Journalists Ercüment Akdeniz, Elif Akgül, Yıldız Tar and Ender İmrek were detained in police raids on 18 February, as part of an operation that resulted in the detention of around 50 individuals. The International and the European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) joined their Turkish affiliates, DİSK Basın-İş Sendikası and Türkiye Gazeteciler Sendikasi (TGS), in condemning the detentions and urging the authorities to stop prosecuting journalists. Led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the operation was part of an investigation into the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK), an umbrella organisation for left-wing and pro-Kurdish groups, on terrorism-related offences. The detentions spanned ten provinces…

On the seventh anniversary of the murder of Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, the European Federaton of Journalists (EFJ) and the partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) mark the date with the publication of a new report examining ongoing threats to media freedom and the safety of journalists. MFRR partners take this opportunity to remember Ján and Martina, renew our call for full justice over their brutal killing, and call on Slovak authorities to ensure that the mastermind behind the assassination is ultimately prosecuted and convicted. Until all those involved in the February…

Media freedom in Slovakia is facing a deep crisis, serving as a critical test case for the European Union’s commitment to safeguarding media freedom and democratic values, Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partner organisations warn today in a new report. The MFRR report – which can be downloaded here – concludes that since the re-election of populist leader Robert Fico and the formation of a new government in October 2023, the environment for freedom of expression, media pluralism and independent journalism has become increasingly hostile. Journalists have been subjected to legal harassment, intimidation, smear campaigns and verbal abuse. Meanwhile, the…

In response to the US government’s offensive against journalists and journalism, the EFJ President Maja Sever today issued a message of solidarity with American journalists’ unions. “We cannot remain passive in the face of the attacks on our colleagues,” said Maja Sever. “This offensive also has an impact in Europe. We must join forces against the enemies of journalism and press freedom.” These are tough times for American journalists, faced with the angry hostility of the Trump administration and its allies in the Big Tech sector. This new balance of power is not without effect in Europe, where authoritarian or…

On the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) call on its affiliates across Europe to support a campaign launched by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) to maintain the network of Journalists’ Solidarity Centers operational in 2025. The NUJU, with IFJ, EFJ and UNESCO support, established six Journalists’ Solidarity Centers in Ukraine: five offices – in Lviv (with a presence in Chernivtsi), Ivano-Frankivsk, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Kharkiv, as well as the headquarters in Kyiv. The Centers, established in 2022 through the IFJ/EFJ special Safety…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the International Press Institute (IPI) and more than 80 organisations in calling upon the Georgian authorities to immediately release veteran journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, who has been on hunger strike for five weeks since her arrest in early January. As of February 18, Mzia announced an end to the hunger strike after doctors warned that she faced an imminent threat to her life. On January 11, amid a government crackdown on pro-democracy protests, Mzia was arrested on disproportionate charges of assaulting a police officer – a charge carrying up to seven years in prison…

The Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana (FNSI) and the Order of Journalists today announced that they are taking legal action with the Rome public prosecutor’s office to seek clarification regarding the surveillance of an Italian journalist. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) support this initiative and urge the Italian government to shed full light on this new spying scandal. During a press conference on 19 February in Rome, the FNSI and the Order of Journalists strongly condemned the recent revelation of surveillance against at least one Italian investigative journalist. The revelation concerns Fanpage editor-in-chief Francesco Cancellato, whose WhatsApp was…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today joins partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in urging Italian authorities to shed full light on the recent surveillance of an editor-in-chief in Italy and others using Graphite spyware technology developed by Israeli firm Paragon Solutions. Our organisations are alarmed by the latest case of a journalist within the European Union having their secure communications and sources compromised using advanced spyware technologies, representing yet another serious attack on press freedom. In the wake of recent revelations, we also urge other governments in Europe to launch investigations into targeted surveillance against any…

Brussels, 17 February 2025 Dear Executive Vice-President Virkkunen, Dear Commissioner Micallef, The AI Office is currently tasked with the critical responsibility of successfully finalising the ‘General-Purpose AI Code of Practice’ by May 2025. As representative organisations of authors and performers from all disciplines, in their capacity as creative workers and rightsholders (copyright and related rights), we write to you to express our concerns about the second draft of this Code of Practice, which was recently published and discussed. As it currently stands, it does not show sufficient progress and fails to take into account the comments expressed by our organisations.…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the undersigned media freedom and journalists’ organisations in condemning the legal threats issued by the Moscow-based law firm ELWI on behalf of the Russian insurance company Ingosstrakh against the Danish investigative media outlet Danwatch. These actions represent an attempt to intimidate and silence independent journalism, and we stand in full solidarity with Danwatch and its journalists in the face of these threats. Between December 2024 and January 2025, Danwatch received four strongly worded legal letters from ELWI, representing their client Ingosstrakh, a major Russian insurance company, which has previously been sanctioned by the…

The European Commission has released a draft template for the summary of training data designed to support the implementation by AI model operators of the transparency obligations from the AI Act. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the EU Commission’s AI Office not to be influenced by the Big Tech industry when formulating these obligations and urges to protect the legitimate interests of authors. In order to implement the transparency requirements of the AI Act for providers of generative AI models, the AI Office is currently working on so-called templates. These templates will set the legally binding framework…

To mark the third anniversary of the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), in collaboration with the Center of Photojournalism Géopolis, invites you to the screening of the Oscar-winning documentary “20 Days in Mariupol”. The screening will take place on 25 February 2025 at 19.30 in Brussels. Directed by Ukrainian filmmaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mstyslav Chernov, the documentary offers a harrowing firsthand account of the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Captured by Associated Press journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol, the film provides undeniable evidence of Russian war crimes –…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) published its annual Monitoring Report analysing the press freedom situation in 35 European countries, including the 27 EU Member States and nine countries with EU candidate status. Between January and December 2024, Mapping Media Freedom documented 1,548 press freedom violations targeting 2,567 media-related persons or entities – an alarming increase compared to the 1,153 violations recorded in 2023. Smear campaigns, websites disguised as legitimate news outlets, and obstruction and attacks during reporting are just a few of the major issues media workers faced in 2024. Journalists also faced verbal attacks, physical assault, attacks against…

The Council of Europe’s European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) published a report analysing the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) ahead of the entry into force of several articles in February 2025. The report highlights both the weaknesses and the strengths of the EMFA, whose application could vary depending on the will of national governments. Although the EMFA has many loopholes, it is the first legal document capable of protecting media freedom and the work of journalists in general. Published in December 2024, the report is divided into 3 main sections: “Legal basis and (ongoing) controversy”, “The EMFA in a nutshell”, and…

The Council of Europe’s European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) published a report analysing the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) ahead of the entry into force of several articles in February 2025. The report highlights both the weaknesses and the strengths of the EMFA, whose application could vary depending on the will of national governments. Although the EMFA has many loopholes, it is the first legal document capable of protecting media freedom and the work of journalists in general.In this article, we have summarised the main points raised by this report. The institutional framework Chapter IV of the EMFA introduces the institutional…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) on Thursday expressed their support for the Moscow correspondent of the French daily newspaper Le Monde, Benjamin Quénelle, who has just had his accreditation revoked by the Russian authorities. The EFJ and IFJ call on the Russian authorities to reverse their decision. The Russian authorities have decided to revoke the accreditation of Benjamin Quénelle, correspondent for the daily newspaper Le Monde. After having had his press accreditation suspended on 16 October 2024, Benjamin Quénelle was notified of the cancellation of this document on 30 January 2025, effectively banning him from working as…