Belarusian journalist Aliaksandr Ivulin was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday, 19 January 2022, for his protest coverage. On the same day, freelance journalist Seviaryn Kviatkouski was detained upon his arrival in Belarus. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), in condemning the ongoing crackdown on critical journalists in the country. In a criminal case against the well-known sports journalist and Krumkachy football player Aliaksandr Ivulin, the Savetski District Court of Minsk ruled a two-year prison sentence and found the journalist guilty of “organising and preparing actions that grossly disrupt…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today joined international media freedom and freedom of expression organisations in registering concern over the serious criminal charges levelled against two investigative journalists in Greece linked to their reporting on a major corruption scandal. Our organisations are following these two legal cases with utmost scrutiny given the obvious concerns they raise with regard to press freedom. Authorities must issue guarantees that the process is demonstrably independent and free of any political interference. On January 19, Kostas Vaxevanis, a veteran investigative journalist and publisher of the newspaper Documento, testified at the Special High Court on…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and affiliate in Montenegro (TUMM) today to renew our call for an end to impunity for the shooting of investigative journalist Olivera Lakić in 2018 and hope the recent arrest of suspects will lead to all those involved ultimately facing justice. Our organisations also welcome the recent cross party approval of amendments to the criminal code which will strengthen protections for journalists but stress the need for further reforms to create a safe and open environment for independent journalism. Lakić, an investigative journalist covering organised…

On 20 January 2022, the European Parliament in Strasbourg’s plenary session will vote on the Digital Services Act (DSA), a bill designed to shape the digital future and clean up the Internet. In the future, illegal content shall be easier to delete, personalized advertising easier to change, manipulative ads shall be banned and access to important data improved. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomed the proposed DSA as a crucial and long overdue tool to create a safer, fairer and more accountable online environment. The EFJ advocates for a stronger DSA  in order to guarantee a digital media ecosystem…

After roughly five months of negotiations, BBC journalists in Turkey are on strike today. The walkout comes after the British broadcaster refused to propose a reasonable offer to the Turkish Union of Journalists (TGS) over a pay rise that keeps up with the country’s inflation rate, better access to health care, and other key issues. Their walkout is backed by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the UK and Ireland, UNI Global Union and UK media union BECTU. With the inflation rate as high as nearly 36 per cent according to the BBC,…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) co-signed with nine other organisations an appeal to the Maltese government to strengthen media freedom and the rule of law in Malta, following the appointment of a Committee of Experts to make recommendations to the authorities. The EFJ welcomes the inclusion of its Maltese affiliate, the Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM), in the Committee. The EFJ and the nine co-signatory organisations will closely follow the work of the Committee and the implementation of its recommendations. Our organisations note Prime Minister Abela’s announcement that a Committee of Experts has been appointed to implement the recommendations of the…

The Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE), which reunites journalists, press freedom, and other rights groups – including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) – has been advocating for an EU anti-SLAPP directive for two years. As part of the public consultation launched by the European Commission, the CASE coalition has submitted the following policy paper to inform the upcoming EU initiative. Accessible here, the paper explains what SLAPPs are, provides preliminary and previously unpublished data from CASE research on SLAPPs mapping in Europe and sets out recommendations on what governments and the EU should do tackle the problem. Here…

The Finnish Supreme Court decided on 11 January 2022 to acquit freelance journalist Johanna Vehkoo of defamation charges brought by former Oulu politician Junes Lokka. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliate in Finland Suomen Journalistiliitto in welcoming a reassuring decision for the freedom of expression. In April 2019, Johanna Vehkoo was found guilty by the Oulu District Court of defaming a former local city counselor after she called him a “racist” and a “nazi clown” in a private Facebook post she published in 2016. She was ordered to pay the counsellor 200 euros as damage for the…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) is organising an international media freedom mission to the Netherlands. The mission will take at the beginning of 2022 and will be led by Free Press Unlimited and the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and joined by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and other consortium members. The aim of the mission is to map the decreasing security of journalists in the Netherlands, despite the establishment of PersVeilig (Press Safe) at the end of 2019 and the strong security mechanism for journalists. With attacks on journalists increasing, the public broadcaster NOS…

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has published the lists of imprisoned and killed journalists in 2021. Since 1 January 2021, 45 journalists have been killed and 365 are still behind bars. The figures for Europe are still very worrying: according to the statistics of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), 6 journalists have been killed this year and 95 others are in prison in Europe. In Europe, the number of murders of journalists has tripled this year compared to the previous two years. In 2021, the International and European Federations of Journalists have recorded six murders of journalists on…

32 journalists will spend New Year’s Eve in prison in Belarus. This is one of the figures in the annual review of repression that the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) drew today. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the international community, including the Council of Europe, to take action. In 2021, 113 journalists were arrested in Belarus just for doing their job. 32 are still in detention. In the same year, 146 journalists’ homes and editorial offices were searched, 13 media outlets were officially labelled as extremist, and the only independent organisation representing journalists, BAJ, was dissolved by…

Today, the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS) has reached a union victory in the Hürriyet newspaper case, where 45 journalists were dismissed in 2019 for being members of the TGS. The employer will have to pay for union compensation as well as idle time compensation. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) joined its Turkish affiliate in welcoming the court decision. On 30 October 2019, 45 media staff members received dismissal notices from the management of Hürriyet, one of the major Turkish daily newspapers. This followed the pro-government conglomerate Demirören Group’s purchase…

We, the undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), express our concerns over the recent wave of vexatious lawsuits against the investigative portal Network for Investigation of Crime and Corruption (KRIK) in Serbia. We believe that these lawsuits are a form of strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPPs) that aim to stifle scrutiny and critical issues of public importance and demand urgent action from the Government and judiciary to impartially and swiftly address the growing phenomenon of SLAPPs in the country. In recent months, KRIK’s newsroom has been targeted by ten different procedures filed, in most cases, by…

Update: On 27 December 2021, President Andrzej Duda vetoed the bill. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined 17 media freedom and journalists’ organisations in writing the following letter to the Polish president, urging to apply a presidential veto to the lex TVN. Dear Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland, The undersigned international media freedom and journalists groups are writing to urge you to apply a presidential veto to the so-called “Lex-TVN” amendment passed by the Sejm on December 17, which we believe poses a fundamental threat to media freedom and pluralism in Poland. This bill represents a…

The undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today express their concern about the increasing number of attacks against journalists across Germany, particularly in the context of anti-vaccine demonstrations. We call for better safety measures and protection as well as thorough investigations of attacks against journalists covering such demonstrations. Moreover, preventative measures are needed to stop such attacks from happening. Finally, we encourage media workers to report press and media freedom violations.  Already in 2020, reported attacks against journalists had more than doubled compared to the previous year. This dramatic increase to 255 aggressions can be attributed to…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliates in Croatia and the SafeJournalists Network in condemning the threats received by the fact-checking portal Faktograf.hr and its employees, targeted by intimidations attempts since 10 December 2021. The threats and lynching were prompted by entrepreneur Nenad Bakic, a businessman known for his inclination to sue the media. Bakic used his Facebook profile, which has over 40.000 followers, to threaten to launch a criminal lawsuit against the portal for allegedly censoring his post and comments of Faktograf’s social media pages. He then wrote that he would be interested in  “whether it would be legal to…