Guilty verdicts in retrial: an important step in long fight for justice The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today joined the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR)  in welcoming the confirmed guilty verdicts handed down to four former officials in the Serbian state security services for the murder in 1999 of leading journalist and editor-in-chief Slavko Ćuruvija. The decision by the Higher Court in Belgrade to reaffirm the convictions in the retrial is an important victory for the family and all those involved in the long fight for justice for his assassination and represents another important milestone in the fight…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) express concern over the limited time and space available to openly debate various amendments of the Penal Code proposed by the Ministry of Justice of Serbia. While well intentioned, the amendments are problematic from a freedom of expression perspective. Our civil society organisations call for a broader and open consultation that comprehensively integrates the implications of the amendments on the exercise of human rights in Serbia.  We recognise that journalists in Serbia face numerous threats to their physical safety and are often the target of harassment…

The fourth Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) monitoring report documents attacks against press workers and media across EU Member States and Candidate Countries between January and June 2021 and is again shaped by the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of violations is alarming and has continued to rise: This is the highest figure of attacks ever recorded by the MFRR partners and the data testify that demonstrations are becoming an increasingly dangerous environment due to radicalisation and polarisation. read the full report here Compiled by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Press Institute (IPI), with the support of the European Centre for Press…

Journalist of Toscana TV Greta Beccaglia was groped by a football fan while she was reporting live from the Empoli vs Fiorentina game in Empoli on 27 November 2021. The European and International Federation of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) joined its Italian affiliate, the FNSI, in strongly condemning this intolerable attack and calling for solidarity with Greta Beccaglia. The female journalist was interviewing fans pouring out of the Empoli stadium after the match when one fan approached her and slapped her on the backside – live on Toscana TV. Beccaglia reacted calmly, saying “Sorry, you can’t do this,” and professionally continued her…

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) will hold an online fact-finding mission to Greece in the first half of December to assess increasing concerns about media freedom and the safety of journalists in the country. The online mission will be led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and implemented together with its partners in the MFRR, including the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and representatives from other international press freedom groups. The delegation will meet with a range of domestic stakeholders, including journalists and editors, journalists’ unions and associations, civil society and academics, and representatives of…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today joined the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in calling on the District Prosecutor’s Office in the Polish city of Gdansk to drop its legal case against Gazeta Wyborcza reporter Katarzyna Włodkowska and to respect the journalist’s right of source confidentiality protected under the European Convention of Human Rights. If the prosecutor issues a second demand for Włodkowska to reveal the identity of her source for a report on the investigation into the assassination of the city’s mayor, and she refuses to comply, she could face a prison sentence of up…