On 8 October, the Armenian authorities decided to amend the martial law declared on 27 September 2020, which from now on prohibits the publication of reports criticising the actions of the government, officials and local bodies. It also gives increased power to the police to give fines, freeze assets and request removal of content from media outlets. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) joined its affiliate in Armenia in denouncing a blatant violation of media freedom in a context where non-partisan information is crucial. The amendments refer in particular to the publication of reports “criticising”, “refuting actions of…

Following the last round of negotiation on 7 October, members of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in Germany (DJV and dju in ver.di)  finally reached an agreement with the management of Deutsche Welle (DW) for the new collective agreement to have 6.2% salary increase by the end of 2022. The EFJ has congratulated its members for the tough negotiation which led to a positive outcome for the DW journalists. According to the new agreement, journalists’ salaries at DW will be increased by 2.1% each year for the first two years and another 2% in the third year, amounting to…

Together with the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA) the European Federation of Journalists is urging the President of the Republic, Zoran Milanović, to stop calling out the media and journalists, which he has been doing intensively in recent days through posts on Facebook and interviews. Milanović has been publicly insulting several media outlets, journalists as well as members of the opposition and a political anaylist in ad hominem attacks. The insults began after a major corruption scandal involving an oil pipeline company was revealed in September. Milanović admitted having gone to a secret club during the lockdown in March, where apparently…

Belarusian riot police detained dozens of protesters in several cities on Sunday as thousands rallied for the ninth consecutive Sunday rally against the fraudulent election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. At least 40 journalists were detained in Belarus on Sunday. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) demands sanctions against those who try to censor mass protests by arresting journalists. According to the reports of the Belarusain Association of Journalists (BAJ), the EFJ affiliate in Belarus, Belarusian security forces detained journalists just before people gathered in the streets. BAJ registered 40 cases of detention of journalists in Minsk, Grodno, Vitebsk, Mogilev,…

The European Federation of Journalists today joined journalists’ and press freedom organisations in expressing dismay at the decision of a court in Montenegro to find journalist Jovo Martinović guilty of participating in drug trafficking, despite clear evidence he was working undercover as part of an investigation at the time. The Media Freedom Rapid Response partners and media freedom organisations strongly condemn today’s decision by the High Court of Montenegro to sentence investigative journalist Jovo Martinovic to one year in prison for participating in drug trafficking. While he was acquitted on charges for membership in a criminal organization and will not spend time…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has co-signed a letter with representatives of authors, performers, publishers and creative workers at EU level calling on the European Commission, national authorities and MEPs from V4 countries to reject demands and defend European interests on private copying. The letter reads: Some of the world’s biggest consumer device manufacturers are aggressively targeting the Visegrad Four countries in an effort to weaken national legislation or application of the existing legal framework on private copying. European organisations and unions representing authors, performers, publishers and creative workers therefore call on governments and EU decision-makers to take a…