Today, marking one year since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners reiterate our condemnation of Russia’s war of aggression. We continue to stand in solidarity with the journalists and media workers who cover the events at great risk to their safety and remember those who have died in the line of duty. The war’s deadly toll has cast a dark shadow over press freedom in Europe. Killing, kidnapping, torture and other attacks on journalists and media workers has no place in Ukraine, and those responsible must face justice for their…

French weekly Le Poher had to evacuate its office on 20 February 2023 after an anonymous caller said a bomb had been placed in the office in Carhaix, France. Although no explosive device was found, this incident comes on top of several serious acts of intimidation targeting Le Poher in recent weeks. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the French journalists’ unions SNJ, SNJ-CGT, and CFDT-Journalistes in expressing solidarity with the six employees, and denouncing the deleterious effects of these repeated attacks on the regional independent newspaper and its journalists. The bomb threat is the latest of a series…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined today the partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in expressing solidarity with Emilia Sercan and urging the end of coordinated attacks on the journalist. Today, 17 February 2023, marks one year since journalist Emilia Șercan filed a police complaint about cybercrime and violation of privacy after she discovered five stolen personal pictures taken about twenty years ago had been published on 34 porn websites. The next day, Șercan found that a Moldovan website had published an article containing the five stolen pictures and a Facebook Messenger screenshot she had provided…

Between 20 and 21 February 2023, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will join a delegation of international media freedom organisations in conducting a joint mission to Bratislava to mark the five-year anniversary of the killing of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová. The aim of the mission is twofold. Firstly, to take part in the anniversary events and express solidarity with the families and the Slovak journalistic community as the retrial of the alleged mastermind at the Specialised Criminal Court reaches its final stage. Secondly, five years after the assassination, to evaluate the security of…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined today the partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium in expressing our condolences with the victims of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and reiterating the need for a free media atmosphere as a crucial element of all disaster relief processes. In the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes with epicentre in the province of Kahramanmaraş in Turkey on Monday 6 February 2023, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners have received multiple reports of press and media freedom violations including detentions of journalists and media workers, investigations for incitement to hatred in…

In recent days, state officials in North Macedonia have verbally abused journalists and media outlets on several occasions. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliate in North Macedonia, the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), in condemning the inappropriate behaviour of public figures and reminding them of the moral obligations that go with public office. Since 16 January, the Prime Minister, several ministers and the president of a political party have used degrading language against several journalists who were doing their job by asking questions, sometimes embarrassing, to prominent public figures in North Macedonia. Specifically on 16 January,…

The partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) publish the latest edition of their Monitoring Report, analysing the state of press and media freedom throughout EU Member States and candidate countries in 2022. The Monitoring Report – produced by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the International Press Institute (IPI), and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) as part of the MFRR – gathers and analyses all media freedom violations recorded on Mapping Media Freedom throughout the year 2022.  War in Ukraine The current monitoring report starts with a thematic chapter on the war in Ukraine…

The MFRR Summit is back! This year, the conference titled “Press Freedom on the Line” will take place online from 29 – 31 March 2023. Reflecting the MFRR’s core campaign areas, the online conference will host in-depth discussions on journalist safety, media capture, the rule of law, and SLAPPs. Hosted on Zoom for interactive participation, and simultaneously livestreamed on the MFRR YouTube channel, the conference will play host to a range of panel discussions, live interviews, and keynote speeches with journalists, media freedom experts, policy-makers, and other stakeholders all working to defend press freedom. Take a look at the daily breakdown…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and the Safe Journalists Network today condemn the shocking physical attack on Albanian journalist Elvis Hila and his wife in Lezhë and urge state law enforcement authorities to swiftly detain the suspected perpetrators and ensure that all those responsible face justice. The violent attack took place at around 4.40pm on Wednesday 25 January, one day after Hila had reported for shqiptarja.com and Report TV about a local court case in Lezhë in which a defendant had been sentenced to a year in prison for forgery of a court document. Soon after publication, Hila said…