The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the International Press Institute (IPI) and the undersigned freedom of the press and expression organisations in denouncing the decision by the Turkish appeals court to uphold the 20-month prison sentence against renowned journalist Bülent Mumay. This verdict represents a severe assault on press freedom and freedom of expression in Turkey, further eroding the foundations of democratic discourse in the country. We urgently call on Turkish authorities to end their harassment of critical journalists. Mumay’s case is emblematic of the systematic repression of independent journalism in Turkey. Mumay’s only legal recourse is to file…

The undersigned Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) organizations call on the Spanish government to fully repeal the so-called “Gag Law” as part of its announced “democratic regeneration” efforts. While we welcome the initial proposed changes to the law, these fall short of the full repeal necessary to protect free expression in Spain. In Spain, despite an overall positive assessment of media freedom by the European Commission in its latest rule of law report, a problematic decade-old law still hinders journalists’ ability to perform their work duties.  In July, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced his intention to pass a “democratic regeneration”…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners in calling on the authorities in Georgia not to extradite journalist Afgan Sadygov to Azerbaijan and to release him from extradition detention. Additionally, authorities should allow Sadygov to freely leave Georgia for a third country. Georgian authorities arrested Sadygov on 3 August according to the journalist’s wife, who posted footage of him being escorted into a car by law enforcement. The following day, a court in Tbilisi ordered Sadygov to be held in extradition detention. Authorities in Azerbaijan have charged Sadygov with “threatening to spread offensive…

The Media Rapid Response (MFRR) partners stand in solidarity with journalists in Italy and call for an immediate end to all forms of attacks against them. We encourage all key stakeholders, including institutional ones, to join forces in enhancing the protection of journalists and media professionals.  The MFRR is a network of six media freedom organisations committed to working towards a resilient and free media landscape, including through conducting fact-finding and advocacy missions to assess the situation on the ground. Amidst a documented increase in attacks affecting the press and media freedom landscape in Italy recorded by the Media Freedom…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) coalition welcomes the publication of the 2024 European Commission’s rule of law report. Despite progress made in some areas, the report shows that press freedom remains under threat in Europe. We urge Member States and the European Union to intensify their efforts to uphold media freedom and reinforce their roles in safeguarding this pillar of democracy. The release of the fifth annual rule of law report, the last one during the Commission’s current term, provides a critical opportunity to evaluate press freedom and democratic governance across EU Member States.  We warmly welcome the fact…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners will conduct an international mission to assess the current state of press freedom and the safety of journalists in Croatia. The mission will take place online between 9 and 20 September 2024. The mission follows the assessment of the persistence of attacks against journalists and fact-checkers in Croatia, as well as the growing challenges related to transparency of media ownership and legal threats against journalists. Since January this year, the MFRR recorded 11 alerts involving 2 journalists and nine entities related to the media. The majority of attacks are verbal abuse, with half instigated by…