The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) supports the German Journalists’ Association (DJV) in opposing a dominant share at the German commercial broadcaster ProsiebenSat.1 by the Italian media group Media for Europe (MFE), owned* by Berlusconi. The reason for concern is the increase in potential voting interest in Germany’s second-largest privately owned television company by an Italian broadcaster, which is controlled by the family of former Italian Prime Minister and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi. According to the Italian broadcaster MFE, it has secured an additional stake of up to 4% in ProSiebenSat.1 via financial instruments, which would increase its share of voting rights…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is concerned about the verdict of a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) case against investigative Serbian Crime and Corruption Reporting Network outlet “KRIK”. The media outlet is fined for publishing news about the trial of a crime gang in Serbia. KRIK quoted court material from a public trial against a local crime gang called “Jotka’s group” in April 2021. The media outlet quoted the defendants who claimed the group has ties with the Interior Minister Bratislav Gašić, who is also high-ranking member of the Serbian Progressive Party and former Head of Serbia’s Security Information Agency (BIA). A wiretapped conversation…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is worried by the results of a new study by the Platform for Investigative Journalism and Analysis (PINA). The results reveal an important issue when it comes to the protection and prosecution of online harassment against women journalists in North Macedonia. In collaboration with its affiliates, the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM-ZNM) and the Trade Union of Macedonian Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM), the EFJ called for the adoption of the long-awaited amendments to the Criminal Code in North Macedonia to deal with all types of attacks against journalists ex officio. According to the survey…

Today is the UN International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, #EndImpunity. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to demand governments put an end to impunity and to highlight and denounce crimes targeting journalists that remain unpunished while the masterminds walk free. On this day, the EFJ reminds that all those who commit crimes against journalists must face justice, as such unpunished crimes have a strong chilling effect on media freedom. The Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism records 26 impunity alerts involving 40 journalists: 14 in Kosovo,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomed the Portuguese Union of Journalists (SJ)’s project on mental health of journalists and media workers in Portugal. The initiative aims at raising awareness and helping employed and freelance journalists navigate the rising challenges of digital journalism, especially difficult in these post-pandemic times. It includes a research study, three workshops, digital trainings and a concluding conference. It is headed by SJ’s former Vice-President Isabel Nery and board member João Miguel Rodrigues. The study: Analysing the digital journalism sector The project kicked off in March this year with a study on journalism as a high-risk profession, focusing on the digital journalism…

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…