Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are being used as a tool to silence journalists, activists, and civil society groups through costly and time-consuming legal battles. The No-SLAPP Alliance, a coalition of around 15 civil society organisations including the German journalists’ union dju in ver.di, calls on the German government to take decisive action against these abusive legal tactics, following a survey conducted in September 2024 with 227 respondents. A study commissioned by the dju in ver.di, the Society for Civil Rights, the Munich Environmental Institute, and the Otto Brenner Foundation, indicates that 60% of those affected are journalists, with…

On 30 March, Turkish authorities officially confirmed the arrest of Swedish journalist Joakim Medin upon his arrival in Türkiye. His detention came shortly after British journalist Mark Lowen from the BBC was arrested and deported from Türkiye on 28 March. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) joined the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the UK and the Swedish Union of Journalists (SJF) in calling on Turkish authorities to immediately release Joakim Medin and all local and foreign journalists who have been detained. BBC journalist Mark Lowen was detained on 26 March and deported after 17 hours in…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) along with partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today raise further alarm about the deepening press freedom crisis in Serbia in the wake of revelations showing evidence of the abuse of advanced Pegasus spyware to target two journalists from leading investigative media platform BIRN. Our organisations warn that the ultimately failed attempt to use military-grade surveillance technology to spy on journalists from the award-winning Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) represents another milestone in the deteriorating situation in Serbia, which requires immediate and strong interventions from the European Union. The confirmation of…

The partner organisation of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) will conduct a mission to Serbia between 7-9 April to meet with journalists, media stakeholders and law enforcement authorities amidst a rapidly worsening media freedom crisis. During the three-day visit, the delegation will travel to Belgrade and Novi Sad to meet with journalists, editors, media outlets, journalist associations and civil society groups to gather information about the serious spike in pressure on independent journalism and media freedom by state authorities and government officials. The mission has sought meetings with officials from the State Prosecutor’s Office and the Serbian Police, as…

Anna Prokofieva, a Russian war correspondent for the state-controlled Channel One, was killed and her cameraman Dmitry Volkov was seriously wounded by a landmine explosion on 26 March in the Belgorod region, near the border with Ukraine. The International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) condemn the killing and call for a swift investigation that clarifies the circumstances of the journalist’s death. Prokofieva had been covering the war in Ukraine for state-controlled Channel One since 2023. Channel One’s cameraman Dmitry Volkov, who was injured in the mine explosion, was transferred to a hospital in the Kursk region. This incident follows the killing of three Russian…

On 24 March, Russian state-controlled newspaper Izvestia’s correspondent Alexander Fedorchak was killed in a rocket attack in Ukraine, along with state-controlled Zvezda TV cameraman Andrei Panov and driver Alexander Sirkeli. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ-EF) call for an investigation into the attack and demand warring parties respect media workers and protect them, especially in conflict zones. The air strike hit the media workers’ car in Luhansk, an eastern Ukrainian region under Russian occupation, where they were covering the news. Three other civilians were also reported killed in the strike. Zvezda correspondent Nikita Goldin was reported to be in critical…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), along with 49 organisations working to support and develop democracy, welcomed the European Commission’s initiative to create a European Democracy Shield as a coordinated effort to support democracy in and around Europe. This initiative is particularly relevant in the current context of global democratic backsliding. With its focus on the information space, election integrity, and civic engagement, the European Democracy Shield  is a natural successor to the European Democracy Action Plan (EDAP). EDAP introduced key instruments like the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), the Anti-SLAPP Directive, a revamped Code of Practice on Disinformation, and…

From 31 March to 1 April 2025, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will be hosting a workshop entitled “Online Harassment and Protection of Journalists” in Belgrade, Serbia, as part of the Stand up for Journalism (SUJ) project in partnership with the Independent Journalists Association of Serbia (IJAS). The workshop will focus on the growing issue of digital threats against journalists and explore strategies to strengthen their protection. It will feature insightful speakers from across Europe, including journalists, media professionals, and safety experts. This workshop is the third in a series of five thematic capacity-building workshops. The first workshop was…

Update (23/03/2025): On Tuesday afternoon, the Turkish courts ordered the arrest of seven of the journalists detained in recent days: Yasin Akgül (AFP), Ali Onur Tosun (Now TV News), Bülent Kılıç (freelance), Zeynep Kuray, Kurtuluş Arı (İBB), Hayri Tunç, Gökhan Kam. —————————– At least eleven journalists were detained in dawn raids in different cities by Turkish police on 24 March 2025. The European and International Federation of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) join their affiliates in Turkey, TGS, TGC, GCD and DİSK Basın-İş in calling for their immediate release and condemning a new crackdown on journalism. Journalists were detained at 6.00am during a…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations (CEATL) and the European Writers’ Council (EWC) in expressing strong opposition to the third Draft of the EU’s Code of Practice for the AI Act’s implementation. On 21 March 2025, the three organisations representing European journalists, translators and writers sent a joint letter to Henna Virkkunen (Executive Vice-president of the European Commission for technological sovereignty, security and democracy) and the EU AI Board to denounce the Code’s orientation, considered as ‘simplified’, ‘toxic’ and ‘industry-friendly’. This letter follows on from another sent last February already criticising the…

At a time when the Turkish authorities have unleashed a new wave of repression, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Turkish affiliates TGS, GCD and DİSK Basın-İş are demanding the immediate release of journalist Ismail Saymaz, who has been detained early Wednesday morning as part of an investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into the Gezi Park protests. On Wednesday, Turkish police have arrested the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu (CHP), the primary challenger to the president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in dawn raids that also ensnared 100 politicians, business people and municipal officials accused of corruption…

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in a recent speech, compared critics including journalists to insects that will be eliminated. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliates in Hungary, HPU and MÚOSZ, in demanding an apology from Mr Orbán in the context of a new crackdown on journalists and journalism. On 15 March, during a political rally in Budapest, the Prime Minister accused journalists of serving the interests of foreign powers and compared them and other groups to insects who would soon be eradicated. He told several thousand supporters that in the coming weeks the government would “dismantle the financial machine…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the undersigned NGOs and journalism organisations in reaffirming our support for press freedom and a free media that is able to operate without coercion by, or interference from, government – and call on the United States to protect all reporters and media workers employed by the U.S. Agency for Global  Media (USAGM), many of whom face significant personal risk in reporting on and from highly repressive regimes.  For more than 80 years, USAGM entities, which include Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), have played a vital role in reaching…

News reporting on the nightclub fire in Kočani, in the eastern part of North Macedonia, which claimed the lives of at least 59 people on 16 March, must be in line with the IFJ’s Global Charter of Ethics. The International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) join their affiliates, the Independent Trade Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) and the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), in calling on journalists to stick to professional principles when covering the tragedy, including reporting accurately according to the facts, avoiding sensationalism and respecting the privacy of those affected by the tragedy.…

A groundbreaking collective agreement was signed by the French unions to set social and pay standards for online journalism. Until now, the industry had no such framework since the creation of the internet. After two years of negotiations, the three unions Syndicat national des journalistes (SNJ), the SNJ-CGT, CFDT-Journalistes and the Syndicat de la presse indépendante d’information en ligne (Spiil) have secured long-overdue protections for media workers in digital journalism.  This agreement, reached during the ‘Assises internationales du journalisme’ in Tours on 13 March, introduces the first structured classification system and salary scale for Spiil members. Spiil represents 270 publishers,…

EFJ President Maja Sever was invited to the Coordination meeting on combatting anti-Muslim hatred/racism organised by the European Commission in Brussels on 14 March 2025. Journalists, researchers and associations working in the media sector discussed challenges related to anti-Muslim hatred/racism in media and shared good practices. We are republishing here in full the speech given by Maja Sever on this occasion. Do you know who Toni Buzov was? He was a man who could not remain silent. Our colleague, journalist Boris Dežulović, wrote an article about him in a local newspaper, and Nebojša Slijepčević directed a thirteen-minute film that won…