A group of organisations for the protection of human rights, freedom of information and journalists associations demand from the Albanian Prime Minister to drop proposals on regulation of online media. The European and International Federation of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) join their Albanian affiliates, the Association of Professional Journalists of Albanian and the League of Albanian Journalists, and the other organisations on their request to the government to drop an amendment that will put in risk online media freedom in the country. Here is the full joint-letter: We inform the public that the two proposals endanger freedom of expression and…

Western Balkan’s Regional Platform for advocating media freedom and journalists’ safety, which represents more than 8000 members, calls the Appellate Court of Montenegro to reconsider the first-instance verdict of the Higher Court, which find the investigative journalist Jovo Martinovic guilty, two days ago in Podgorica.  Martinovic was sentenced to 18 months in prison for criminal offenses of creating a criminal organization and unauthorized production, possession and trafficking of narcotic drugs. The judgment is the first instance and an appeal is permitted. Martinovic spent 14 months in detention, and since January 2017 he was allowed to defend himself while at liberty.…

The Council of the European Union will soon adopt its general approach on the directive on the protection of whistleblowers. Ahead of this crucial political agreement among the Member States, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) would like to insist about the importance of granting the widest protection to whistleblowers, including persons choosing to turn to the media to blow the whistle. The adoption of a directive which would penalise whistleblowers acting as journalistic sources would be damaging to democracy. That is why the EFJ republishes the open letter co-signed by the European Broadcasting Union, ENPA, EMMA and News Media…

On 17 January 2019, the journalist Ans Boersma, Turkey correspondent for the Dutch financial paper Het Financieele Dagblad, was deported from Istanbul and sent back to Amsterdam. Ms Boersma was apprehended by Turkish police a day before following her visit to the migration office to renew her residence permit as a foreign correspondent. Just nine days before her arrest, she received her accreditation and press card from the Turkish authorities for the year 2019. Ruling out the possibility of a misunderstanding or administrative issue, the police told the journalist that  she formed a risk to Turkey’s national security without any further…

On January 15, a court in Montenegro sentenced the independent journalist Jovo Martinovic to 18 months in jail. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and the undersigned partner organisations condemn the conviction of independent journalist Jovo Martinovic. The court sentenced Martinovic to 18 months in jail. His trial continued in the High Court of Podgorica, Montenegro, after he was charged by the Special Prosecution Office for A) the criminal act of creating a criminal organisation and B) the criminal act of unauthorised production, possession and traffic of narcotics. The judge in her verdict stated that he…

The EFJ Finnish affiliate, the Union of Journalists in Finland (UJF), published an advice kit for journalists who are subject to online hate speech, also dedicated to colleagues and supervisors. This initiative came from the alarming observation that journalists are increasingly the targets of hate speech and orchestrated online abuse. The consequences on their work and mental health has to be taken seriously. The UJF plays an important role in supporting their members victims of hate speech. “It’s sometimes been really tough, but it would have been a hundred times harder if the union hadn’t supported me.  I don’t know…