Update (01/12/2023): A Russian court on 1st December extended the pre-trial detention of US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until 5 February. —————————– On 18 October, Prague-based journalist Alsu Kurmasheva working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was detained by Kazan Authorities on charges of ‘failing to register herself as a foreign agent’. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) strongly condemn the detention of an innocent journalist and demand Russian authorities release her immediately. The Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who lives in Prague, Czech Republic’s capital, arrived in Russia on 20 May for a family emergency. On her way back to…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Italian affiliate the Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana (FNSI) in deploring the Italian government’s decision to lower the public broadcaster’s RAI license fee in 2024. The budget plan for 2024, adopted on 16 October 2023, will decrease the license fee, the so-called Canone RAI,  from 90 euros per year to 70 euros, a cut of around 22%. The national public service media (PSM) RAI will now face a yearly 20 million euros deficit. The Italian PSM is mainly funded by the license fee, and only to a lesser extent by advertising revenues. “The…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the Latvia Union of Journalists (LŽS) in Riga, Latvia on 18 October 2023 to host a seminar on the threats and challenges faced by journalists and media workers in the Baltic States. The seminar was organised in the framework of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR). It put a spotlight on the similarities and differences in the media world in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in terms of media freedom and violations of the right to freedom of expression. Hosted at the NOASS art center on the Daugava River, the workshop was organised with…

The defamation lawsuit brought by North Macedonia’s former deputy PM Kocho Angjushev must be conducted with the utmost transparency. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM-ZNM) in condemning the decision by Judge Jovanka Spirovska Paneva on 13 October to close a hearing in the libel case. Journalists and members of the public had to leave the courtroom. The EFJ supports the legal action brought by AJM-ZNM to denounce this decision. АЈM-ZNM has submitted an application to the Judicial Council to challenge the decision of Judge Jovanka Spirovska Paneva. The case is…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) fully supports the appeal made to the French authorities by more than 180 foreign correspondents of the French media. The EFJ joins its affiliates in France, SNJ, SNJ-CGT and CFDT-Journalistes, in calling on the authorities and employers to take concrete action in favour of these journalists. Here is their appeal: On the occasion of the official launch of the “Etats généraux de l’information” on 3 October in France, more than 180 current and former foreign reporters and correspondents based abroad are calling on the French authorities to address the deterioration in our working conditions.…

A tribute to the 73 journalists (*) who lost their lives during the Russian full scale invasion of Ukraine. That’s how Sergiy Tomilenko, the president of NUJU, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, referred to the photo exhibition Ukraine: journalists in war zones which opened at the Ukrainian Civil Society Hub in Brussels on 17 October. The opening of the display was put on in collaboration with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The exhibition will be open every day till the 23 October. “Let’s honor the fallen journalists with a few…