The International and European Federations of Journalists strongly condemn the draft amendment to the Italian Penal Code which will increase the criminal penalties for those accused of defamation against members of the political class, the judiciary or public administration. The EFJ and its Italian member, FNSI, call on Italian authorities to decriminalize defamation. The EFJ and IFJ have submitted today an alert on the issue on the Council of Europe of the Platform for the Protection of Journalism. A committee of the Italian Senate voted unanimously on 3 May 2016, a draft amendment to the Penal Code which will increase the criminal…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) have successfully organised a 3-day training (25-27 May) in Leuven (Belgium) on Cybersecurity for journalists : Secure, protect, investigate. This was the second edition of a course organized 2015 along four days about Cybersecurity for journalists and with the same practical approach. The course aimed to facilitate technical skills to journalists helping them to protect themselves, their work and their sources. 13 journalists and / or unionists coming from 11 countries took part to the training, with an important participation of participants coming from countries of the…

The Norwegian Freelance Journalist Union (NJ Frilans) hosted the Nordic Freelance Seminar, which is held once a year,  in Ilsetra, Norway on 20-22 May. The over 100 participants were freelance journalists from EFJ affiliates in Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The aim of the seminar was  networking and sharing experience, discussing recent trends both regarding ever more precarious working conditions for freelances and new technological tools to advance storytelling and journalism by getting closer to the audience. Frank Aarebrot, professor of comparative politics at the University of Bergen in his opening speech adviced the community to demand public funding to…

Hungary It all started with a simple question. Janos Karpati, then Brussels correspondent for the Hungarian national newswire, didn’t think it would terminate his longtime career when he addressed the Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban at a press conference at the fringes of the European Parliament’s plenary meeting in Strasbourg. Orban had come to Strasbourg to speak about migration – and his widely-criticized comment on reinstating the death penalty. Karpati, an experienced correspondent who has worked in Prague and Washington, DC, asked Orban about Fidesz’ position within the European People’s Party, a question he hadn’t cleared with anyone beforehand. He…

The International and European Federations of Journalists welcome the Azerbaijani Supreme Court’s decision today to release investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova, who had been imprisoned on trumped-up charges since December 2014. The court converted Ismayilova’s jail term into a three-and-a half-year suspended term. Khadija Ismayilova has already served 1.5 years in prison, held on politically motivated charges for her work exposing corruption. She now faces 3.5 years on probation, and a two-year ban on professional activities. In September 2015, the Baku Court of Serious Crimes sentenced Ismayilova to seven-and-a-half years in prison on tax evasion and large-scale embezzlement charges. The IFJ…

How do we bring authors’ rights back to the core of the copyright debate? Where are authors in the EU copyright priorities? How can EU lawmakers ensure that authors get a fair share of their works and do not get ripped of by unfair contracts? To address these questions, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), is partnering with European organisations representing music composers (ECSA), writers (EWC), film directors (FERA) and Screenwriters (FSE) in a key conference on 31 May in Brussels addressing authors’ rights, freedom of expression and digital future. More about the conference: http://creatorsconference.org/home