The photojournalist Oleksandr Kuzhelny from the online media Bykvu was brutally beaten after a right-wing rally in the center of Kyiv on 14 August. The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) reported the incident. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliate in the call on the authorities to hold the attackers to account and better protect journalists during demonstrations. The incident occurred after a protest at the Ukrainian President’s residence in Bankova Street called “Stop the capitulation”. Various nationalist groups had come together to protest against recent “repressions targeting Ukrainian nationalists”. The gathering soon turned violent as clashes erupted between…

The President of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the Russian authorities to drop the expulsion of BBC journalist Sarah Rainsford. Russia is refusing to renew her work visa, which should force her to leave the country at the end of this month. Reacting to the announcement by Russian state television Rossiya-24 on Thursday evening that BBC Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford would be expelled, EFJ President Mogens Blicher Bjerregård strongly condemned the Russian authorities’ decision. “Journalism and press freedom are being held hostage in the context of diplomatic tensions between Russia and the UK. This context of tension…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliates in Germany (DJV) and in the Netherlands (NVJ) to call on European governments to expand their refugee visa programmes for Afghan journalists and media workers. The EFJ supports the international solidarity campaign with Afghan journalists launched on 12 August by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). According to the IFJ, “over 1,200 journalists and media workers have already lost their jobs with many more under threat” in Afghanistan, as the threat of violence grows and media are forced to close in the wake of the Taliban taking control of large parts…

The Turkish government’s continuous crackdown on press freedom in Turkey is highly disturbing. Just in the last week, amidst tremendous wildfires raging across Turkey, journalists critical of the government were denied access to press briefings, media outlets received fines for their reporting on the wildfires and a TV crew was attacked during a live broadcast. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the Turkish government to finally stop actively hindering and imprisoning media workers in their profession. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have been facing increasing criticism over the apparent poor response…

UPDATE 11/08/21 Lex TVN was passed with 228 MPs in favour, 216 against and 10 abstentions. The EFJ and IFJ call on the Senate to reject the bill, and the European Union to counter the attack on the independence of TVN channels. ————————- The Polish parliament is discussing measures to ban non-European owners from controlling more than a 49% stake in Polish media companies. The move, dubbed the “lex TVN”, represents a direct attack on the critical and independent US-owned TVN and TVN24. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (IFJ) are urging the members…

A team of the Turkish TV channel Halk TV was attacked in the İçmeler area of Marmaris. The aggressors threatened to block the channel’s live broadcast from the fire-hit region and a cameraman was targeted with a broken glass bottle. This incident occurred after a recent threat by the government-controlled RTÜK (Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council) to TV stations over their critical coverage of the wildfires, which have been raging across the country for the past few days. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Turkish affiliates, the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), the Journalists’ Association of Turkey (TGC), the Journalists’ Association (GCD) and the Broadcast and Printing…

One year after the fraudulent re-election of illegitimate president Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian regime’s repression has taken a dramatic toll: 497 journalists and media workers have been arrested, 29 are still in detention. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the international community to take action. Here is the result of one year of repression in Belarus, as monitored by the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ): Detentions of journalists and media workers: 497 Physical violence against journalists: 68 Administrative arrests of journalists: 119 Journalists and media workers in detention: 29 Media representatives subject to criminal prosecution: more than 50…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations (CEATL) and the European Writers Council (EWC) call on the governments of Europe and the international community to demonstrate firm support for the democracy movement in Belarus and to provide refuge and humanitarian assistance to those fleeing the country. One Year after the rigged elections in Belarus,the country is being overrun with a radical crackdown on free speech and humanitarian organizations by the dictatorial Lukashenko regime. More than 1,500 organizations have been targeted by the “radical cleansing”, 41 are already on trial for state-ordered dissolution, including the…

The European Federation of Journalists joined the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today in calling for swift and robust action by the European Union and U.S. to defend media freedom in Poland and counter the serious attack on the independence of the country’s largest private television channel, TVN, by the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party. Our organisations believe that the so-called “lex TVN” and the ongoing deadlock over the renewal of the license for its 24-hour news channel TVN24 are part of an increasingly systematic effort by PiS to erode critical journalism by engineering ownership changes of critical independent media…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) are highly concerned by a barrage of attacks and harassment of journalists by protesters at demonstrations across Europe in recent weeks against new government measures taken in light of the Coronavirus-pandemic. They fit a disturbing pattern observed throughout the region of increasing violence, harassment and intimidation of journalists and media workers at COVID-related protests, rooted in growing anti-media sentiment that fuels anger and distrust: In Germany, Jörg Reichel, the regional manager of the German journalists’ union dju in ver.di, was brutally attacked on the margins of an unauthorised…

The final report on “Building independent media to counter political interference”, authored by Marc Gruber, was published by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and funded by the Open Society Foundations (OSF). The report provides an overview of different threats to independent media in Europe and shares good practices and recommendations for an advocacy action plan. Below, a summary of the main points. Serving as the basis for this report are data collected through questionnaires circulated to EFJ affiliates, telephone interviews and EFJ activities, such as a series of webinars on the same topic. The participating countries, which are representative…

Jörg Reichel, the regional manager of the German Journalists’ Union, dju in ver.di, was brutally attacked during “Querdenker” demonstrations against the Covid-19 measures in Berlin on Sunday 1 August. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its German affiliates dju in ver.di and the German Journalists’ Association (DJV), in expressing solidarity with its member and calling on the authorities to conduct a swift investigation to hold the attackers to account. On 1 August 2021, an unauthorised Querdenker demonstration took place in Berlin. Thousands of demonstrators marched through the city, leading to numerous clashes with the police and about 600 arrests. Journalists were…

The Ivanovo District Court in Belarus has delivered today its verdict in the case of Sergei Gordievich, a journalist with the website 1reg.by. He was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for “insulting Lukashenko” and “defaming police officers”. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemns this wrongful conviction in the context of a new wave of repression of journalists and independent media in Belarus. Sergei Gordievich, a correspondent for the website 1reg.by, was accused of insulting and slandering the illegitimate president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, as well as insulting two police officers in a discussion on the…

Russian police took Roman Dobrokhotov, editor-in-chief of investigative media outlet The Insider, in for questioning over a slander case and searched his home on Wednesday 28 July. The formal reason for the search was a criminal libel case over a tweet with alleged “disinformation about the downed Boeing MH-17.” Dobrokhotov posted his home address on Twitter and said police searches were under way there. The journalist’s work equipment was taken away: mobile phones, a laptop and a tablet, thereby endangering the confidentiality of his sources of information. In addition, Dobrokhotov’s foreign passport was seized, while he remains only a witness…

A public inquiry into the assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has found the state responsible for her death. The report said the state had failed to recognise risks to the reporter’s life and take reasonable steps to avoid them.The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the Maltese authorities to prosecute all those responsible and to implement the recommendations of the report without delay. Daphne Caruana Galizia died in a car bomb attack near her home on 16 October 2017. An investigation led to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat‘s resignation in 2019 after his close associates were implicated. In a 437-page…

Penalties for attacks on journalists will be toughened in North Macedonia, Justice Ministry Bojan Maricic announced on 27 July 2021. The amendments to the Criminal Code are expected to be passed in the early autumn. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliates in North Macedonia, the Independent Trade Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) and the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), in welcoming an important step forward for press freedom in the country. The amendments have come at the request of the journalists’ association and union and will help reduce cases of attacks and threats against…