mfrr

N1 Croatia revealed that members of the ruling party (HZD) accused part of the media of conspiring with the opposition to destabilise the government. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliate in Croatia, the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA), in condemning new serious attempt to discredit the Croatian media. N1 TV channel reported that HZD top figures claimed, during a private online meeting on 11 January 2021, that certain media and journalists had sided with the opposition and the radical right to criticise the slow and inefficient handling of the crisis by the government after the deadly earthquake in…

UPDATE (14/01/2021): On 14 January, daily newspaper Sabado revealed that Lisbon prosecutor Andrea Marques also tried to identify the sources of two journalists from the Portuguese public broadcaster RTP. One of these journalists was heard as a witness by the prosecutor’s office in August 2020. —————————— Four Portuguese journalists have been placed under police surveillance, at the request of Lisbon public prosecutor Andrea Marques, as part of the investigation into leaks related to the “e-Toupeira” corruption case, launched in March 2018. Without prior authorisation from an investigating judge and in order to identify the sources of the journalists, Prosecutor Marques…

Radio Študent will lose funding of its founder the Student Organisation of the University of Ljubljana (ŠOU), the radio announced in a press release on 8 January 2021. According to Radio Študent, the reason put forward is the critical reporting on the ŠOU structure and management. Europe’s largest and oldest independent student radio fears for its existence. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliates, the Union of Slovenian Journalists and the Slovenian Association of Journalists, in condemning ŠOU’s withdrawal and supports Radio Študent’s calls for the provision of funding at least until 2022. This would enable a two-year…

As Montenegro’s new coalition government under the leadership of Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić was formally approved by the Montenegrin Parliament on 4 December, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) and key partners, urge it to put press and media freedom high on its agenda. The detailed report from their virtual fact-finding mission raises a number of concerns. To advance media freedom and, ultimately, the country’s accession bid to the European Union (EU), the new administration must commit to the necessary reforms for building and maintaining a free and pluralist media landscape. This is a…

16 December 2020 marks 38 months since Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated in Malta, yet barriers to justice remain. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) together with the undersigned organisations condemns the continued threats made by the Maltese Government against the independent public inquiry into the circumstances of the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and its three board members. The independence of the inquiry is vital and we call on the Government to uphold its commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights and ensure the inquiry is supported to fulfil its Terms of Reference free from all political threats…

As part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the International Press Institute (IPI) and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) condemn the smear campaign against Croatian journalist Anja Kožul and call for her protection. Kožul works for Novosti, a Croatian and Serbian-language weekly magazine published by the Serb National Council (SNV) in Croatia, which covers issues related to the Serb community in the country.  She has been exposed to numerous threats, insults and attacks coming from Serbia since 1 December. The hate campaign started after she published an article entitled…

The undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), today raise serious concerns over the recent decision by the Government Communication Office (UKOM) in Slovenia to suspend financing of the country’s press agency. We believe the move to temporarily halt funding from the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) will seriously jeopardise its ability to keep citizens informed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and is the latest example of a wider effort by the current administration to undermine and stigmatise the country’s public service media. On November 30, UKOM director Uroš Urbanija communicated to…

As the vote on the first reading of the “Global Security” law achieved a majority in the French National Assembly on Tuesday 24 November, the International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ), as well as other representatives from the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) called on the French Prime Minister, Jean Castex, to withdraw three articles from the text, and on journalists and democracy activists to demonstrate on Saturday 28 November. On Monday 23 November, a coalition composed of the International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ), together with their French affiliates, the SNJ, SNJ-CGT, CFDT-Journalists, and several journalists’ societies,…