Update (20/08/2024): The EFJ condemns the death threats against the two journalists by pro-Russian circles in Italy, in particular the writer Nicolai Lilin. ——————————- The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Italian affiliate FNSI in strongly condemning Russian threats to prosecute Italian journalists covering the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kursk region, in Russia. The EFJ considers that these intimidations amount to censorship and are aimed at preventing public opinion from being informed about ongoing operations. Russian media reported on Friday that the Russian interior ministry intends to press criminal charges against Italian journalists who reported from the region of…

On 11 August 2024, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić verbally abused journalists from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Kosovo during a press conference in Belgrade on the occasion of the rally against the Serbian government’s approval of lithium ore mining in Serbia. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the SafeJournalists network in expressing its full solidarity with the journalists who have been targeted by President Vučic. We urge President Vučić and the authorities to refrain from this blatant pattern of harassing journalists or media outlets for critical reporting and instead ensure respect for the fundamental guarantees of media freedom.…

Russian internet monitoring services reported widespread slowdowns of online platform YouTube on 8 August, making it nearly inaccessible without using virtual private networks (VPNs). YouTube has remained one of the few platforms of free expression in the country, amid the government’s crackdown on independent media. The International and European Federations Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) strongly condemn Russia’s slow down of YouTube as a severe act of censorship and urge authorities to revoke the restrictions. On 31 July, Russian authorities announced plans to slow down YouTube’s performance with speeds expected to drop by up to 70%, as part of a strategy to persuade…

Today, 9 August 2024, marks four years since the fraudulent presidential election took place in Belarus, which intensified the crackdown on journalists, independent media and trade unions to crush free speech and political opposition by Aleksandr Lukashenko’s regime. The International and the European Federation of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) join their affiliate, the Belarusian Journalists’ Association (BAJ), in calling on the regime to release all journalists and media workers behind bars. The Federations also urge the authorities to stop their harassment of exiled journalists, including raiding their residences and causing distress to their families to exert leverage on them. Four years after…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners in calling on the authorities in Georgia not to extradite journalist Afgan Sadygov to Azerbaijan and to release him from extradition detention. Additionally, authorities should allow Sadygov to freely leave Georgia for a third country. Georgian authorities arrested Sadygov on 3 August according to the journalist’s wife, who posted footage of him being escorted into a car by law enforcement. The following day, a court in Tbilisi ordered Sadygov to be held in extradition detention. Authorities in Azerbaijan have charged Sadygov with “threatening to spread offensive…

On 31 July 2024, French journalist Thomas Dietrich was ordered by the Swiss justice to withdraw his publications exposing alleged corruption in Guinea and was banned from speaking on the subject. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemns the order issued by the Geneva Court of First Instance against the investigative journalist and considers it a serious attack on press freedom. The so-called “provisional and super-provisional” measures were taken without informing the journalist, who was silenced until the next hearing. On 4 May, Thomas Dietrich revealed in a video that the Swiss company ADDAX ENERGY, owned by the  billionaire Jean-Claude…