The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) today condemned the updated sanctions list signed on 14 May by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and published yesterday which bans for three years Russian media organisations based in Ukraine, including Russian news agencies RIA Novosti, Rossiyasegodnya.rf, Sputniknews.com, Rsport.ria.ru, 1prime.ru, Realty.ria.ru and rian.com.ua. Russian TV channels rtr-planeta.com, russia.tv, vesti.ru, tvkultura.ru, digitalrussia.tv are also banned. The move comes a week after a RIA Novosti journalist was detained in Kiev and accused of treason. The decree introduces measures such as blocking of assets, limiting or stopping the provision of telecommunications services and the use of public telecommunications networks,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls again for an investigation into the suspicious death of Russian journalist Maksim Borodin. From Ekaterinburg (Ural, Russia), where he is attending the EU International Conference on Professional Standards and Ethics of Journalism in the Digital Age, the EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez calls on Russian authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the death of Maksim Borodin. He died a month ago, after falling from the balcony of his fifth-floor apartment, on 12 April in Ekaterinburg. “It is not the first time we face such a “mysterious” death in Russia. Public authorities should…

The EFJ-IFJ has submitted the following alert to the Council of Europe’s platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists : Kyrylo Vyshynsky, a Ukrainian journalist working for Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novotsi in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, was detained on 15 May 2018 on allegations of treason. His arrest came hours before raids by Ukrainian security service (SBU) at the news agency’s offices. According to media reports, the authorities suspected Vyshynsky, who was granted Russian citizenship in 2015 by Presidential decree, of allegedly collaborating with Ukrainian armed separatists in Eastern Ukraine. The prosecuting officials in…

The EU Project “Public Diplomacy. EU and Russia” is organising a seminar “Legislation and Self-Regulation of the Media in Russia and the EU – Role of Professional Ethics and Solidarity” in Yekaterinburg, 16-17 May. The EFJ GS Ricardo Gutiérrez will speak on the topic “Role of professional ethical standards in protection of responsible and independent journalism. EU and Russian experiences”, on 16 May. Main goal is to present analysis of Russian and EU media development with special focus on the topics of recent changes of legislation and professional ethics & self-regulation, as well as skills in covering sensitive matters, such…

The European Parliament debated on 17 January 2018 the burning issue of the so-called “fake news” and Russian propaganda on EU countries. The debate focused on fake news stories coming from unidentified people and bots, as well as well as politically-driven news from outlets such as state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik. The next European elections to take place in 2019 are likely to be the next big target for Russian propaganda, MEPs have warned. During this plenary session in Strasbourg, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) highlighted issues including the funding and staffing of actions against misinformation and the resilience of democracies…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has expressed grave concern over the recent adoption of a new law that would allow the state to have more control and scrutiny over foreign media and journalists in Russia. On 25 November 2017, Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a new law which will allow authorities to classify foreign journalists and media outlets as “foreign agents”. In practice, the law means that Russia now has the power to force foreign journalists and media to register themselves as “foreign agents”, to submit their content to scrutiny and to reveal their funding sources. Failure to comply…

On 2 November 2017, the EFJ Vice President Nadezda Azgikhina wrote a letter from Russia. The letter focused on fighting against hate and impunity towards journalists. Here, the EFJ publishes this letter: The first conference devoted to Impunity in Russia took place just before the Moscow IFJ Congress in 2007. It focused mainly on the assassination of Anna Politkovskaya, the journalist murdered on 7 October 2006, and focused on other colleagues who were murdered too. For the first time, a list of deceased Russian journalists, prepared by Glasnost Defense Foundation, was presented to the international professional community. It consisted of…

Impunity is when threats, attacks and crimes against journalists go unpunished. It results in a high level of fear, intimidation, censorship and self-censorship that undermines press freedom, the public right to know and leaves victims and their relatives powerless. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the International Federation of Journalists’ (IFJ) campaign to #endimpunity, which aims at holding governments and de facto governments accountable for their impunity records and denouncing any crimes targeting journalists that remain unpunished. Murder is the highest form of these crimes but all attacks targeting journalists that remain unpunished must be denounced. In Europe, the EFJ…

Deputy editor in chief and anchor Tatyana Felgengauer working for Ekho Moskyv radio station was stabbed in the throat on 23 October at the radio station in Moscow. The well-known journalist is not in critical condition and is said to be stable. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) have joined their Russian affiliate, the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ), in condemning and demanding an immediate investigation in the attack.   Reports said that the attacker used a gas which was sprayed in a face of security guards before entering Ekho Moskyv offices and bursting into a studio located…

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is organising a seminar on Hate Speech at the Faculty of Journalism of Lomonosov Moscow State University. The EFJ GS Ricardo Gutiérrez will deliver a speech on EFJ project “Media Against Hate”, hate speech and ethical standards.  

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is organising a seminar on Hate Speech at the Faculty of Journalism of the National University “Odessa Law Academy”.  The EFJ GS Ricardo Gutiérrez will deliver a speech on EFJ project “Media Against Hate”, hate speech and ethical standards.

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) have today renewed calls for the release of Ukrainian journalist Roman Sushchenko on the anniversary of his arrest by Russian authorities on spying charges. The IFJ/EFJ backed the demand of their affiliates, The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU) and Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) for his immediate release and the condemnation of the charges against him. Working for Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform for 14 years, Sushchenko had been the agency’s correspondent in France since 2010. He was arrested on 30 September last year…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemns the conviction of Ukrainian journalist Mykola Semena by a Crimean court today. The court found him guilty on a charge of separatism and handed him a 2,5 year suspended sentence. He was also barred from “public activities”, including journalism, for three years. On 19 April 2016, FSB agents in the Russia-annexed Ukrainian region of Crimea raided the house of journalist Mykola Semena, freelancer with Krym.Realii (Criemea Realities) – RFE/RL’s Crimea service. They confiscated his reporting equipment, and briefly detained him for interrogation in connection to a criminal probe on charges of making calls to…

The XII Annual International Media-Forum for young journalists «Dialogue of Cultures» will be held from 21st to 23rd of November in the State Hermitage Museum, Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation. The event is organised by Ashot Dzhazoyan, President of Mediacongress “The Commonwealth of journalists”. Over 300 young journalists will participate to the event. Mediacongress is pleased to invite young journalists from EFJ member organisations in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Greece, Hungary, Island, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey to meet their Russian colleagues in Saint-Petersburg. Practical information: Flights: check out…

Russian journalist Yulia Latynina has fled Russia after a series of attacks led her to fear for her life. The Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) has appealed to the Russian government to investigate the attacks. The International and European Federation of Journalists joined its affiliate the RUJ in condemning the attacks on Yulia Latynina and called on the Russian government to bring the perpetrators to justice. This latest attack is part of a string of attempts to intimidate and silence the journalist. In July 2017, Latynina’s home was sprayed with an unknown chemical, causing breathing problems for several children and elderly…

The EFJ urges the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union to reconsider denied accreditation to three Russian journalists for the EU informal meeting of the EU ministers of Foreign Affairs in Tallinn (Estonia) to take place on 7-8 September 2017. The Estonian Presidency refused three requests for accreditation from Russian state owned news agency Rossiya Segodnya to cover the EU informal meeting. The requests were filed by the Brussels based correspondent Vladimir Dobrovolskiy, and by Moscow based journalists Maria Kiseleva and Anastasia Sedelnikova. No explanations were provided by the Estonian authorities for their refusal. Sergey Kochetkov, first…