The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomed the launch of a new project by Flemish Association of Journalists (VVJ). The new project called Meldpunt, developing on the pre-existing website Persveilig.be, give the opportunity to Flemish journalists and media workers to report any attack that they face in the context of their work via an online form. The project has been thought out with the close cooperation of all competent ministers (Flemish minister of media Benjamin Dalle, federal justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne and minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden). It focuses on multiple domains: submission of alerts, sensitisation, training and information on topics such as…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned media freedom and journalist associations today express shared concern over an Italian prosecutor’s request for a six-month prison sentence in a case of defamation through the press involving three journalists. The lawsuit had been filed in response to their reporting on a labour lawsuit associated with a former minister. Prison sentences in cases of defamation through the press have been declared unconstitutional by the Italian Constitutional Court in 2021, except for cases of exceptional gravity. No journalist should face nor fear prison sentences for having published factual information in the public…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemns the establishment of branches of the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ) in the Ukrainian territories illegally annexed by Russia. The EFJ calls on RUJ to renounce these settlements and reaffirms its solidarity with its Ukrainian affiliates, the journalists’ unions NUJU and IMTUU. On Monday, the Russian Union of Journalists announced on its website that the organisation’s leadership had decided to establish four new branches in the Ukrainian territories illegally annexed by Russia on 30 September: in Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. The RUJ statement said that this was the main decision taken by…

The Minsk City Court has found journalist Ales Lubyanchuk guilty of allegedly founding or participating in an extremist group. The journalist was sentenced to 3 years in prison. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) demand his immediate release. The EFJ joins its affiliate BAJ in denouncing the sentence against Ales Lubyanchuk. BAJ considers the verdict by Judge Alena Ananich as a revenge for his years of professional commitment. The EFJ and BAJ demand that Ales and other media representatives imprisoned for political reasons are released. “We once again call on international organisations to…

A court in Minsk sentenced investigative journalist Sergei Satsuk to eight years in prison on Wednesday. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its affiliate the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) denounce this illegitimate conviction and demand his immediate release. Judge Sviatlana Bandarenka sentenced Sergei Satsuk, the editor of the Ezhednevnik news website, for alleged charges of “inciting hatred”, “official misconduct” and “accepting bribes”. The 58-year-old was detained in December 2021 after authorities searched his home and office. He is the latest journalist to be jailed in the authoritarian country, which has been ruled by President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994. Satsuk’s…

On 25 October 2022, eleven journalists were arrested following raids on their homes in the cities of Ankara, Istanbul, Van, Diyarbakir, Urfa and Mardin in Turkey. The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) join their affiliates, the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) and the Press Labour Union (DİSK Basın-İş) in urging the authorities to immediately release the detained journalists and stop the raids on their homes. According to IFJ and EFJ affiliates, Turkish authorities raided the homes of 10 journalists as part of “terrorism-related” investigations led by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. According to DISK, the journalists were…

On the occasion of the first European Anti-SLAPP Conference on 20 October 2022, the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE), of which the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is a member, adopted a declaration calling on governments across Europe to take immediate legislative and practical action to protect journalists and other public watchdogs from the growing threat of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs). The first European Anti-SLAPP conference took place in Strasbourg (France) and was opened by Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, Vera Jourova, Vice-President of the European Commission, Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined partner media freedom and journalist organisations in writing to Grigoris Dimitriadis, the former general secretary of the office of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, about SLAPP lawsuits he filed against investigative media and journalists.   RE: Letter from international press freedom organisations 21 October 2022 Dear Grigoris Dimitriadis,   The undersigned international media freedom and journalists organisations are writing to you to express our shared concern about defamation claims filed against investigative journalists and media outlets following your resignation from the role of general secretary in the office of the Greek Prime Minister in…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the Steering Committee of the BH Journalists Association (BHJA) in expressing worries and indignation in the face of the rise of hate speech and national and religion hatred online. In the last couple of weeks, Bosnian journalists Dalija Hasanbegović Konaković, journalist for Al-Jazeera Balkans, and Vladimir Trišić, owner and director of BN Television and its employees, have been the victims of unjustified and heinous attacks online, targeting not only them but sometimes their close family. In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, journalist Dalija Hasanbegović Konaković and members of her immediate family were targeted by social…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the German Journalists’ Association (DJV) in calling for the Federal Criminal Investigation Office (BKA) to conduct criminal statistics on violence against media workers. While data on violence against police forces has been collected in Germany since the 1950s, verbal, physical and digital attacks on journalists are not recorded separately by the BKA. However, based on the data provided by 16 regional criminal investigation offices compiled in the annual police crime statistics, a model on what the survey could look like exists. “Journalists are increasingly exposed to violent attacks. We experience insults, threats and physical attacks with…

The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) welcome the resolution adopted today by the European Parliament to pay tribute to the murdered Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and to denounce the lack of political will of the Maltese authorities to fight corruption and guarantee press freedom. Five years after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia in Bidnija (Malta), the European Parliament pays tribute to the journalist and looks into the rule of law, organised crime, and corruption in Malta. In its resolution adopted with 564 votes in favour, 10 against (the four Maltese MEPs from the socialist group and…

Working as a freelance or self-employed journalist has never been more challenging than in today’s changing media landscape and labour market. The precarious working conditions and the lack of legal protection for their rights are the daily reality facing freelance and self-employed journalists and media workers.  To address these issues, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), together with the trade union federations in the Media, Arts and Entertainment sector, launched a blog containing useful information regarding the legal rights of these workers and support provided by their unions and associations.  In recent years, we have developed an ongoing reflection in…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the publication of the report on Kosovo by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. The EFJ and its affiliate in Kosovo, AGK, call on the Kosovo authorities to implement without delay the recommendations made by Dunja Mijatovic to fight impunity and strengthen media freedom in Kosovo. In a memorandum issued on Tuesday, the Commissioner calls for the full implementation of the existing legislation, in particular with regard to access to information. “Journalists should be able to conduct their vital work free from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and from violence.…

Thirteen journalists and representatives from journalists’ unions in France took part in a training workshop on the safe coverage of demonstrations and civil unrest, on 10-11 October 2022 in Paris. The workshop is part of a series of training sessions organised by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in the framework of the Safety4Journalists project. The workshop was organised in cooperation with the French journalists’ trade union SNJ-CGT. Six female journalists and seven male journalists attended the sessions. All are working as camera operators and photographers, and are from different cities of France, including Lyon, Bordeaux, Besançon, Nice and Paris.…

The EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez took part in a four-day international mission to Malta to commemorate the brutal murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia just five years ago on 16 October 2017. He gives a bitter testimony, considering the guilty passivity of the Maltese authorities. I was in Malta to pay tribute to the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, murdered just five years ago. On Friday, I attended the trial that resulted in the conviction of the two henchmen who killed her. I attended the silent gathering on Sunday at the site where her car bomb exploded. I shouted…

Civil society and journalists’ organisations, including the European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ), denounce government’s lack of ambition and transparency in press freedom reforms and renews calls for full justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia. Five years ago today, investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia was brutally assassinated in a car bomb attack in Malta. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues. Together with them, we continue to fight for full justice.  Today is a day to remember and celebrate her fearless journalism, the far-reaching impact of her incisive writing on financial crime, abuses of power and deep-seated corruption,…