and defend European interests on private copying. The letter reads: Some of the world’s biggest consumer device manufacturers are aggressively targeting the Visegrad Four countries in an effort to weaken national legislation or application of the existing legal framework on private copying. European organisations and unions representing authors, performers, publishers and creative workers therefore call on governments and EU decision-makers to take a…

Police detained four journalists in eastern Turkey on 6 October and raided their homes and offices following their reporting on allegations of Turkish security forces torturing two Kurdish villagers and throwing them from a helicopter. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) call for an immediate release of the journalists. Police detained reporters Adnan Bilen and Cemil Uğur, who work for Mezopotamya Agency (MA), and Şehriban Abi and Nazan Sala, working for Jin News, in the province of Van, located in eastern Turkey, on the morning of 6 October. The premises of MA and Jin News and the…

In a second ground-breaking announcement on licensing news since 25 June, Google pledged on Thursday 1 October to offer $1 Billion in the next three years to license news. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) say the pledge is a far cry from what Google should pay the global news industry and journalists worldwide, and demand full transparency on the programme and deals with news publishers. The company will license news for its “News Showcase”, a programme that allows publishers to create “story panels” or teasers with photos and videos, selected and packaged by publishers. The teasers, in…

Russian news editor Irina Slavina has died after setting herself on fire in front of an interior ministry office in Nizhniy Novgorod (Russia), on Friday. She earlier wrote on Facebook: “I ask you to blame the Russian Federation for my death.” The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) and the Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU) in calling on Russian authorities to investigate Slavina’s self-immolation and death. Irina Slavina, the editor-in-chief of Koza.Press news website, set fire to herself outside of the police headquarters in Nizhny Novgorod on Friday 2 October. She died at…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined 11 European journalist and press freedom groups in condemning brazen defamation case. We, the undersigned organisations, today express our grave concern over the barrage of vexatious defamation lawsuits targeting journalists working for the investigative news website Necenzurirano in Slovenia over the last two months. As outlined in a media freedom alert issued by the Council of Europe, since August journalists Primož Cirman, Vesna Vukovic and Tomaž Modic have each had 13 different criminal lawsuits lodged against them by Rok Snežić, a tax expert and unofficial financial advisor to Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša, bringing the total…

Agenda   22 October 2020   9:00 – 9:30: Introduction & welcoming Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, EFJ President Renate Schroeder, EFJ Director Pablo Aiquel, co-chair of EFJ Freelance Expert Group Short introduction of all participants 9:30 – 10:30 Impact of Covid-19 on freelancers This panel will discuss the economic and psychological impact on freelance journalists. What actions have been taken by journalists’ unions to support them? Renske Heddema, President, Journalists’ Association of Netherlands (NVJ) Charlotte Michils, Deputy General Secretary, Professional Journalists’ Association of Belgium, Flemish-speaking (VVJ) Pablo Aiquel, Co-chair of EFJ Freelance Expert Group, (SNJ-CGT) Chair: Oddrun Midtbo, Co-chair of EFJ…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the publication of the European Commission report on the rule of law situation in the European Union. The EFJ calls on member states to put an end as soon as possible to the multiple violations of press freedom found in the report. “We present the first ever Rule of Law Report today,” said the European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová. “Democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights are the foundations on which everything else is based in the EU: our rights, the freedom of the press or the independence of…

Together with a coalition of 19 organisations, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) urged the European Commission to remain firm and use all the political and legal tools to stop the dismantling of the rule of law, democracy and media freedom by the Hungarian authorities. The signatories of a joint letter sent to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, expressed their full support to Vice-President Věra Jourová following attacks by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government. “For…

Turkish journalist Abdullah Bozkurt, who is exiled in Sweden, was attacked near his home in Stockholm by three men on 24 September. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) stand in solidarity with Abdullah Bozkurt and join the Swedish Union of Journalists in calling for a thorough investigation into the attack. Shortly after he left his apartment in a suburb of Stockholm, Bozkurt was attacked by three men who knocked him to the ground and punched him and then left the area. Bozkurt suffered injuries to his face, head, arms and legs and had to be treated in an…

Update (01/10/2020) Two reporters with the French newspaper Le Monde were injured by Azerbaijani artillery in the town of Martuni, part of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, on Thursday morning, Armenia’s foreign ministry said.The two French reporters were taken to hospital. Two Armenian journalists were also hurt in the shelling, according to Armenian authorities. Several journalists were interviewing residents in Martuni and assessing damage from previous bombardments when the shelling started. ————————– Armenia announced on Sunday it was declaring martial law and mobilising its army. It claimed its neighbour Azerbaijan had launched a military operation inside a breakaway region called…

Media Councils release for the first time a comprehensive overview of journalistic self-regulation in Europe. The study highlights the importance of media councils in promoting journalistic standards in a context of proliferation of online disinformation. Independent media councils play an important role with regard to the respect of journalistic ethics. They offer journalists with guidance and tools for their daily work and give the public the opportunity to hold journalists and media to account through a fair complaints procedure. The basic idea behind all media councils is the same: a truly independent media system requires self-regulation, for the simple reason…

“A big TV cannon comes over to me and tells me that if I do not suck his cock, then he will ruin my career. I said no.” It is the 26th of August, TV presenter Sofie Linde is hosting the Zulu Comedy Gala in Copenhagen, and with these words she just started the #MeToo movement in Denmark. The statement came as a bombshell in the country. In response, as a sign of solidarity, 701 female journalists and media workers signed a letter in which they denounced a culture of sexism: “You are right. We experienced it too,” they said…

On Saturday and Sunday in Belarus, 15 journalists were arrested for covering protests against the presidential inauguration, electoral fraud and violence. Most of these journalists have been released, but 15 journalists are still in prison. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) demands their release. On 26 and 27 September, 15 journalists covering mass demonstrations in Belarus were arrested in Minsk, Grodno and Mahilou. Most were released, but four of them, including Russian journalist Anastasia Alshanskaya, 26 years old, remain in prison. They join the list of eleven other journalists who were still in detention. The EFJ joins its Belarusian affiliate,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliates in France and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in condemning the knife attack that left two media workers injured in Paris on Friday near the former offices of the weekly “Charlie Hebdo”. This Friday, late in the morning, a man armed with a knife attacked two people on the pavement, seriously injuring them, before fleeing, leaving the weapon on the spot. He was arrested at around 12.30 pm. An alleged accomplice was also intercepted by the police. The two injured, a man and a woman, are staff members of Premières…