Update 20.03.2022: Oleg Baturin was released on 20 March following eight-day detention by Russian soldiers. Ukrainian local journalist Oleg Baturin disappeared in Kakhovka, a city in Kherson region (Ukraine), on Saturday evening. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its two Ukrainian affiliates, NUJU and IMTUU, in calling on the authorities to investigate this disturbing disappearance in a region where journalists live in terror of Russian reprisals. We call on any witnesses to contact journalists’ organisations. On Saturday 12 March, at about 4 pm, an acquaintance called Oleg Baturin, who is a journalist for “Novy Den” newspaper, and proposed to…

On 10 March, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don (Russia) sentenced Remzi Bekirov, a correspondent for the Russian independent news website Grani, to 19 years in prison for allegedly organizing the activities of a terrorist organization, a charge he denied. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) call on the Russian authorities to immediately release Remzi Bekirov and all other Crimean Tatar journalists who are in prison for informing the public about human rights abuses against their ethnic group. On 27 March 2019, journalists Osman Arifmemetov and Remzi Bekirov were arrested in…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes the call for solidarity with Ukrainian journalists by the Russian Journalists and Media Workers’ Trade Union (JMWU). The EFJ also supports the legal action by the Journalists’ Union of the Russian Republic of Karelia against the new Russian censorship law and against the censorship imposed by the Russian regulator RKN. The independent Russian trade union JMWU on 7 March issued a message of solidarity to Ukrainian and Russian journalists who are trying to do their work in the public interest in an increasingly difficult environment: “Let’s call a spade a spade. Peace is…

The European Federation of Journalists joined Access Info Europe and 125 journalists, transparency, anti-corruption, open data organisations in calling upon the European Union institutions and the Member States to act urgently to open up company and beneficial ownership registers across the European Union to the public. This is crucial in exposing the assets and money of Russian oligarchs in the EU. We are deeply horrified by Putin’s incursion into Ukraine and the violation of the rule of law, human rights, and state sovereignty. We support the European Union in collectively taking a strong stance to defend democracy and our common…

A solidarity mission carrying half a ton of humanitarian aid for Ukrainian journalists left Athens on 9 March, headed by Maria Antoniadou, the President of the Journalists’ Union of the Athens Daily Newspapers (JUADN). The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) praised the ”incredible show of solidarity” by JUADN who organized the mission in collaboration with the Unified Journalists Organization of Subsidiary Insurance and Health Care  (EDOEAP) and supported by the Panhellenic Federation of Journalists Unions (PFJU). The aid, which will be delivered to IFJ/EFJ affiliates the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the Independent Media Trade Union of…

The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) are calling on media employers to ensure the protection of reporters they send to war zones. The IFJ, EFJ and their affiliates in Ukraine, NUJU and IMTUU, note that many correspondents in Ukraine do not have bulletproof vests, ballistic helmets or medical kits. Newsrooms continue to send reporters to Ukraine without specific insurance and protection, while bulletproof vests are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain in Europe. Most European journalists travel to Ukraine via Krakow (Poland), where they thought they would be able to buy protective equipment. But it is impossible to buy…

Within just a few days, a UK Sky News crew, as well as a Swiss independent journalist, were attacked by Russian forces in Ukraine. The European and International Federation of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) strongly condemn the targeting of media workers as part of the war in Ukraine and call for the establishment of a special international tribunal for war crimes in Ukraine. On 6 March, Swiss freelance photoreporter Guillaume Briquet was shot and robbed by Russian soldiers while operating in the Mykolayiv region, in southern Ukraine. The journalist was driving his armored car with clear press marking and had just passed…

Four European organisations are joining forces to strengthen cross-border, local investigative journalism in Europe through the “Cross-border Local” project. With financial support from the European Commission (Creative Europe), Transitions (Czech Republic), SSE Riga Centre for Media Studies (Latvia), the European Federation of Journalists (Belgium), and Journalismfund.eu (Belgium) will undertake a multifaceted, 1.3 million € programme that will impact the journalism profession in Europe. This project will target journalists and news outlets from all Creative Europe participating countries (EU and non-EU). Cross-Border Local will revolve around three main support mechanisms: A grant programme Addressing the shortage of local independent journalism in…

The International Federation of Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) deplore the spiral of censorship in the European media landscape. In response to the EU censorship of the Kremlin-backed channels RT and Sputnik, the Russian authorities are closing down independent media outlets in Russia. The IFJ and EFJ call on the EU to support independent Russian journalists and media outlets that continue to operate in an increasingly repressive environment. On Thursday, two of the most influential independent Russian media outlets, symbols of Perestroika, Ekho Moskvy and TV Dozhd, were dismantled. Others have been blocked or are threatened with…

After more than a week of bombings, airstrikes, and gun battles, Russia’s war in Ukraine is intensifying. Journalists’ lives are at risk. Those who cover the frontlines need first aid kits, flak jackets and helmets, and medical supplies. Those trapped in towns and cities under fire need safe passage, relocation, and humanitarian assistance. Incredible support and assistance are being delivered every hour of every day by Ukraine’s journalists’ unions – the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU). Their work is saving lives and keeping the media alive. But they need your help.…

The first confirmed media worker who lost his life due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine is Yevheniy Sakun, a cameraman for LIVE TV. Together with four other people, he was killed on the afternoon of 1 March 2022 during a two-target rockets attack on the TV tower that took place in Kyiv, Dorogozhychi area. On the same day, the Babin Yar Memorial Complex, a Holocaust memorial site, was also shelled. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) expressed its condolences to the family and colleagues. During the identification of the bodies, the National Police identified Sakunlost because of his…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its seventh day, yesterday, with heavy attacks on the city of Kharkiv. This morning the EFJ received the following message from a group of four journalists from Kharkiv, members of the National Union of Ukrainian Journalists (NUJU): “We, the people of Kharkiv, are united: we help each other to find food and medicine, we help the weakest to find bomb shelters, and the children lost in the bombing to find their mothers. We know no manifestations of national, racial or gender discrimination. Together we fight for peace and victory over the invaders! We are not…

As the war in Ukraine is escalating, we interviewed Nadezhda Azhgikhina, Russian journalist, director of PEN-Moscow, and former Vice-President of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) from 2013 to 2019. Azhgikhina is an experienced journalist, a true fighter for media freedom, a writer on human rights, gender equality, contemporary journalism and culture. She has delivered lectures at Moscow State University, Columbia University (USA), Tampere University (Finland), Sodertorn University (Sweden), London School of Economics (Great Britain), and Harvard (USA). From 2014 to 2016, she was the Russian coordinator of Dialogue of professional organisations of Ukraine and Russia under the umbrella of…

Russian authorities blocked access, on Tuesday, to two of the country’s most important independent media: Dozhd TV and Ekho Moskvy radio. In addition, the State Duma is considering a bill on criminal penalty for alleged fake news about Russian army operations. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) strongly condemned these attempts to silence media coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia has blocked Dozhd TV and Ekho Moskvy for allegedly spreading “deliberately false information” about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Both websites were unavailable in Russia shortly after the announcement. The move comes six days after Russian troops attacked Ukraine. Russia’s…

Today, 01 March 2022, the Government of the Republic of Kosovo signed a decree to shelter 20 journalists from Ukraine, in coordination with the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). The decision is in line with Kosovo’s position of solidarity with the right of Ukraine to protect its territorial integrity and sovereignty, and in the spirit of protecting universal human rights. The EFJ and ECPMF hope that other states will follow Kosovo’s example. The decree, which will see the allocation of €150,000 from State reserves, was initiated by Member of Parliament…

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced, on Sunday, that Kremlin-backed RT, formerly known as Russia Today, and Sputnik, would be banned in the EU. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) fears the effects of this spiral of censorship on freedom of expression in Europe. “We will ban the Kremlin’s media machine in the EU. The state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, and their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war,” said Ursula von der Leyen. “We are developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe,” she added, without providing more…