The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) is helping 10 journalists and media workers resettle abroad after their release in Lithuania on 11 September, in a deal brokered by the United States. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins BAJ in condemning the “forcible expulsion” and calls for international solidarity to support those rebuilding their lives outside Belarus and the 28 journalists still behind bars. The 10 journalists and 42 other political prisoners were brought to Lithuania by bus in what has been described as “forced exile,” with most of them nearing the end of their prison sentences. Without passports nor…

This Monitoring Report takes stock of the press freedom situation in 36 EU Member States and candidate countries during the first six months of 2025. Between January and June, the Mapping Media Freedom database documented 709 press freedom violations, affecting 1249 media workers or entities.  The report documents a vast variety of attacks, indicating that media workers in Europe operate in an increasingly hostile environment. The types of attacks documented included verbal attacks – such as death threats and smear campaigns – physical attacks, attacks to property, legal incidents, and interference with reporting work.  Media workers faced threats in different…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the release on Thursday of 52 political prisoners, including 9 journalists, by the Belarusian authorities. There are still 27 journalists in prison in Belarus. The EFJ demands their immediate release. On Thursday, Belarus has freed 52 political prisoners of different nationalities. They have crossed into Lithuania, in what appeared to be the largest release of detainees in years. The release was announced as Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko met in Minsk with John Coale, a representative of US President Donald Trump. In return, the United States announced that they were lifting sanctions on the Belarusian…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the undersigned media freedom, journalists’, and freedom of expression organizations in strongly condemning the recent physical and verbal attacks on independent media by activists of the Georgian Dream ruling party and a police officer. These latest serious physical attacks are the result of long-standing impunity for crimes against journalists in Georgia. We demand an independent and thorough investigation into these incidents and that all those responsible be fully held accountable. On the evening of September 8, tensions near Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze’s campaign office escalated between peaceful protesters and Georgian Dream activists. Reports…

Turkey is increasingly throttling social media platforms and messaging apps to silence online communication at moments of profound political or social importance. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the undersigned human rights and press freedom organisations in condemn Turkey’s actions, which isolate people from vital information, and stifle democratic participation. Turkey must correct course and uphold its international human rights obligations. On 7 September at 23:45, major social media platforms and messaging services X, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal became inaccessible in Istanbul for approximately 21 hours. The bandwidth throttling coincided with a police blockade of the main opposition Republican…

In a new EFJ “#PressTalks” episode, Swedish foreign reporter Joakim Medin for the newspaper Dagens ETC shares his story as a journalist imprisoned for 51 days in a Turkish prison on terrorism charges.  Joakim is a member of the Swedish Union of Journalists (SJF) and benefitted from strong international support during his detention. This mobilisation certainly played a part in his release, as he was eventually able to return to Sweden on 17 May while awaiting trial, just in time for the birth of his first child. We talked to Joakim as he prepares for his first hearing, scheduled on…