On 20 September 2019, Russian journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva was formally charged with publicly justifying terrorism. The journalist was also asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement and a written undertaking not to leave the Pskov region. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Russian Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU) are convinced of her complete innocence and call on Russian authorities to release her without any delay. Svetlana Prokopieva works for the local branch of the independent Moscow-based radio station Ekho Moskvy, in the northwestern city of Pskov. She was suspected of “justifying terrorism” following a radio commentary, on 7…

Sadness and dismay prevail in the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today after the sudden death of the chair of the EFJ’s Labour Expert Group, Rainer Reichert, in Brussels. “For decades, he has rendered outstanding services to journalism in both Germany and Europe,” said EFJ President, Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, paying tribute to the deceased. “Rainer was so committed to fighting for better working conditions of journalists throughout Europe. With his legal expertise and knowledge of many languages, he always volunteered to help improve the interests of journalists, be it in the Balkans, in Italy or anywhere in Europe. His death…

Both German affiliates, the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband (DJV) and the Deutsche Journalistinnen- und Journalisten-Union (dju in ver.di) started on Wednesday 18 an unprecedented trade union action (warning strikes) at the ARD stations in several German Länder. Around 3000 employees of the German public service media are taking part nationwide. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) sent a strong message of solidarity to striking media workers. The reason is the upcoming collective bargaining round, in which an agreement between the positions of the management and the unions seems a long way off. “Today’s strikes, demonstrations and actions are so far unique in…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will join the global climate strike this Friday in Brussels to put pressure on world leaders to deliver urgent solutions to the worsening climate crisis. Demonstrations will take place around the world between September 20 and 27 to coincide with the United Nation’s climate summit in New York, where heads of governments must take concrete action to deliver on the promises of the Paris Agreement. That includes the commitment to a “just transition” – moving to a carbon neutral economy in a way that’s fair to people working in industries that will be required to…

The #SilenceHate project kicked-off more than a year and a half ago, in April 2018, with a five-day ‘Media Camp’ in London. Thirteen young journalists were trained in the intricacies of how hate speech is used to target migrants, and what journalists can do to counter it. They went back to their home countries (Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Poland and United Kingdom) with the objective to report and produced the stories that they pitched. Here are the journalists’ productions offering different formats such as photography, podcasts, videos, features, long form, and having a creative and innovative perspective of the migration…

On 23 July, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv (Ukraine) ruled to block access to 17 online media, including news portals and bloggers platforms korrespondent.net, enigma.ua, trident-ua.info, and informator.news. The owners of the closed websites have lodged an appeal. Their lawyers have denounced the delaying tactics that have so far prevented the appeal court from ruling. The court justified the closure of these news websites by the fact that they disseminate texts relating to slander or defamation. The judgment requires to restrict access not only to potentially harmful material, but to the entire content of these website. The National Union…