The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) are shocked today by the decision of the chief prosecutor to appeal a court decision made on Monday 13 April to acquit the Dutch journalist Frederike Geerdink for terror charges. Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, EFJ President said, “This is seriously alarming. The judicial system and the level of judicial harassment facing journalists in Turkey show more than ever that more actions must be taken. “We stand together with all human rights organisations and urge both national governments and international institutions to put human right issues in Turkey as…

How to improve the situation of freelance journalists? “To build a permanent structure”, was the answer of the Association of Professional Journalists of French-speaking Belgium (AJP/AGJPB) On 20 March, the Belgian Association of Journalistes (Francophone group AJP) launched a new platform offering a series of services to freelances, in order to better commercialize their products. It includes a calculator to define how much should be paid by line (page), news on the profession, training, conferences, events etc., a freelances’ repertoire listing freelance journalists with their expertise,  an agenda and a platform of exchange. For further information about the new platform,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), together with organisations representing media workers and employers in the creative and cultural industry have called on European policy makers to ensure job growth, media diversity and quality content in the response to the European Commission’s consultation on spectrum policy. In a joint response to the consultation, the Wider Spectrum Group (WSG) in which the EFJ is a member of, told policy makers to develop a strong industry strategy that can sustain job growth, media pluralism and quality content. The group has called on the EU to follow the recommendations made by the Lamy…

Update Frederike Geerdink was acquitted by the court in Diyarbakir, Turkey on 13 April. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalist (IFJ) have welcomed the acquittal of Geerdink. #beraat! #acquittal! — Frederike Geerdink (@fgeerdink) April 13, 2015   Dutch journalist to be acquitted of terrorist charges in Turkey (8 April 2015 ) Frederike Geerdink, a Dutch freelance journalist and correspondent based in Turkey could finally clear the terrorism charges  following today’s trial in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Arriving at the High Criminal Court in Diyarbakir this morning with a positive outlook, Geerdink said that she is confident…

The International Federation of Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today reiterated their call for an urgent reform of Greek defamation law. The call follows the ruling by a court in Athens which sentenced journalist Kostas Vaxevanis to 26 months in jail, suspended for three years, for defamation. “This is a disproportionate sentence against the journalist which is likely to have a chilling effect on independent reporting in Greece,” said Beth Costa, IFJ General Secretary. “There is an urgent need to reform the Greek law on defamation to strike a fairer balance which protects both the rights of…

Three months after the devastating attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, a cyber attack has been launched on 9 April against the French broadcasting network TV5 Monde. According to media reports, TV5 Monde was taken over by individuals claiming to belong to Islamic State, blacking out broadcasts as well as hacking its websites and Facebook page. (Read the full version in French) (Photo: AFP)