UPDATED 27.07.16 An ongoing crackdown on the media in Turkey has led to the arrests of more journalists and raids on their homes. The International and the European Federation of journalists (IFJ/EFJ) today denounced the deterioration of democratic rule, of which press freedom is one of the pillars. On 22 July, Zehra Dogan, painter and editor at women’s news agency JINHA, was arrested by police in Mardin, south-east of Turkey. She was taken to the Nusaybin police office the following day. During the interrogation, she was accused of “being a member of the terrorist organisation PKK.” The anti-terror prosecutor Irfan…

Journalists at Greece’s Alpha 989 radio station are to meet to consider action following the “unfair, illegal and abusive” dismissal of their union representative. The International and European Federations of Journalists have pledged their support to Greek affiliate JUADN following the sacking of Georgia Ioannidou. The union had given the radio station’s board a deadline to reinstate Georgia, who is also a board member of JUADN, but the company failed to act. In a statement the union said: “Our colleague has been targeted for being a union representative and her persistence in taking up issues with the personnel department such…

A prominent journalist specialising in relations between Russia and Ukraine, Pavel Sheremet, has been murdered today by a car bomb in Kiev. The International Federation of Journalists and European Federation of Journalists, have joined affiliates in Ukraine and Russia, in condemning the killing. Pavel Sheremet, who worked for the Ukrainskaya Pravda newspaper and radio Vesti died when the car he was driving exploded shortly after it started, according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office. He was heading to the radio’s office to host his morning show. Some reports claim the car belonged to his employer, Alyona Pritula, the founder and chief editor of…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its French affiliates, the Syndicat national des journalistes (SNJ) and the Syndicat national des journalistes-CGT (SNJ-CGT), to denounce the last-minute amendment voted on Monday 18 July by the National Assembly, to restrict journalists’ protection of sources, only a few days following the Nice attack. Submitted a few hours before the new reading of the proposal to strengthen the freedom, independence and pluralism of the media, the amendment foresees to restrict the protection of journalists’ sources when they violate the “secret of national defence” and “the fundamental interests of the Nation.” This extension is considered “indispensable” because of…

Attacks targeting the media in Turkey have led the International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) to alert the Council of Europe about a series of new press freedom violations. The federations are calling on the International and European communities to take concrete steps against the Turkish government’s assaults on fundamental human rights that are contrary to international and European conventions. Mustafa Cambaz, a photojournalist for the Turkish Daily Yeni Safak was killed during the attempted coup in Turkey on 15 July. In the early hours of Saturday 16 July, Turkish soldiers who attempted to overthrow the government seized control…

The EFJ newsletter, EFJ Focus, is available in English, French and German.   EDITORIAL Dialogue with publishers I was invited by the European Magazine Media Association to attend a conference about the evolution of media and threats to press freedom on 30 June in Wroclaw, Poland. Following the conference, I also held several informal meetings with other publishers in the media and engaged in dialogue on issues of common interests.We share some common interests with publishers such as the increasing threats to press freedom while we have our differences such as collective bargaining. But we all face big challenges and it requires us to work together whenever possible. Such as…

Mustafa Cambaz, photojournalist for the Turkish daily Yeni Safak was killed by soldiers during the attempt coup in Turkey, last night, in the Cengelkoy neighborhood of Istanbul. Soldiers took control of the state broadcaster TRT, the private broadcasters CNN-Turk and Kanal D, and the daily newspaper Hurriyet. In the Ankara studios of TRT, news anchor Tijen Karas was forced to read a statement at gunpoint. Several journalists were attacked during the clashes. In Istanbul, civilians protesting the coup beat Selçuk Şamiloğlu, a photojournalist for Hurriyet and the Associated Press. Following the attempted coup, the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK, the…

Charges of acquiring and divulging state secrets, membership of, and administration of a terrorist organisation brought against five journalists, including four former members of Taraf newspaper’s editorial and investigative staff, must be dropped and one of the accused, Mehmet Baransu, must be released immediately and unconditionally,the European Federation of Journalists,the International Federation of Journalists, PEN International, English PEN, German PEN, Swedish PEN, PEN America, Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists,, the Ethical Journalism Network, IFEX, Index on Censorship, Global Editors Network and Reporters Without Borders said in a joint statement today (14/07/2016). “These charges are a clear infringement of the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) supports the I am a journalist  #Bengazeteciyim campaign launched by journalists and media freedom advocates from Turkey.  European journalists stand in solidarity with their colleagues in Turkey who fiercely continue their job despite facing relentless attacks and attempts to silence them. The support is also extented to the 34 journalists and media workers in jail and to those facing arrest as retaliation for their exercise of their right to freedom of expression and freedom to inform. I am a journalist! Journalism is not a crime. In Turkey, oppression of the press is getting worse by the day.…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the campaign launched by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to denounce Agence France Presse’s (AFP) “unacceptable” contracts. AFP is demanding its photographic stringers across the globe, in offices outside of France, to sign contracts which include the full assignment of their authors’ rights without any additional remuneration. The IFJ has condemned such “unfair” practices and is calling for an immediate revision of the standard contracts imposed on photographers working for AFP. The IFJ is also calling on photographers not to sign the contracts as they stand. The EFJ and the IFJ has been campaigning for years against rights grabbing contracts (Further…

Whistleblowers protection was debated yesterday evening (6 July) in Strasbourg during the plenary session. Members of the European Parliament (MEP) from different political groups expressed the need to have an EU-wide legislation protecting whistleblowers, while the Commission said it can’t move forward without firm legal basis. The discussion was prompted by the unsatisfying LuxLeaks judgement and the Panama Papers scandal, which recalled on the essential role whistleblowers play for the general public interest and the lack of protection they face at the national level. According to European People’s Party MEP Constance Le Grip, “those cases show the usefulness of whistleblowers in sheding light on activities where people are…

You plan to create your own multimedia platform? You are a journalist committed to the inclusion of diversity in media? In the framework of its mentoring programme Div-A (Diversity Accelerator), the Council of Europe will help and fund ten individuals and/or teams from the Council of Europe countries to develop their ideas. Div-A aims at testing a new approach to rendering the media landscape in Europe more inclusive with regard to cultural diversity and more balanced in relation to diversity issues. An international team of new media experts – including the German Krautreporter, the Hungarian Direkt 36, the Greek Athens Live, the French Sport et Handicaps…

A group of European Union journalists and editors have met their Russian counterparts in St Petersburg on Monday and Tuesday at a seminar entitled “The Role of Editorial Standards in Safeguarding Independent Journalism”. The meeting was hosted by the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) with support from regional journalistic organisations and media outlets, in association with the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). The event is part of an initiative spearheaded by the EU Delegation to the Russian Federation. The president of RUJ, Vsevolod Bogdanov, and the head of press and the official Spokesperson for the European Union Delegation in Russia,…

#Press Freedom #Media Freedom #News   On 1 July 2016, a coalition of journalists and press organisations are hosting the “(R)EVOLUTION OF EUROPE’S PRESS” conference in the European Capital of Culture 2016: Wroclaw, Poland. This event will bring together a high level group of approximately 90 politicians, media experts, journalists, start-ups and technology experts who will examine the state of press freedom in Europe through the political, market and technological lens. President of the European Federation of Journalists, Mogens BLICHER BJERREGARD will speak at the final panel on challenges facing journalist in all media including social media. Blicher Bjerregard says, “Press freedom…

Anonymity of perpetrators, attacks across borders and a lack of police awareness and reaction are among the obstacles to properly tackle cyberbullying. The Council of Europe’s conference on gender equality “Are we there yet”  held in Tallinn, Estonia, on 30 June and 1 July was an occasion to hear from various experts on how best to tackle cyber-bullying alongside a range of other key topics, including better access to justice and leadership, stereotypes in the media, sexist hate speech and gender mainstreaming. Social media offer incredible opportunities for women to express themselves. But there is also a downside to it.…

Suspended jail sentences for whistleblowers (12 months and 1.500 EUR penalty for Antoine Deltour and 9 months and 1.000 EUR penalty for Raphaël Halet) and acquittal for the investigative journalist (Edouard Perrin), that’s the verdict of Luxembourg court in the LuxLeaks case. Judges in Luxembourg delivered today (29/06/2016) a verdict in LuxLeaks case related to the prosecution of two whistleblowers and a journalist for disclosing confidential documents from auditing firm PwC that showed how 340 multinational companies used secret tax deals to avoid paying into the public coffers. A European Parliament’s study estimates that EU countries lose 50 billion to 70 billion EUR in tax…