Maltese tycoon Yorgen Fenech was granted bail by a court on Friday, more than five years after he was first arrested and charged with complicity in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) questions the failure of the Maltese public authorities to complete the judicial proceedings aimed at identifying and convicting those behind her murder. Yorgen Fenech is a Maltese businessman whose main interests are casinos and hotels in Malta. He is a suspect facing criminal charges in multiple proceedings for murder, corruption, money laundering, and the illicit purchase of firearms and poison. In…

Recognising the indispensable role freelance journalists play in informing the public, upholding democracy and maintaining editorial independence, we, the representatives of freelance journalists in Europe, unite in calling for action to address the precariousness of our profession. This Declaration outlines the fundamental measures necessary to ensure fair working conditions, equal treatment and suitable livelihoods for freelance journalists across Europe. Through their independence, freelance journalists are vital to democracy and the free flow of information.  Dignified Working Conditions Freelance journalists are integral members of the journalistic profession, entitled to safe and equitable working conditions. Employers must eliminate practices of “fake freelance”…

UPDATE (28/01/2025): Over 300 journalists, editors, and media managers in Georgia have issued a joint statement demanding the immediate release of Mzia Amaglobeli. —————————— The undersigned press freedom, journalists and human rights organisations call for the immediate release of veteran Georgian journalist and founder and director of the online newspapers Batumelebi and Netgazeti, Mzia Amaglobeli. Amaglobeli, who announced on 20 January to have been on hunger strike since January 12 after being abused while held in detention, said “The charges against me today are the product of repressive, treacherous, and violent processes targeting humanity, freedom of speech, and expression.” She…

From 23 to 24 January 2025, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) will be hosting a workshop entitled “Collective bargaining for freelancers” at the Centre Culturel de Vichy, France, as part of the Stand up for Journalism(SUJ) project in partnership with the French union SNJ-CGT. The workshop will address the different challenges related to collective bargaining regarding the special condition of freelancers, with insightful speakers from all around Europe. This workshop is the second in a series of five thematic capacity-building workshops. The first workshop was organised in Istanbul in September 2024, where speakers and participants from Turkey and all…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the decision of the French judiciary not to prosecute journalist Ariane Lavrilleux, following the complaint by the French Ministry of Defence for disclosure of a defence secret. The EFJ calls on the French authorities to strengthen legislation on the protection of journalistic sources. “Thank you all for once again putting the need to protect journalistic sources on the agenda. Your mobilisation has enabled me to avoid prosecution. Now we need to reform the law,” wrote journalist Ariane Lavrilleux on Bluesky after three hours of questioning by an anti-terrorist investigating judge at the Paris…

On 7 January, Meta announced the closure of its fact-checking program in the United States, paving the way for a similar decision in Europe. At the same time, Google is considering withdrawing from its commitment to supporting the fact-checking community under the European Union’s Code of Practice on Disinformation. These decisions would have a disastrous effect on Europe’s information space. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have sent an open letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, asking her to act decisively on the basis of the Digital Services Act…

In a video message posted to his Facebook page on Tuesday, Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced the platform is getting rid of its third-party factcheckers, starting in the United States. While the measure seems to be sparing Europe, for the time being at least, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is calling on Europe’s political decision-makers to take all necessary measures to support journalism and journalists, against a backdrop of increasing proliferation of disinformation and propaganda on online platforms. Less than two weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House, Meta (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Threads) announced major changes…

On 7 January 2015, 10 staff members of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were killed in their newsroom by two terrorists. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) join their French affiliates (SNJ, SNJ-CGT, Force ouvrière and CFDT-journalistes) in commemorating the 10th anniversary of Charlie Hebdo’s massacre and insisting on adopting global binding instruments to protect journalists. The victims were killed when hooded gunmen attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Stephanie Charbonnier, also known as ‘Charb‘ was the title’s director. Cartoonists Jean Cabut aka Cabu, Bernard Verlhac aka Tignous, Philippe Honoré and Georges Wolinski were also killed…

Russian state controlled newspaper Izvestia reported Saturday that its freelance correspondent Alexander Martemyanov died from his injuries after a drone hit the civilian vehicle he was traveling in on the Donetsk-Horlivka highway, in Russian-occupied territory in eastern Ukraine. Four other media workers were reportedly injured in the same attack. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) demand an investigation into these events and call on the warring parties to respect their obligation to protect media workers as civilians. According to Russia’s state Ria Novosti news agency, the vehicle had been returning from covering shelling in the Russian-held city of…

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was arrested by the Iranian police in Tehran on 19 December, while on assignment, according to the Italian Foreign Ministry. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) join their affiliate, the Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana (FNSI), in calling on the Iranian authorities to release the journalist immediately and unconditionally. In a statement published on 27 December, the Italian Foreign Ministry announced the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, 29, by police in Tehran, where the journalist was travelling for her job. According to the ministry, the Italian Ambassador to Iran, Paola Amadei, paid a consular visit, to…

On 4 December, journalist Philippe Miller was arrested by a dozen police officers and placed in police custody for 48 hours for investigating a Parisian law firm. The search of his seized equipment has just been authorized by the liberty and detention judge during a hearing on the contestation of the searched seals. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its affiliates strongly condemn the judicial intimidation of journalists and reiterate the importance of upholding the fundamental right to the confidentiality of sources. On 18 October, Philippe Miller, who works for the online press site “Warning Trading”, which specialises in news about…

The undersigned press freedom, freedom of expression, media, journalists and human rights organisations express solidarity towards journalists and media in Georgia. Faced with violence, threats, detentions, equipment destruction and seizure, journalists in Georgia are entering what is supposed to be a festive period with uncertainty and fear for their safety. Solidarity and support is needed now more than ever. The MFRR partners condemn continuous attacks and pressure on media workers and repeat the call for a strong reaction by EU officials and institutions to address this violence. The protests against the Georgian Dream’s decision to pause EU membership negotiations started…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and the SafeJournalists Network (SJN), in expressing serious concern over the revelations in Amnesty International’s forensic analysis, exposing the invasive use of spyware and other digital tools by Serbian intelligence services and police to hack journalists’ phones as part of a covert surveillance campaign. These concerning revelations come amidst escalating threats against journalists in Serbia. In the report “A Digital Prison”: Surveillance and the Suppression of Civil Society in Serbia” published on 16 December 2024, Amnesty International revealed that mobile forensic products made by the Israeli…

On 10 December 2024, the judge of Minsk City Court, sentenced journalist Volha Radzivonava to four years of imprisonment for criminal defamation. The IFJ and EFJ support their affiliate, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) in condemning this blatant attack on free speech, as “another effort to silence independent journalism and restrict critical voices in Belarus.” Volha Radzivonava worked for KYKY.org news portal and freelanced for other news outlets. She was arrested on 7 March 2024 for allegedly “discrediting the Republic of Belarus”, “incitement to racial, national, religious, or other social hostility or discord” and “defaming” and “insulting the President…

Less than a week after the publication of our joint appeal to the EU to take urgent EU-wide measures, such as stricter regulation of spyware exports and use, new spyware abuse scandal erupts in Serbia: Serbian intelligence services and police have used spyware and other digital tools to hack the phones of journalists and illegally surveil them, Amnesty International said in a report published on Monday. According to this very documented report, mobile forensic products made by Israeli firm Cellebrite are being used by authorities in Serbia to extract data from journalists and activists’ phones, while new Serbian spyware “NoviSpy”…

The Danish Union of Journalists (DJ) website is no longer visible from Google’s search results for 1% of Danish users as part of a “time-limited test” by Google. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) urges Google to reconsider this “experiment” and restores the visibility of DJ’s and Danish news websites in its search results. The experiment was announced on 14 November and consists of hiding traditional news websites from 1% of users in 8 countries: Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Greece, Croatia, Poland and Spain. While a French court ruled the experiment illegal after a complaint from the French…