After its liquidation by the Supreme Court in August 2021, the Belarusian Association of Journalists‘ (BAJ) website is now blocked for users in Belarus. The Belarusian authorities further labelled the TV channel Belsat, its social media accounts as well as its subscribers as “extremist”. The European and International Federation of Journalists (EFJ/IFJ) condemn once again the continued crackdown on its affiliate and critical media outlets in Belarus. As BAJ reported on 4 November, the Ministry of Information of Belarus decided to block the access of Belarusian users to the BAJ website: “BAJ considers the liquidation of the organisation and the…

On the occasion of the World Decent Work Day on 7 October, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has launched a report “Journalists working from home? a labour rights perspective for a hybrid future“ authored by Marc Gruber, showing the impact of the pandemic on the working conditions of journalists and the trend of the hybrid working model is becoming the norm. The report shows that while the working from home policies implemented by media companies are far from perfect, most journalists would still want to work from home but in a hybrid working model which allows them to work…

The Belarusian government has blocked access to Deutsche Welle’s website as well as other foreign news portals. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its German affiliates, the German Journalists Association (DJV) and the German Journalists Union (dju in ver.di), in condemning this censorship and calling for the website to be immediately re-enabled. Since 28 October, Deutsche Welle’s website is blocked in Belarus, the German public state-owned international broadcaster informed. The online offers in all 32 broadcast languages are no longer available. #Belarus sperrt Internetseite der Deutschen Welle – völlig inakzeptabel! https://t.co/V4QRqpuK03 #journalismus #deutschewelle — dju in ver.di (@djuverdi) October 29, 2021 The Ministry…

On 25 and 26 October, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) hosted a two-day webinar session called “Trust in the Media: Photojournalism in the Digital Age”, the last in the series of five as part of the “Trust and Quality in Journalism” project, in partnership with the European Commission. For the day 1 takeaways, click here. Day 2 of the webinar was hosted by Yuklan Wong and Oddrun Midtbø. The four panelists were Markus Pentikäinen, photojournalist from Helsinki, Finland, Sitara Thalia Ambrosio, photographer and visual storyteller based in Germany, Boris Pejovic, photojournalist and board member of TUMM, Montenegro, and Michael Trammer, (photo-)journalist based in Berlin,…

Three journalists from Finland’s largest national daily Helsingin Sanomat were charged on 29 October 2021 with “attempted disclosure of a security secret” and face jail term. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliates in Finland, the Finnish Journalists’ Union (UJF), in expressing solidarity with the journalists and condemning Finland’s deputy prosecutor general’s decision to prosecute them. Laura Halminen, Tuomo Pietiläinen and Kalle Silfverberg face four months to four years in prison for publishing in December 2017 an article about the Finnish Defence Intelligence Agency (VKoeL), at a time when a constitutional change gave the Finnish security services increased surveillance…

On 25 and 26 October, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) hosted a two-day webinar session on “Trust in the Media: Photojournalism in the Digital Age”, the last in a series of five as part of the “Trust and Quality in Journalism” project, in partnership with the European Commission. Day 1 of the webinar was moderated by Yuk Lan Wong with two experts, Lars Boering, director of the European Journalism Center (EJC) and Anna Gordon, freelance photographer in the UK. The session was kicked off by the national partner, Radomir Kračković, Vice-President of the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM).…

On Wednesday 6 October the European Parliament published a report for the European Commission titled Media in the Digital Decade: An Action Plan to Support Recovery and Transformation drafted by rapporteur Dace Melbārde. The report was adopted on Tuesday 19 October by the Parliament. It was voted in the Plenary with no changes as to the version voted in the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT.) The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) welcomes this report and the recommendations it put forward. The EFJ insists on the need for the European Commission to ensure that  all Member States quickly put in…

Staff members of the Belarusian political weekly newspaper Novy Chas were searched by the authorities, temporarily detained and interrogated on 19 and 20 October. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joined their affiliate, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), in calling on the authorities to stop persecuting journalists and media outlets in the country. On 20 October in the morning, Novy Chas employees could not be reached, before BAJ later reported that journalists’ homes and the editorial offices were being searched. Novy Chas editor-in-chief Aksana Kolb and deputy editor Siarhei Pulsha were interrogated and later released. On 19 October, the house of Novy Chas photographer Dzmitry Dzmitryjeu was searched and all his equipment confiscated. According to Novy…

On 5 October 2021, a new law went into effect in Armenia, raising the maximum threshold for “insults” and “defamation” fines by three times their previous amount. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined their affiliate the Union of Journalists of Armenia (UJA) in denouncing this law and its impact on the right of freedom of expression. The defamation law was adopted by the National Assembly in March 2021 after a Facebook user posted a comment regarded as offensive on a picture of the Prime Minister. The law was validated by the Constitutional…

Recent years have seen worrying political developments across both old and new democracies, ranging from the rise of populist leaders and dwindling support for democratic rule to the growing polarization of public opinion. The phenomenon has been studied by The Illiberal Turn project, in which the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) is involved. The project launched a report called “Rebuilding trust and countering polarization in (post)pandemic times (Recommendations for media policies and journalistic practices from the Illiberal Turn project.)” The report was funded by the British  Economic and Social Research Council and presented during the EFJ Annual Meeting in Zagreb…

“Implementing the recommendations of the public inquiry report which found that the state must bear responsibility for Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination should be a top priority for the government”, said today the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, following a visit to Malta from 11 to 16 October. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), which also participated in a joint mission to Malta from 13 to 17 October, strongly supports the call by Dunja Mijatović. “The authorities should swiftly start putting in place the far-reaching reforms needed to ensure journalists’ safety and address mistrust in the media…

The undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) are highly concerned about yet another series of violent attacks and threats to journalists and media workers covering protests against the government’s pandemic-related measures across Italy.  Several incidents of hostility and violence towards media were reported in Rome on 9 October, when journalists and photojournalists were attacked while reporting on a protest by anti-vaccine and far-right groups against government measures to require all workers to carry the EU Digital COVID Certificate. Photojournalist Francesco Cocco, a contributor to daily newspaper Il Foglio, said he was deliberately kicked in the groin and…

Today marks four years since the brutal murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in a car bomb attack in Malta that shook the world. Our thoughts are with Caruana Galizia’s family, friends, colleagues, and others still fighting for justice. It is deeply unsettling to reiterate, four years on, our call for justice for this heinous attack as impunity continues to fester. While modest progress has been made in some areas, full accountability for Caruana Galizia’s murder remains elusive. The fight against impunity only ends when all those responsible have been prosecuted to the full extent of the law: assassins,…

On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, our five organisations have undertaken a joint press freedom mission to Malta, in follow-up to our initial joint mission at the one-year mark in 2018. We have come together once again to mark the occasion and remember Caruana Galizia’s life, work and courage, and to raise our concerns on the case and the broader press freedom climate in the country directly with the Maltese authorities. Representatives of ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the…

Tensions increased in the Northern part of Kosovo after police undertook an anti-smuggling operation in Mitrovica on 13 October. Several journalists covering the riots, as well as citizens and police officers, were attacked by protesters. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliates in Kosovo AGK in condemning all violent attacks against journalists and calling on the authorities to ensure their protection. During the clashes, journalists from the local Kosovo Serb language media, KoSSev, reported threats and attacks against them, after which they decided to remove the journalists from the field. In particular, Ivan Mitic was approached by protesters on…

The annual meeting of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), meeting in Zagreb, Croatia, on 8-9 October, unanimously adopted a resolution on the dissolution of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), an EFJ affiliate. On 27 August 2021, the Belarus Supreme Court dissolved the BAJ, the only independent representative organisation of journalists and media workers in Belarus, as part of the unprecedented purge against journalists, media outlets, as well as other civil society organisations. By adopting this resolution, journalists’ organisations from all over Europe expressed solidarity with their colleagues in Belarus. The EFJ will continue to assist BAJ to maintain…