Today Minsk City Court sentenced the editor-in-chief of the TUT.by portal, Marina Zolotova, and general director Lyudmila Chekina to 12 years behind bars. TUT.by is the country’s largest independent news site, which was forced to shutter after historic demonstrations against Alexander Lukashenko. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliate the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) in condemning another shameful verdict. We demand their immediate release. The women faced a raft of charges including tax evasion and “incitement to hatred”. Due to the extreme secrecy of the proceedings, it was not known until the end what conditions were required…

This article was written by Belarusian journalists The well-known Belarusian journalist and public figure Pavel Mazheika was arrested on August 30, 2022. He was kidnapped just on the street near his house. The security forces detained him very brutally: they put a bag over his head and beat him. Not because he is a dangerous terrorist who poses a threat even with his hands behind his back in handcuffs. But because he is a journalist, and the violence of the security forces and torture in prison have become commonplace today in Belarus. Now Pavel is behind bars in the pre-trial…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today 16 March 2023 joined media freedom organisations in writing to the Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela urging his government to implement recommendations from the recent public consultation into draft media laws and to strengthen the planned legislation in line with international standards. Read the full letter below Dear Prime Minister Robert Abela, The undersigned international press freedom and journalists organisations are today writing to urge your government to follow up on the recent public consultation into media law reforms by implementing changes which will significantly strengthen the draft legislation. As the monthly memorial…

Today, 16 March 2023, marks 18 months since the adoption by the European Commission of its Recommendation to the Member States on ensuring the protection, safety and empowerment of journalists and other media professionals in the European Union. The European Commission is due to perform an evaluation based on key performance indicators, to take stock of the progress achieved by the Member States. In this context, the partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) call on the European Commission and the Member States to develop comprehensive and regular reporting mechanisms that involve all key stakeholders to effectively measure and…

Following the start of the retrial last week at the Court of Appeal for the 1999 murder of Serbian editor and publisher Slavko Ćuruvija, the undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and the SafeJournalists Network (SJN) today renew our call for justice for his killing to finally be secured. The pending ruling – which will either confirm or dismiss the previous guilty verdicts handed down to four state security agents for carrying out and planning his assassination – will be the most consequential for media freedom and journalism in Serbia’s modern history. Coming nearly 24 years after…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) support the campaign #IcazəliMediaIstəmirik (#WeDoNotWantLicensedMedia) launched in February 2023 by a group of independent journalists in Azerbaijan. Journalists are calling on the government to repeal the new media law and remove the requirement for registration with the Media Registry, as it gives the State too much control over the media. On 30 January 2023, 37 Azerbaijani journalists and media experts published a statement according to which the Azerbaijan’s Media Development Agency refused to include veteran media outlets in the Media Register and issued ‘warnings’ to dozens of media outlets and journalists. United…