The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) have condemned moves by the Russian authorities to shut down the Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU). The EFJ and IFJ urge the Russian authorities to drop the lawsuit against JMWU and to end their crackdown on independent journalists and media outlets in Russia. On 5 July, the Moscow City Court notified JMWU that the Moscow prosecutor had filed a lawsuit to liquidate the journalists’ union. Pending judgment, the court decided on 4 July to order a suspension of the union’s activities. The preliminary hearing of the case is set for 13 July. JMWU…

On 9, July 2022, the Santiago de Compostela’s Journalists Association (APSC) inaugurated the International Press Centre of Galicia in the regional capital. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the inauguration of this meeting point for citizens and media professionals. Among many representatives from European media organisations and unions, including the IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger, the president of the Spanish Journalists Federation (FAPE), Miguel Ángel Noceda and the APSC president Luis Menéndez were present to lead the event. The newly created centre features a meeting room and a large office space for journalists. The APSC will run the different activities…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) shares the call made by its Ukrainian affiliates, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU) for the Ukrainian authorities to bring the media legislation in line with European standards of press freedom. The EFJ, NUJU and IMTUU welcome the decision of the European Union Heads of State and Government to grant Ukraine the status of an EU candidate country. The EFJ and its affiliates in Ukraine recall that this implies a thorough revision of the Ukrainian media legislation. The current draft media law, introduced…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in denouncing in an open letter to Prime Minister Edi Rama his decision to ban journalists from press conferences.   06 July 2022 Dear Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania, Endri Fuga, Director General of the Media and Information Agency Teresa Ribeiro, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Olivér Várhelyi, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Alexis Hupin, Chargé d’affaires at EU Delegation to Albania, Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Yuri Kim, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Albania   Dear Prime…

This interview was originally published on Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) on 01/07/2022. Quickly resolving the economic issue relating to journalists, fighting harder against SLAPPs or gag complaints, using the rule of law to improve media conditions. These are the keywords of Maja Sever, the first woman to lead the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). Busy, hardworking, cheerful, Maja Sever (born in 1971) is one of the best-known faces of Croatian journalism and, since mid-June, she has also been the new president   of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). With almost three decades of experience, Sever has built her career in…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in welcoming the resounding exoneration of four Greek journalists and publishers who faced criminal charges and potential lengthy prison sentences linked to their media outlets’ investigative reporting which unveiled the Novartis pharmaceutical scandal. The acquittals represent an important validation of watchdog journalism in Greece and a vital – yet costly – victory for the rule of law and press freedom. On 30 June 2022, the Judicial Council of the Supreme Court ruled that all allegations made against the journalists were baseless and declined…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is co-signing together with other civil society organisations a policy brief on the upcoming European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), as the European Commission is currently finalising the draft proposal. We thank the European Commission for taking on this task and the ambition it has to deal with fundamental threats to Europe’s media landscape. We take this opportunity, as a coalition of journalists, media freedom groups and human rights groups, to develop our statement of 9th May and to address issues around the European single market, media ownership and transparency of economic relations with the…

On Sunday, 26 June, Turkish police broke up the Istanbul Pride march, assaulting and detaining over 200 demonstrators and several journalists including an AFP photographer. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) stand with their Turkish affiliates in condemning the crackdown on journalists while doing their job. Despite the ban on the march ordered by the governor and the heavy police presence, protestors gathered in large numbers around Taksim Square. The last authorised march in 2014 drew thousands of participants and the event has taken place every year since 2015, even though it was banned each year. Police detained about…

The Reuters Institute, in cooperation with Oxford University, recently published the Digital News Report 2022, which documents the latest trends in the global news industry. After two years of pandemic and the global crisis that began in February with the Russian Federation’s decision to invade Ukraine, consumers around the world seem to be suffering from a news fatigue. Overall, the growing lack of trust in traditional institutions and biases towards news producers and services are significantly changing a market where new models are dynamically evolving. Falling interest in news Compared to the last data collected in 2015, it is clear…

Update (30 June 2022): On 30 June 2022, we were informed by the author of this blog that the plaintiff/civil party has lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court (Court of Cassation) against the Antwerp CA judgment of 9 June 2022. —————– This article was previously published by the “Leuven Blog for Public Law”. It is reproduced with the permission of the author, Dirk Voorhoof, who is emeritus professor at the Human Rights Centre UGent, founding member of the Legal Human Academy and member of the expert committee of the Council of Europe on SLAPPs (MSI-SLP). When Belgian news site Apache‘s chief editor Karl…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) coalition today expressed serious concern over the recent €1,000 fine issued to Pulitzer prize-winning photographer Javier Bauluz under Spain’s controversial ‘Gag Law’. The fine represents another example of the need for the Spanish government to urgently reform the most problematic elements of the law in line with international human rights standards to protect freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. In November 2020, the photographer had been documenting the arrival of thousands of refugees and migrants to Gran Canaria. As he attempted to…

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has accepted the US government’s request to extradite Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange in what the International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) condemned as a shameful decision that sets “a terrible precedent for all those who are daily fighting to tell the truth”. On 17 June, despite theIFJ and media calling on the government to reject the extradition request, the Home Secretary gave the green light, ignoring pleas to protect media freedom. Assange is currently fighting extradition to the US to face charges, mostly under the Espionage Act, relating to the leaking and publishing of the Afghan and Iraqi war logs. In the US, Julian Assange…

A Turkish court imprisoned pending trial 16 Kurdish journalists and media workers for allegedly “spreading terrorist propaganda” on 16 June 2022. The European and International Federation of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) and their four Turkish affiliates strongly condemn these massive arrests of journalists on groundless charges and urge for the immediate release of all of them. Last week, Turkish police detained 21 Kurdish journalists and media workers in a massive operation in the Kurdish-majority southeastern province of Diyarbakir on terrorism charges. Police raided the homes of several Kurdish journalists working for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya News Agency, the all-female Jin News website, a…

Croatian journalist and President of the Trade Union of Croatian Journalists (TUCJ) Maja Sever was elected President of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) on 14 June 2022 during the EFJ General Meeting taking place in Izmir, Turkey. Maja Sever succeeds Mogens Blicher Bjerregård from Denmark after three terms of three years each. Mustafa Kuleli (TGS, Turkey) was elected Vice-President. Maja Sever, 50, started her professional career as a war reporter for Croatian public broadcaster HRT in ex-Yugoslavia. She then became a political reporter for different HRT news programs. She is now a senior journalist with more than 20 years of…

Today, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined 72 other civil society organisations and professional bodies in writing to the European Commission with a strong demand: withdraw the legislation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse (CSA) regulation, and replace it with an approach that upholds fundamental rights. We caution EU politicians and governments that when you fundamentally undermine how the internet works, you make it less safe for everyone. The proposal focuses specifically on detecting, reporting and removing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online and does not tackle broader dimensions of the grave issue of child…

After the call to parliament in Turkey by seven leading journalism organisations, including the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), the European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) joined 24 international media freedom, freedom of expression and journalists’ organisations to call for the immediate dismissal of the bill on “disinformation and fake news” which was submitted to the parliament on May 27 by the governing alliance of Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The bill threatens up to three years imprisonment for those found guilty of the deliberate publishing of “disinformation and fake news” intended to instigate fear…