The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) expresses its anger at the unacceptable comments made towards awarded journalist Dora Kršul and the media outlet Telegram.hr by the Minister of Culture and Media of Croatia. We demand an immediate apologies and a retraction. “Malicious fake news”: those were the words used by Minister Nina Obuljen Korzinek in interviews, to talk about articles published by Telegram.hr and written by Dora Kršul. Discredit, an overused technique, is particularly worrying for the state of press freedom in a country when it comes from the Minister responsible for the media. The journalist, on 15 January, published a follow-up…

The Croatian Parliament began on 18 January 2024 reviewing amendments to the criminal code tabled by the government to criminalise the unauthorised leaking of documents from criminal proceedings. The text provides for up to three years’ imprisonment for anyone disclosing the contents of “an investigative or evidentiary document”. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined its affiliate, the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA), in calling for the proposed legislation to be dropped, as it would have alarming repercussions for journalistic sources and the right to information. While a paragraph has been added to exempt journalists from criminal liability, the proposed amendments…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined the undersigned international freedom of expression and media freedom organisations today in renewing our condemnation of a groundless defamation lawsuit filed against Greek journalists and media by Grigoris Dimitriadis, the nephew of the Prime Minister, and urge the plaintiff to urgently withdraw the lawsuit ahead of an upcoming hearing. With the first hearing due at an Athens court of First Instance on 25 January, 2024 after a year-and-a-half delay, our organisations restate our shared characterisation of this lawsuit as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) – a vexatious effort to muzzle investigative…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins the undersigned partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today renew their call for democratic and comprehensive reform to Poland’s public broadcasters which creates systematic safeguards to limit the ability of all governments, future and present, to meddle in editorial or institutional independence of the country’s public media. The MFRR coalition also reaffirms the set of recommendations for steps that can be taken by the new coalition government to improve the wider situation for media freedom and independent journalism in Poland. These recommendations were jointly developed following a recent mission of…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today joined media freedom partners in the SafeJournalist Network, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in writing to the head of the Special Prosecution against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK). We expressed our concerns over the recent actions SPAK has taken to seize journalist Elton Qyno’s equipment and to pressure him to reveal his sources. The letter urges the SPAK to proceed in the legal case with  respect for international standards regarding the protection of journalistic sources.   Mr. Altin Dumani Head of the Special Prosecution against Corruption and…

An envelope containing a bullet was sent to Italian journalist Emilio Orlando, whose investigations on the Roman mafia had already made him the target of threats. The letter was delivered to the Roman Trade Union of Journalists (Sindacato dei Cronisti Romani, SCR), a local branch of the FNSI. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins its affiliate the FNSI in expressing solidarity with the reporter. In the envelope, discovered on 28 November, the police found a 357 Magnum calibre bullet and a note: “This (bullet) is one of the six that we will stick in the head of the bast***…