The President of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the Russian authorities to drop the expulsion of BBC journalist Sarah Rainsford. Russia is refusing to renew her work visa, which should force her to leave the country at the end of this month. Reacting to the announcement by Russian state television Rossiya-24 on Thursday evening that BBC Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford would be expelled, EFJ President Mogens Blicher Bjerregård strongly condemned the Russian authorities’ decision. “Journalism and press freedom are being held hostage in the context of diplomatic tensions between Russia and the UK. This context of tension…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliates in Germany (DJV) and in the Netherlands (NVJ) to call on European governments to expand their refugee visa programmes for Afghan journalists and media workers. The EFJ supports the international solidarity campaign with Afghan journalists launched on 12 August by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). According to the IFJ, “over 1,200 journalists and media workers have already lost their jobs with many more under threat” in Afghanistan, as the threat of violence grows and media are forced to close in the wake of the Taliban taking control of large parts…

The Turkish government’s continuous crackdown on press freedom in Turkey is highly disturbing. Just in the last week, amidst tremendous wildfires raging across Turkey, journalists critical of the government were denied access to press briefings, media outlets received fines for their reporting on the wildfires and a TV crew was attacked during a live broadcast. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the Turkish government to finally stop actively hindering and imprisoning media workers in their profession. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have been facing increasing criticism over the apparent poor response…

UPDATE 11/08/21 Lex TVN was passed with 228 MPs in favour, 216 against and 10 abstentions. The EFJ and IFJ call on the Senate to reject the bill, and the European Union to counter the attack on the independence of TVN channels. ————————- The Polish parliament is discussing measures to ban non-European owners from controlling more than a 49% stake in Polish media companies. The move, dubbed the “lex TVN”, represents a direct attack on the critical and independent US-owned TVN and TVN24. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (IFJ) are urging the members…

A team of the Turkish TV channel Halk TV was attacked in the İçmeler area of Marmaris. The aggressors threatened to block the channel’s live broadcast from the fire-hit region and a cameraman was targeted with a broken glass bottle. This incident occurred after a recent threat by the government-controlled RTÜK (Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council) to TV stations over their critical coverage of the wildfires, which have been raging across the country for the past few days. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Turkish affiliates, the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), the Journalists’ Association of Turkey (TGC), the Journalists’ Association (GCD) and the Broadcast and Printing…

One year after the fraudulent re-election of illegitimate president Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian regime’s repression has taken a dramatic toll: 497 journalists and media workers have been arrested, 29 are still in detention. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the international community to take action. Here is the result of one year of repression in Belarus, as monitored by the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ): Detentions of journalists and media workers: 497 Physical violence against journalists: 68 Administrative arrests of journalists: 119 Journalists and media workers in detention: 29 Media representatives subject to criminal prosecution: more than 50…