On the sixth anniversary of the murder of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, we, the undersigned organizations, renew our calls for Maltese authorities to bring to justice all those responsible for her killing and to implement in full the recommendations of the public inquiry into her assassination.  Caruana Galizia, who rose to prominence through her anti-corruption investigations and blogs, was killed by a car bomb in Malta on October 16, 2017. Three men have been convicted for the journalist’s murder and three other suspects await trial.  After pressure from the Caruana Galizia family and civil society, a public inquiry…

Lithuanian radio station, Radio FM99, a partner of the EFJ-led Local Media 4 Democracy (LM4D) project, published a story about a development plan that would destroy the historical heritage of Alytus. The story gained traction and the Prosecutors’ Office opened an investigation into the plan. All of this was funded by the LM4D and the radio benefited from the mentorship by the project. We talk to Vilija Ramanauskiene, journalist at Radio FM99, to find out more. Radio FM99 is a legacy radio outlet in South Lithuania and one of the first commercial radio stations in independent Lithuania. This year, it…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins international media freedom, free expression, and journalist organisations in expressing shock over criminal conviction of the Italian writer and journalist. The undersigned international media freedom, free expression, and journalist organisations express shock over yesterday’s criminal conviction of writer and journalist Roberto Saviano, in a case brought by current Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, and we convey our full solidarity with him. On 12 October 2023, the Criminal Court of Rome convicted Saviano of criminal defamation. The case was initiated by Meloni in November 2021, prior to her assuming the current role of Prime Minister.…

Partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) will travel to Banja Luka and Sarajevo from 22 to 25 October 2023 to assess the current state of play for media freedom in the country and start a dialogue with the authorities, less than a year after the European Union decided to grant Bosnia and Herzegovina candidate status. The delegation will consist of representatives of the MFRR partners, including ARTICLE 19 Europe, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Osservatorio Balcani…

Ali Kişmir, the President of the Cyprus Turkish Journalists’ Union (Basin-Sen), an affiliate of the European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ), will stand trial on 6 October for an article published in 2020. Kişmir faces a ten-year prison sentence for “insulting and mocking” the security forces. The federations call for the charges against him to be dropped and urge the authorities to safeguard freedom of expression which is a cornerstone of democracy. In an opinion article published in 2020, the journalist described the state of his country’s politics as a “brothel”. Three years later, he will be tried for…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) together with the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) invite you to the opening of the photo exhibition ‘Ukraine: Journalists in war zones’, which will be held on 17 October at the Ukrainian Civil Society Hub in Brussels.  The exhibition aims to draw the attention of the international community to the work of journalists during the war, their working conditions and the actions of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine in support of the Ukrainian and international media on the front line. The event will also mark the crucial international journalistic solidarity…