At the beginning of the war in Ukraine and the bombing of major cities, the IFJ and the EFJ launched a special Safety Fund to support journalists in need in the country through their affiliates IMTUU and NUJU as well as journalists trying to flee Russia. Ernest Sagaga is the head of IFJ Safety and Human Rights Department. He tells us about the use of the fund and the IFJ/EFJ work to support journalists in the region. 1. There has been a massive show of solidarity by journalists across the globe to support media professionals in need in Ukraine. Can you describe the type…

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) confirmed on 23 March that Ukrainian journalist Viktor Dedov died on 11 March in Mariupol after his flat was bombed. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) sends its condolences to the family and friends of the journalist. The EFJ once again calls on the Russian occupier to stop the bombing of civilian targets in Ukraine. Viktor Dedov was the chief operator of the Ukrainian television station Sigma-TV. He was at home when two shells hit his apartment. The second mortally wounded Dedov. The family was unable to bury the journalist because another…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) expressed concern over the recent move by the Programming Council of public service broadcaster RTV in Slovenia intending to restrict criticism made by the journalists’ trade union representative about the public broadcaster. The EFJ affiliate in Slovenia, the Union of Slovenian Journalists (SNS), denounced a violation of trade union rights and freedom of expression. On 17 March 2022, the Programme Council of RTV, the public broadcaster’s governing body in charge of media content, adopted the following decision: “Based on the explanations of the management of RTV Slovenia, the Programming Council hereby concludes that the:…

Russian authorities said Tuesday they had launched a criminal case against a popular journalist for alleging that the Russian army deliberately shelled a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine. Alexander Nevzorov is the first prominent reporter to be probed for spreading alleged “false” information about the Russian army under new Russian legislation. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemns this judicial action and the state censorship that prevents journalists from doing their work in Russia. Alexander Nevzorov, 63, is a veteran Russian journalist and a former member of the Russian parliament, as an independent deputy. “Nevzorov published deliberately false information about the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined civil society, media and journalist organisations committed to the EU’s efforts to champion the rule of law in Europe to provide advice for strengthening the 2022 rule of law reporting cycle with a civil society statement. This followed other efforts to strengthen the process. As the reporting cycle has entered its third edition, we welcome progressive improvements such as the inclusion of country-specific recommendations. These recommendations are key to ensuring follow-up actions to the reports, thereby strengthening their impact and accountability on national-level and EU-wide reforms on the rule of law. To this…

The Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) has launched a new report entitled “Shutting out criticism: How SLAPPs threaten European democracy”   based on data collected about 570 abusive lawsuits in 29 countries over the last 10 years. The first-ever comprehensive study aims to identify the scale, nature, and impact of SLAPPs in Europe. Initiated by wealthy and powerful litigants, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) is an abusive legal system attempting to intimidate and silence public watchdogs through lengthy and expensive litigation that drains a target’s resources and chills critical voices. This form of legal harassment is one of the…