The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the European Magazine Media Association (EMMA), the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Freedom house, Global Editors Network (GEN), Index on Censorship, International Press Institute (IPI) and South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) have written to Polish defence minister Antoni Macierewicz urging him to withdraw his criminal complaint against Tomasz Piatek, the author of a new book about the minister’s alleged network of questionable Russian contacts. An investigative reporter for the independent newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, Piatek is facing a possible two to…

On July 14, the prosecutors General’s office and the national police searched the offices of Ukraine’s Vesti media group in Kiev which holds Radio Vesti, the daily newspaper Vesti, and the news website Vesti-ukr.com. The raid was conducted as part of an embezzlement case against ex-Tax and Revenue Minister Oleksandr Klymenko. The whole quarter was blocked off, units of special troops and armored vehicles surrounded the building. Police officers completely obstructed the work of the editorial board. The chair of the Board of Directors of the Media Holding Vesti Ukraine, Olga Semchenko, explained on a Facebook post that the radio…

Alexander Batmanov, presenter for Volgograd based channel NGO TV, was detained by Russian police on the suspicion of theft from a grocery store on Friday July 7. Mr Batmanov was summoned by the police several weeks ago on suspicion of having stolen food from a grocery store but never responded to the summons. On Friday 7th, he was arrested by the police. Due to the police’s dissatisfaction with their discussions with him, Batmanov remained detained over the weekend in an office on the police station’s third floor without any food or water. In an attempt to escape, Batmanov jumped out…

Citizens’ fundamental rights to freedom of expression and information can only be guaranteed through media freedom and pluralism. Even though that is enshrined in Article 11 of the Charter, the reality is different. “Since our last report in 2013, plurality has just gotten worse,” stressed Italian MEP Barbara Spinelli in her opening remarks at the “Media Pluralism and Freedom in the EU” hearing, which took place in the European Parliament on Tuesday (11/07/2017). Organised by the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee, it reflected the media situation in EU, with the experts presenting the most alarming issues. Spinelli…

Update (18/07/2017): The new OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir has just been appointed by the OSCE Foreign Ministers. He will start his mandate tomorrow. ——————– The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the deal reached on Tuesday by Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz to ensure the appointment of the new Representative for Freedom of the Media in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The position, vacant since March 10, will be assumed by the former French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Harlem Désir. His appointment should be formalized on 18 July. The…

At least 32 journalists have been deprived of their press accreditations by the German government during the G20 protests in Hamburg held on 7 July. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) join their German affiliates DJV and dju in ver.di in condemning the attacks against the press. Nine journalists have had their accreditations revoked with an additional 23 placed on a list detailing them as a security concern. Those listed were not present at the G20 Press Center, according to EFJ affiliates. Government spokesperson Steffen Seibert confirmed the removal of the accreditations but didn’t provide any justification for…