Today, 01 March 2022, the Government of the Republic of Kosovo signed a decree to shelter 20 journalists from Ukraine, in coordination with the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). The decision is in line with Kosovo’s position of solidarity with the right of Ukraine to protect its territorial integrity and sovereignty, and in the spirit of protecting universal human rights. The EFJ and ECPMF hope that other states will follow Kosovo’s example. The decree, which will see the allocation of €150,000 from State reserves, was initiated by Member of Parliament…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) denounces the censorship imposed on Russian journalists covering Russia’s armed aggression in Ukraine. On Thursday, Russian journalists criticised Russia’s military aggression and called for an ethical treatment of the events. The Russian media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has informed Russian media outlets that they are required to use only information they obtain from “official Russian sources” to cover “the special operation related to the situation in the Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic”. Roskomnadzor announced on Thursday that publications that violate these requirements will be immediately blocked. In addition, these media will be fined…

The Russian authorities have moved to shut down Deutsche Welle’s Moscow office, ban the station from broadcasting in the country and cancel the press accreditation of its staff. The move comes following a decision by the German media regulator to uphold a ban on Russian media RT DE’s broadcasts in Germany amid claims it did not have a locally-issued licence. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) have urged authorities not to use media as a political football and to uphold the right to information. The dispute first broke out on February 2 when RT was banned by the German media…

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The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has published the lists of imprisoned and killed journalists in 2021. Since 1 January 2021, 45 journalists have been killed and 365 are still behind bars. The figures for Europe are still very worrying: according to the statistics of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), 6 journalists have been killed this year and 95 others are in prison in Europe. In Europe, the number of murders of journalists has tripled this year compared to the previous two years. In 2021, the International and European Federations of Journalists have recorded six murders of journalists on…

Ten journalists are currently detained in Crimea and another five have short-term administrative arrests, according to the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU). The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliate in Ukraine in calling for their immediate release. A solidarity action was organised on 3 December 2021 by the NUJU during a special online meeting. Almost 300 journalists, public figures, human rights activists, students and lecturers in journalism universities showed support to the imprisoned journalists, as part of the online course for journalists “In Focus – CRIMEA”. They are citizen journalists, most of them are representatives of…

The President of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the Russian authorities to drop the expulsion of BBC journalist Sarah Rainsford. Russia is refusing to renew her work visa, which should force her to leave the country at the end of this month. Reacting to the announcement by Russian state television Rossiya-24 on Thursday evening that BBC Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford would be expelled, EFJ President Mogens Blicher Bjerregård strongly condemned the Russian authorities’ decision. “Journalism and press freedom are being held hostage in the context of diplomatic tensions between Russia and the UK. This context of tension…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations (CEATL) and the European Writers Council (EWC) call on the governments of Europe and the international community to demonstrate firm support for the democracy movement in Belarus and to provide refuge and humanitarian assistance to those fleeing the country. One Year after the rigged elections in Belarus,the country is being overrun with a radical crackdown on free speech and humanitarian organizations by the dictatorial Lukashenko regime. More than 1,500 organizations have been targeted by the “radical cleansing”, 41 are already on trial for state-ordered dissolution, including the…

The final report on “Building independent media to counter political interference”, authored by Marc Gruber, was published by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and funded by the Open Society Foundations (OSF). The report provides an overview of different threats to independent media in Europe and shares good practices and recommendations for an advocacy action plan. Below, a summary of the main points. Serving as the basis for this report are data collected through questionnaires circulated to EFJ affiliates, telephone interviews and EFJ activities, such as a series of webinars on the same topic. The participating countries, which are representative…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) contributed on Wednesday to the launch of the annual report of the Council of Europe Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists. The report shows a very serious deterioration of media freedom in 2020 across Europe. The Council of Europe Platform today published its annual report, “Wanted! Real Action for Media Freedom in Europe.” The report calls on the Council of Europe and its 47 member states to show political will to address deteriorating press freedom in the region, based on an overview of media freedom violations reported to…

On 19 and 20 April, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) hosted two webinars on how to build independent media to counter political interference as part of a project funded by the Open Society Foundations. The webinars highlighted the importance of independent media against the background of increased polarisation, disinformation and attacks against journalists and shared good practices, in particular by journalists’ unions on how to counter political pressure. The EFJ welcomed distinguished speakers, ranging from MEPs and researchers to media consultants and representatives of media councils, journalists’ unions and international organisations. At the end of the two-day webinar, strong…

Freelance journalist Vladislav Yesypenko has told a court he was tortured and forced to confess after he was arrested in March by the Federal Security Service (FSB) officers in Crimea on fabricated charges. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) call for his immediate release and the withdrawal of all charges against him. Vladislav Yesypenko’s lawyer, Aleksei Ladin, said his client testified during a closed-door hearing on 6 April that he was tortured and threatened with death: “They tortured him with electric shocks and by beating his legs, his genital area, his body. They beat him to obtain confessions and forced him to incriminate…

On 19 and 20 April, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will be hosting a series of two webinars as part of the project “Building independent media to counter political interference” funded by Open Society Foundations. With a great line-up of members of the European Parliament dealing with media freedom, the European Commission, the Center for Media Pluralism and Freedom, the OSCE and experts like Dr. Vaclav Stetka and Elda Brogi as well as journalists’ organisation leaders speaking from their field experience and showcasing campaigns and resilience, these two mid-day webinars, free and open to all upon registration, shall allow…

Denis Ivashin is the 11th journalist under arrest in Belarus. He was arrested on the evening of Friday 12 March in Grodno, in the west of the country. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Belarusian affiliate, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), in calling for his immediate release and that of the other ten journalists detained in Belarus. A journalist with the weekly newspaper Novy Chas, Denis Ivashin published his latest investigation into former members of the “Berkut”, the Ukrainian riot police, who were recruited into the Belarusian police. He also contributes to the Belarusian service of the…

Anna Júlia Donáth is a Hungarian MEP sitting in the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs as well as the Employment and Social Affairs Committees. She studied sociology at the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, and migration and ethnic studies at the University of Amsterdam. After studies she worked in the civil sector in Hungary. A founding member of the Momentum Movement, she was vice-president of the party for two years. In 2018 during a protest she was taken by the police and became a symbol of the fight for fundamental rights in Hungary. In the European Parliament,…

The solidarity meeting with the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) organised online by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) brought together 41 representatives of 29 national journalists’ organisations from 22 European countries (1) on Thursday. The participants unanimously condemned the increasing repression of journalists by the dictatorial regime of the illegitimate President Lukashenko. They demanded the immediate release of the 11 journalists imprisoned in Belarus for doing their job. The EFJ President, Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, called on EFJ affiliates to intensify actions in support of BAJ. Many participants sent letters of protest to the Belarusian embassies in their countries, as…