The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today joined its member in Kuwait, the Kuwait Journalists’ Association (KJA), in condemning the closure of al-Watan newspaper on 18 February on a court order for commercial reasons.
According to reports, the Ministry of Trade and Industry withdrew Al-Watan’s business licence last January, claiming that the paper held insufficient capital. Kuwaiti commercial law demands the closure of businesses reporting over 75 per cent of losses of its capital. Last week, the Kuwaiti Appeals Court upheld the decision to revoke Al-Watan’s commercial licence, whose doors have since been sealed.
The KJA’s board said in a statement that “the recent…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today published its full report on journalists and media staff killed last year in targeted killings, cross fire incidents as well as work-related accidents.
The 24th IFJ annual report calls for a united front to deliver safety in journalism, after 118 killings of journalists and 17 deadly accidents recorded in 2014. The IFJ says that last year’s death toll confirmed the increasing violence against journalist which has reached record levels in the last decade.
“In this regard, 2014 provided more of the same and much worse,” said IFJ General Secretary Beth Costa. “The beheadings of American journalists James…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today published its full report on journalists and media staff killed last year in targeted killings, cross fire incidents as well as work-related accidents.
The 24th IFJ annual report calls for a united front to deliver safety in journalism, after 118 killings of journalists and 17 deadly accidents recorded in 2014. The IFJ says that last year’s death toll confirmed the increasing violence against journalist which has reached record levels in the last decade.
“In this regard, 2014 provided more of the same and much worse,” said IFJ General Secretary Beth Costa. “The beheadings of American journalists James Foley…
The growing trend of legal restrictions on journalists and media in Europe is an issue of concern raised in a meeting today between the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), its regional group in Europe (EFJ) and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks.
The IFJ/EFJ together presented an exclusive survey on the legal restrictions facing journalists and media. The discussion showed that journalists are most concerned by laws on data retention, protections of sources, anti-terrorism laws, privacy and defamation. The IFJ/EFJ and its affiliates expressed concerns that such trend of legal restrictions is growing in the climate of fear following recent…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today published its full report on journalists and media staff killed last year in targeted killings, cross fire incidents as well as work-related accidents.
The 24th IFJ annual report calls for a united front to deliver safety in journalism, after 118 killings of journalists and 17 deadly accidents recorded in 2014. The IFJ says that last year’s death toll confirmed the increasing violence against journalist which has reached record levels in the last decade.
“In this regard, 2014 provided more of the same and much worse,” said IFJ General Secretary Beth Costa. “The beheadings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its regional group, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have today joined their Russian affiliate (RUJ) in its concerns about the new threats against the Mass Media Defence Centre (MMDC), which is the leading Russian NGO specialising in media law, as well as providing legal assistance and protecting media rights on a daily basis.
Over the past two years, an unprecedented number of laws have been adopted in Russia which dramatically restrict the activities of all independent non-governmental organisations (NGOs). According to a law passed in 2012, Russian NGOs that receive foreign funding must declare themselves as…
The Federation of Colombian journalists ( FECOLPER), an IFJ affiliate, said that Peralta, owner and managing editor of Linda Radio, a station located in El Doncello, Caquetá Department, was shot three times by two gunmen believed to be hit men while he was sitting on the house's balcon with his wife, Sofia Quintero who was also hit.
According to the staff of the radio, Peralta was an outspoken critic of the local administration and regularly reported on the impact of mining activities on the community. He had also exposed corruption in the administration, especially in public services and funding of infrastructure. Peralta was reportedly considering running in the local…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today joint its member, the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate (IJS), in condemning an incident in which bodyguards of the Iraq National Security Advisor, Faleh Al Fayad, beat up journalists at a press conference held in Baghdad last Wednesday 18 February.
According to reports, several journalists were roughed up by the bodyguards Faleh Al Fayad at the Strategic Studies Centre in Mesopotamia when the reporters demanded more time to film the event. Some of them had to be taken to the hospital for treatment.
“The Iraqi Journalists Syndicate strongly condemns such humiliating acts and demands the authorities to arrest the perpetrators and to…
The 71- year-old host of the daily programme called Chairman Mao was shot dead as he got out of his car outside his workplace at radio station dyRD. He was shot in the face by a lone gunman riding a motorcycle and rushed to hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. Lim was an outspoken critic of local officials linked to illegal drug trade in the city.
Every week the International Federation of journalists (IFJ) is compiling a list of the top news articles from across the world in which it is mentioned.
Read some of the news highlights for last week, from Monday 16 to Friday 20 of February:
1. RFI : La journaliste de «Charlie Hebdo» Zineb El Rhazoui menacée sur Twitter
2. Des syndicats de journalistes dénoncent les appels au meurtre contre Zineb de Charlie Hebdo
3. La Depeche : Charlie Hebdo: des syndicats de journalistes dénoncent les appels au meurtre contre Zineb
4. L'Express : Charlie Hebdo: des syndicats de journalistes dénoncent les appels au meurtre contre Zineb
5. Charlie Hebdo : halte aux…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today joined its affiliates in France and Morocco (SNJ, SNJ-CGT, CFDT-Journalistes and SNPM) to strongly denounce the death threats sent from a Twitter account to Zineb El Rhazoui, journalist and contributor of Charlie Hebdo, and her husband, the Moroccan writer Jaouad Benaissi.
Rhazoui has received several threats via the social media Twitter containing picture and information on her husband’s home and working place; information that has also been published on social network.
The fresh attack on Rhazoui and her husband shows that the Charlie Hebdo perpetrators continue to incite hatred and fear in our…
Diferentes medios de comunicación, agrupaciones periodísticas y la Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDH) han repudiado el ataque el pasado 15 de febrero al periódico Reforma, uno de los medios informativos más importantes de México. Los diarios apuntan a que se trata de un acto de intimidación.
De acuerdo con Reforma, uno de sus camiones de distribución fue baleado en la madrugada del domingo 15 de febrero en Tlalnepantla, Estado de México. En el ataque fue herido un vendedor del periódico, que recibió un disparo en la cabeza y cuyo estado de salud según la prensa es grave.
El Sindicato Nacional de Redactores de la Prensa (SNRP), miembro mexicano de la Federación…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) strongly criticize the death threats made to a senior journalist with Raajje TV of the Maldives. The IFJ and MJA said threats and intimidation against journalists are becoming tools to silence journalists which should not be tolerated.
According to Raajje TV, one of their senior journalists had received death threats via a phone call and text message on Sunday, February 15. The journalist received a call from Abdulla Yamin, a member of the Maldives parliament, who is currently working to establish his own television state. Yamin requested that a former Raajje TV employee be allowed into the…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the South East Asia Journalists’ Union (SEAJU) this week expressed strong concern over numerous attempts to control freedom of expression across the region.
SEAJU issued its condemnation of significant violations in Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia when it released a list of incidents over the past month that have caused rising concern among the region’s journalist community. In highlighting the timeline of violations, SEAJU is calling for a stronger regional effort and voice to defend press freedom in South East Asia.
§ In Myanmar on January 28 a number of journalists were…
The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) the Regional Group of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned today the clampdown on 14 newspapers in Sudan.
“Security forces must stop intimidating journalists over their provisions of the media service in Sudan”, FAJ said in a statement. “This wider plot by the Sudanese Security to muzzle media freedom is a move that must be resisted by all believers in press freedom.” said Mohamed Garba President of the FAJ. “FAJ is raising serious concerns on this diversionary attempt to deflect attention from the credibility issues and “setback” in the course of press freedoms” added Garba.
On Monday February 16,…
La Federación de Periodistas de América Latina y el Caribe (FEPALC) condena el asesinato del periodista Luis Peralta Cuéllar, victimado el último 14 de febrero en el andén de su casa, el mismo lugar donde operaba la emisora Linda Stereo, filial de Caracol, en el municipio de El Doncello, departamento de Caquetá.
Peralta Cuéllar, quien era conocido por hacer un periodismo de denuncia, había recibido amenazas, según información hecha pública por un locutor de la radioemisora. La radio, ya en el 2010, según documenta nuestra organización local, había sido blanco de un ataque de bomba que la policía logró desactivar a tiempo.
La FEPALC, a días del asesinato, denuncia la…
The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), regional group of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), has condemned today the clampdown on 14 newspapers in Sudan.
According to reports, on Monday February 16 Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) confiscated 14 newspapers before they reached the market without giving reasons and consequently placing subsequent heavy financial burden on the already suffering Sudanese newspapers.
Most of the social and political newspapers were confiscated from the printing press, except Al-Ayaam, Al-Youm Al-Tali, Al-Mustaqilla, Al-Akhbar, Al-Wifaq, Al-Sahafa, Al-Taghyeer, Al-Jareeda and Al-Khartoum.
“This wider plot by the…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has criticized the ongoing actions of Hong Kong’s Commissioner of Police and his failure to publicly disclose official trips until the missions are concluded. The IFJ has called on the Hong Kong government to investigate the commissioner’s action for a breach of public duty.
On February 15, a couple of hours after state-owned media organization Xinhua reported that the Police Commissioner had led a delegation to Beijing, the Hong Kong Government issued a press statement outlining the details of the trip. Commissioner of Police, Tsang Wai-hung, led a seven-person delegation to Beijing on February 12 to attend the 23rd Bilateral Meeting…
Welcome to the monthly e-bulletin of the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN). The next bulletin will be sent on March 16, 2015, and your inputs are most welcome.
We encourage contributions to let others know what you are doing; to seek solidarity and support from other SAMSN members on your campaigns and activities. To contribute, email Ujjwal Acharya at: [email protected]
Please feel free to distribute this bulletin widely among colleagues in the media. This e-bulletin and South Asia related contents are available at the SAMSN Digital Hub: http://samsn.ifj.org
In this bulletin:
1. 2009 murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge reopened
2. …
The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) has today hailed the engagement of the African Union Commission (AUC) for the release of the three Al-Jazeera journalists and called on the AUC Chairperson Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to fast track the campaign for the release of all journalists imprisoned in Africa.
In a statement published yesterday the African Union Commission Chairperson Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma welcomed the release of the three Al-Jazeera journalists jailed for 7 to 10 years by Egyptian authorities on charges of helping the Muslim Brotherhood. The journalists Baher Mohamed, Mohamed Fahmy and Peter Greste, were arrested and jailed in 2013. Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the French unions, SNJ, SNJ-CGT and CFDT-Journalistes, in denouncing the methods used by Moroccan authorities against two French journalists, arrested and deported just for performing their duties.
Jean-Louis Perez and Pierre Chautard were filming a documentary for France Télévisions when they were arrested and their material confiscated because they dared to carry out an interview in the headquarters of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH). They were deported manu militari for suspicious filming activities without obtaining permission.
Such methods cannot be tolerated and remind those of another time that we thought…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply saddened by the death of Subodh Bose, the president of IFJ affiliate All India Newspaper Employees Federation (AINEF), in Kolkata, India on Friday, February 13, 2015.
The IFJ joins the AINEF in expressing heartfelt condolence to the family and media and union friends and colleagues of Bose. He was 84 years old.
Subodh Bose entered journalism in the 1950s and throughout his career was an active trade unionist and journalist. As one of the builders of the AINEF he served as secretary, vice-president and then finally president. He also served as president of the West Bengal Newspaper Employees Federation and the ‘Jugantar’…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Colombian affiliate, the Federation of Colombian Journalist (FECOLPER), have condemned the brutal assassination of journalist Luis Antonio Peralta on February 14 2015, by two alleged hitmen. The victim, renowned for his criticism of the authorities, has announced his candidature for the municipal elections in his town, El Doncello.
According to FECOLPER's announcement, Luis Antonio Peralta, who was the chairperson and owner of radio station Linsa Stereo in El Doncello, Caquetá's department, was shot three times by two alleged hitmen. His spouse, Sofia Quintero, was also shot during the attack.
The couple was sitting on the…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) in condemning the murder of yet another Philippines broadcaster. The IFJ and NUJP are deeply outraged by the continued disregard for the life of journalists and media workers in the country and call on the government to immediately act to find the gunman and any masterminds behind the order to kill the outspoken journalist.
Maurito Lim was shot in the face by a lone gunman on a motorcycle Saturday, February 14, at 10.35am, as he got out of his car outside his workplace at radio station dyRD. The 71-year-old was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead at 1.15pm. Lim was…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) in condemning the murder of yet another Philippines broadcaster. The IFJ and NUJP are deeply outraged by the continued disregard for the life of journalists and media workers in the country and call on the government to immediately act to find the gunman and any masterminds behind the order to kill the outspoken journalist.
Maurito Lim was shot in the face by a lone gunman on a motorcycle Saturday, February 14, at 10.35am, as he got out of his car outside his workplace at radio station dyRD. The 71-year-old was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead at 1.15pm. Lim was…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and European Federation of journalists (EFJ) strongly condemn the shooting which took place Saturday in Copenhagen where a debate on free speech was being held. One civilian has been killed and three police officers injured after armed men opened fire on Krudttønden meeting place. The title of the meeting was: “Art, Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression”.
The meeting was attended by Lars Vilks, the controversial Swedish artist who has faced death threats for caricaturing the prophet Muhammad. François Zimeray, the French ambassador to Denmark, was also participating to the debate, as keynote speaker. Neither Vilks nor Zimeray were injured,…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the South East Asia Journalists Union (SEAJU) today strongly criticize the increasing suppression of freedom of expression in Malaysia through the use of the Sedition Act, mostly recently in the arrest of a Malaysian cartoonist. The IFJ and SEAJU call for the government to end their harassment against him, which has been described as yet another example of press freedom violations in Malaysia.
On Tuesday, February 10, cartoonist Zulkifi ‘Zunar’ Anwar Uljaqur was arrested by five police officers. Court orders allowed for extended detention of Zunar, who was released on bail on Friday. Prior to his arrest, Zunar released a cartoon…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today welcomed the release on bail of Al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, imprisoned in Egypt since December 2013. Their release follows that of Australian Al Jazeera correspondent Peter Greste, freed last week.
Read more
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its regional group the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have welcomed the announcement by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to reopening Greek public broadcaster ERT, which was closed down by the previous government in June 2013.
On Monday 9 February Nikos Pappas, the State Minister responsible for public service broadcasting, said that the government will prepare a draft law in a month’s time in order to allow the re-opening of ERT.
The PSB went off air in June 2013 and 2700 staff were laid off as part of austerity measures adopted by the government of former Prime Minister Andonis Samarás.
“This is tremendous…
Reportage broadcasted this week by the Swiss national television shows the case of Azeri journalist and human rights defender Emin Huseynov, secretly hidden in the Swiss Embassy in Baku (Azerbaijan) since last August due to a wave of repression in the country.
According to the Swiss Radio Television (SRF)’ Rundschau program, the prominent and internationally recognized human rights defender Emin Huseynov secretly sought refuge last 18 August at the Swiss Embassy in the Old City of Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, to gain protection as he feared for his life. His family is facing various kinds of pressure from authorities since then, media reported.
“We have no positive perspective for the…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today welcomed the release on bail of Al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, imprisoned in Egypt since December 2013. Their release follows that of Australian Al Jazeera correspondent Peter Greste, freed last week.
"We welcome the decision of the Egyptian court to release our colleagues from Al Jazeera and we urge it to drop the charges against them," said the IFJ's President Jim Boumelha. "Any democratic society cannot resort to legal intimidation to suppress independent reporting."
According to reports, the two journalists appeared before judge Hassan Farid at Cairo Criminal Court for the start…
The Federation of Colombian Journalists (Fecolper), affiliated to the IFJ, has successfully petitioned the court in Colombia on behalf of Rodrigo Callejas Bedoya, a journalist who was granted protection by the Colombian Commission of Human Rights in April 2010. Fecolper asked the court to extend the protection arrangement to professional travel which was denied by the authorities, thereby restricting his ability to work in safety outside his area of residence.
The judge, Gerard Arenas Monsalve, has ordered the National Unity for Protection (NUP) - the government's agency in charge of protecting people under threat- to provide journalist Rodrigo Callejas Bedoya with protection…
The Federation of Journalists in Latin America and Caribbean (FEPALC) has accused the self-proclaimed Independent Patriotic Movement in the Dominican Republic, of recklessness and incitement to violence after they threatened four Dominican journalists with death, calling them “traitors who should be killed."
The nationalist movement claimed at one of their events on 26 January that the journalists, Huchi Lora, Juan Bolívar Díaz, Roberto Cavada and Amelia Deschamps, all working for the television networks Teleantillas and Telesistema, were “traitors who deserved to be killed because they betrayed their homeland."
FEPALC has called on the authorities in the country to…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) criticizes the actions of the Hong Kong Police in barring a journalist from covering a protest in Hong Kong on February 8. Such acts violate and weaken press freedom in the city.
Richard Scotford, a reporter for Hong Kong entertainment magazine BC Magazine was at a shopping mall in Tuen Mun in Hong Kong on February 8 covering a protest against multi-entry permits for Mainland Chinese in Hong Kong. According to an online video, Scotford was standing at the top of an escalator when a police officer asked him to get down, however Scotford ignored the request, instead showing his press card. Police then accused Scotford of crossing the police…
La Federación Colombiana de periodistas (FECOLPER), miembro de la Federación Internacional de Periodistas (FIP), difundió ayer un informe que refleja las peligrosas condiciones del ejercicio de la profesión en Colombia, donde las violaciones a la vida y al derecho universal a la libertad de prensa y expresión son frecuentes. La publicación coincidió con el Día nacional del y la Periodista.
Tal como reza el texto, “informar es cada vez más una profesión de peligro y ello se refleja en crímenes como asesinatos, atentados, amenazas, destrucción de instalaciones o equipos, interceptaciones ilegales, detenciones ilegales, desplazamiento forzado y acoso en sus distintas manifestaciones”.
El…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) have organised the second trauma training for journalists to manage stress effects in media after the recent war on Gaza Strip.
The two-day training was conducted by experts from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and included theoretical and practical sessions. It is part of a larger programme, focusing on the safety of journalists and founded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The training consisted of different workshops of groups of 15 journalists each, coming from different media across the region. It aimed at enabling participants to release their stress by…
Welcome to IFJ Asia-Pacific’s monthly Press Freedom in China Campaign e-bulletin. The next bulletin will be sent on March 8, and contributions are most welcome.
To contribute news or information, email [email protected]. To visit the IFJ’s China Campaign page, go to www.ifj.org.
Please distribute this bulletin widely among colleagues in the media.
Traditional Chinese version available here.
Simplified Chinese version available here.
In this bulletin:
1) IFJ releases <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> Press Freedom Report on January…
The International Federation of Journalists joins its affiliate Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI) (Alliance of Independent Journalists, Indonesia) in calling for an increase to the minimum wage for journalists in Indonesia following the outcome of a wage survey that highlighted the dangers of low wages in the media.
The IFJ and AJI have urged Indonesia’s provincial governments and media organisations to ensure journalists are receiving a decent wage as a protection for true media independence.
In 2014, AJI with the Media Workers’ Federation, Indonesia (FSPMI) conducted a wage survey in 60 media companies which found that the majority of media companies employ journalists under the…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the Thai Journalists Association (TJA) in criticizing a directive by the Thai military junta that resulted in the cancellation of a media freedom on January 30. The IFJ and the TJA have called the intervention a direct attack on freedom of expression and called on the junta’s National Council Peace and Order (NCPO) to respect the rights of the media or face international condemnation.
The Asia Media Barometer: Thailand 2014 forum, organized by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the TJA, was cancelled on an order from the NCPO. It alleged FES had not followed procedure to gain permission to host the event. However, two days…
En la provincia de Tumbes, región del mismo nombre, desconocidos arrojaron bombas molotov e incendiaron la casa de la periodista Carmen Sotero Nole, directora del programa informativo "Palabra Abierta", que se transmite por canal 19 de señal abierta y canal 98 por cable.
El hecho ocurrió el reciente 14 de enero, a las 11 y 50 de la noche. En el primer piso del domicilio de la periodista, ubicado en la Avenida del Ejército del Barrio El Tablazo, estaban sus padres. Sus hijos de 13 y 15 años de edad, veían televisión en el segundo piso. Ella había salido a la calle junto a su hija mayor.
Testigos manifestaron que dos sujetos a bordo de un mototaxi de color azul y sin placa,…
Every week the International Federation of journalists (IFJ) is compiling a list of the top news articles from across the world in which it is mentioned.
Read some of the news highlights for this week, from Monday 2 to Friday 6 of February:
1. Mali : Présentation de vœux de l’URD à la presse : L’Etat de la nation à l’ordre du jour
2. Chinese journalist association hearing flawed
3. IFJ and Philippine union welcome the conviction of journalist killer
4. Are Hong Kong's Civil Liberties Fading Fast?
5. Mali: Soumaila Cissé schématise le Mali d’aujourd’hui : « Le nord s’embrase, le centre dans la psychose et le reste du pays dans le…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) and the Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists (BUJ) in condemning the arrest of Shirin Dalvi, the editor of an Urdu newspaper in Mumbai, India on January 29, 2015 for reprinting a cartoon originally published by the French satirical magazine – Charlie Hebdo.
The IFJ has described this as a violation of freedom of expression and called for established procedure to deal with violations of journalistic ethics through Press Council.
Dalvi, the Mumbai-based 46-year-old editor of the Awadhnama daily, was arrested in Mumbra, in Mumbai’s financial district and later released on anticipatory bail by a court…
La Federación de Periodistas de América Latina y el Caribe (FEPALC) denuncia la insana actuación de movimientos neonacionalistas de República Dominicana que han amenazado de muerte a cuatro comunicadores dominicanos, tildándolos de “vende patria” en razón de su trabajo periodístico e incitando al odio contra ellos.
La FEPALC, de manera particular, deplora la actuación del grupo autodenominado Movimiento Patriótico Independiente que en un hecho sin precedentes lidera este hostigamiento contra los comunicadores Huchi Lora, Juan Bolívar Díaz, Roberto Cavada y Amelia Deschamps, de los canales de televisión Teleantillas y Telesistema, a quienes ha señalado como “traidores” en acto público, el…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) expresses strong concerned by the hearing procedure carried out by an ad hoc council of the All China Journalist Association (ACJA) that could jeopardise the life of a journalist.
On January 29, ACJA, which operates under the direction of the Communist Party of China, announced that three media outlets in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> had produced “false reporting”. No further information was provided with the announcement, though it did name one of the journalists involved as Chai Huiqun of Southern Weekly. Chai immediately refuted the…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) in welcoming the conviction of a co-accused in the 2010 murder of Miguel Belen, in Iriga City, in the Philippines.
Belen, a part-time radio journalist at dwEB Nabua, CamSur was shot several times by two motorbike-riding assailants on July 9 and he later died in hospital from his injuries.
NUJP Chairperson Rowena Paraan said: “While it provides a ray of hope for other cases of media murders in the Philippines, it must be noted that convictions of journalist killers are very few and far between. In fact very few cases reach the courts due to inept investigation or actual…
La Federación Internacional de Periodistas (FIP) se une a su afiliado el Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de Prensa (SNTP) de la República Dominicana en su enérgico repudio a las amenazas y presiones sufridas por los periodistas Huchi Lora, Juan Bolívar, Roberto Cavada y Amelia Deshamps.
El Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de Prensa, miembro de la Federación Internacional de Periodistas, declaró que el sindicato “respalda en todas sus partes las denuncias formuladas por cuatro emblemáticos comunicadores sociales y llama a la sociedad dominicana a estar atenta ante el fanatismo y la intolerancia de grupos y personas que promueven odios e intrigas”.
Según José Beato, Secretario…
La Federación Internacional de Periodistas (FIP) cierra filas en torno al Sindicato Nacional de Redactores de Prensa (SNRP) de México y se solidariza con él haciendo público su comunicado:
Denunciamos públicamente que las autoridades del estado de Veracruz siguen haciendo caso omiso a las denuncias de ataques a la libertad de expresión y a los periodistas.
Las instalaciones del diario El Heraldo de Córdoba, de Veracruz, fueron atacadas el pasado 29 de enero con bombas molotov y, no obstante el daño a las instalaciones, las autoridades judiciales minimizaron el hecho.
Apoyamos en forma irrestricta a la directora del diario Daniela Jácome, quien señala que, pese a existir una…
One month after the massacre of Paris, in which 12 people were shot dead, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has gathered as a tribute to their memory all its articles, images and different homages from around the world regarding the attack to Charlie Hebdo magazine.
By this humble tribute, the IFJ wants to insist on the fact that every time a journalist or a media are targeted, the whole democratic society is targeted with them. We reiterate all our support to our colleagues, our three French unions (SNJ, SNJ-CGT and CFDT) and very especially, to the families and friends of the victims. Charlie Hebdo’s…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Bangladesh Manobadhikar Sangbadik Forum (BMSF) condemns the police brutality toward a Bangladeshi journalist on Sunday, February 1 in Dhaka. The IFJ call for an immediate investigation into the assault and action taken against the perpetrators.
Police allegedly assaulted Nazmul Huda Suman, the Dhaka University correspondent of the English daily New Age, and his friend for taking photographs of a policeman riding as a passenger on a motorcycle. Bangladesh authorities have recently banned riding as passengers on motorbikes in the wake of arson and crude bomb attacks.
A group of policemen led by Sub-Inspector Mehedi Hasan…
The IFJ ‘Focus on Safety’ is now out! The monthly blog posting provides highlights, news and in-depth analysis about safety-related events of concern to journalists.
This is part of IFJ strategy on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity. We welcome your feedback, experiences in the field and any stories you may wish to share with members of the global journalists’ community.
Read it all about it here
Welcome to the third issue of IFJ ‘Focus on Safety’, the monthly blog posting which provides highlights, news and in-depth analysis about safety-related events of concern to journalists.
This is part of IFJ strategy on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity. We welcome your feedback, experiences in the field and any stories you may wish to share with members of the global journalists’ community.
The present issue covers the following:
- #JeSuisCharlie
- UNESCO Discusses Journalists’ Safety after Charlie Attack
- Report into Ampatuan Massacre: Five Years On
- IFJ and -UNESCO to Develop Safety Training Course at Universities in Middle…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate Japan Federation of Newspaper Workers’ Union, Shimbunroren, in condemning the brutal murder of journalist Kenji Goto in Syria on Sunday, February 1. The IFJ says the brutal killing of the Japanese freelancer by IS militants in Syria highlighted the spreading blight of the targeting of media workers that had taken terrorism to another front.
Kenji Goto, 47, was a freelance Japanese journalist who had covered conflicts across the globe including Syria, Chechnya, Kosovo and Afghanistan. He started his own media company, Independent Press, an online news portal reporting on conflict, refugee populations and poverty. Goto…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA) welcome the arrest of a suspect in the murder of British-Swedish radio journalist Nils Horner in Afghanistan in 2014.
On January 30, the Afghan security agency announced the arrest of a commander of the terrorist organization, Mahaz-e-Fadaiyan. Horner, a 51-year-old Hong Kong-based journalist working for Sveriges Radio, was killed in a rare daylight attack in Kabul in March last year, only a few days after he arrived in Afghanistan. Two weeks after the attack, Mahaz-e-Fadaiyan claimed responsibility for the attack, accusing Horner of being an MI6 spy.
A…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its Australian affiliate, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA), in welcoming the release of Australian national and Al Jazeera journalist, Peter Greste from jail in Egypt overnight. The IFJ and MEAA today reiterated their calls to the Egyptian government for the immediate release of the two other Al Jazeera journalists who remain in jail.
On December 29, 2013, Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste, Al Jazeera bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy, second producer Baher Mohamed and cameraman Mohamed Fawzy were arrested by agents of Egypt’s interior ministry on suspicion of illegally broadcasting news harming domestic security.…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its regional group the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) last week sent journalist Barry White (NUJ UK) to observe the new press trials in Turkey, 29 – 31 January.
Barry White, also a member of the EFJ Steering Committee, was joined by Mustafa Kuleli (General Secretary of the Journalists Union of Turkey, TGS), at the first hearing against journalists Can Dündar (Cumhuriyet), Utku Çakirözer (Cumhuriyet), Hakan Gülseven (Yurt) and Nazli Ilicak (Bugün).
The journalists are being sued by the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his wife Emine and son Bilal for violation of privacy and defamation following their reporting of…
Al Jazeera and ex-BBC journalist Peter Greste has been released from prison in Cairo after 400 days and deported to his native Australia. Reports quoted Presidential sources in Egypt as saying that another Al -Jazeera journalist held in Egypt, Mohamed Fahmy who is a dual national of Canada and Egypt, is expected to be freed after having his Egyptian nationality revoked.
The two journalists, together with their Al-Jazeera colleague Baher Mohamed, were arrested on 29 December 2013 on allegations of" illegally broadcasting news harming domestic security" and were charged with “distorting the country’s image abroad” and “fabricating news to aid the Muslim Brotherhood” which the…
The so-called Islamic State (IS) released a video on line showing the beheading of Japanese freelance journalist Kenji Goto. The IS claimed that the journalist, who had gone to Syria in October 2014, was killed because of Japan's support for the countries fighting IS. The group had reportedly previously agreed to free journalist against the release of Iraqi militant Sajida al-Rishawi held in Jordan.
Reports said that 47-year-old Kenji, a respected journalist known for his work covering the suffering of civilians in war zones, went to Syria in October, reportedly to try to secure the release of another Japanese national, Mr HAruna Yukawa, who was also executed by the IS, less than…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has renewed its calls for the immediate release of a Japanese freelance journalist held hostage by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria since October 2014. Kenji Goto and another Japanese national were shown in a video released by IS on Tuesday, January 20, with the group demanding a USD 200,000 million ransom. When these demands were not met, the Japanese national was reportedly murdered.
On Wednesday, January 28, IS released a recording saying that if Jordan did not release a jailed-Iraqi jihadist by sunset on Thursday, January 29, Goto and Jordanian hostage Mu’ath al-Kaseasbeh would be killed. Jordan authorities entered into…
Every week the International Federation of journalists (IFJ) is compiling a list of the top news articles from across the world in which it is mentioned.
Read some of the news highlights for this week, from Monday 26 to Friday 30 of January:
1. China's media war: Censorship, corruption & control 2014
2. IFJ mourns killing of 2 journalists in Iraq
3. IFJ: Philippines ‘epicenter of impunity’
4. The IFJ condemns the brutal murder of Mexican journalist Moises Sanchez Cerezo, from Veracruz
5. China Exerts Pressure on Foreign News Outlets
6. Mexico investigates local mayor after journalist murdered
7. Hong Kong media 'manipulated':…
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In this bulletin:
1. CHINA’S MEDIA WAR: Censorship, Corruption & Control: 2014 Press Freedom in China report
2. International Solidarity Mission release report; Ampatuan…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) expresses strong concern over the National Security Law Bill which is soon to be considered by the Standing Committee of National Congress in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> in March, 2015. The IFJ says the bill will extend the control of Chinese authorities over basic human rights under the guise of national security protection.
The draft counterterrorism law, in addition to the national security bill, would allow authorities the power to monitor the internet and undertake intrusion surveillance when there is a suspicion of…
Reports say that Adnan Abdul Razzaq, an Iraqi photographer for Sama Mosul Channel, was killed by militants of the so-called Islamic State in the city of Mosul during the weekend of 24-25 January.
He became the second Iraqi journalist killed in as many days after Ali – Ansari who was fatally wounded on 23 January while covering fighting between the Iraqi army and the IS militants in Mykdadyah, north of Baghdad.
Two other media workers were wounded in the attack – journalist Mustafa Hamid and cameraman Qusay Sahib, both from Iraqiya state television.
Five journalists were among eleven people who died in an ambush incident against a convoy in Raja county, westen Bahr al Ghazal state, according to media reports quoting the state governor Rizik Zakaria. The journalists worked for state media in South Soudan, including South Soudan TV and Radio Raja.
They were Musa Mohamed Dahiya (Abu-Kalam), Radio Raja Director, the station's journalists Ms Randa George, Adam Juma Adam and Ms Dalia Marko together with cameraman Butrous Martin who worked for South Soudan TV.
The area where the attack took place borders Sudan's troubled Darfur region as well as the Central African Republic. Several armed groups are known to operate in the…
The photographer for Sama Mosul channel was allegedly shot dead in Mosul by the so-called Islamic State (IS), according to media reports. He was the second journalist killed in the same week after the reporter Ali - Ansari was fatally wounded while covering clashes between the Iraqi army and the militants of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Mykdadyah , north of Baghdad on 23 January.
International Federation of Journalists’ leaders attended this morning the opening of the 27th national congress of IFJ Italian affiliate member, the Federazione Nazionale della Stampa Italiana, held in Chianciano Terme, in Toscany, on the theme «Giornalismo, attore di futuro» (Journalism as actor in the future.)
After seven years as president of the federation and six as its general secretary, Franco Siddi addressed over 400 delegates from branches across Italy and moved a poignant homage to the two Italian journalists, Simone Camilli et Andrea Rocchelli, who were murdered in 2014 in Gaza and in the Ukraine.
During the moving ceremony at the onset of congress, Simone’s father,…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the Federation of Journalists in Latin America and the Caribbean (FEPALC), to express its deep shock at the news of the assassination of Moisés Sánchez Cerezo, the owner and editor of La Unión newspaper who was missing in the Veracruz state since 2 January.
The cruel murder in Mexico, which targets journalists, demands a unified international pressure on the Mexican State, which is responsible for these crimes, by action or by omission.
Sánchez Cerezo was the first Mexican newsman to be killed in 2015. This tragedy confirms the crisis in the state of Veracruz where last year another journalist, Gregorio Jiménez de la Cruz,…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its regional affiliate the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate (IJS) have today condemned the killing of the Iraqi photographer Adnan Abdul Razzaq, allegedly murdered by the Islamic State (IS) in Mosul, and the reporter Ali Ansari, fatally hit last Friday while covering the battles between the Iraqi army and the IS in Mykdadyah, north of Baghdad.
According to media reports, photographer Abdul Razzaq working for Sama Mosul channel was allegedly shot dead in Mosul by the IS last weekend.
Ansari was killed last January 23rd when he was caught in a crossfire between the Iraqi army and the IS that took place in Mykdadyah, North East of Baquba,…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urges the Mexican authorities to solve all the responsibilities for the murder of journalist Moises Sanchez Cerezo, ensuring that crime does not go unpunished.
Moises Sanchez Cerezo, editor of La Union, was found killed after 24 days without news of his whereabouts.
He was kidnapped on January 2, 2015, when an armed group entered his home and took him by force, being this information the last one we had on his location. On the eve of his death, Sanchez Cerezo had received threats from the mayor of Medellín, Omar Cruz Reyes, after making allegations of insecurity in their municipality and corruption of some local…
Five journalists were among eleven people who died in an ambush incident against a convoy in Raja county, westen Bahr al Ghazal state, according to media reports quoting the state governor Rizik Zakaria. The journalists worked for state media in South Soudan, including South Soudan TV and Radio Raja.
They were Musa Mohamed Dahiya (Abu-Kalam), Radio Raja Director, the station's journalists Ms Randa George, Adam Juma Adam and Ms Dalia Marko together with cameraman Butrous Martin who worked for South Soudan TV.
The area where the attack took place borders Sudan's troubled Darfur region as well as the Central African Republic. Several armed groups are known to operate in…
The IFJ and UNESCO – Beirut Office launched yesterday a workshop to develop a safety curriculum for universities in the Arab World and Middle East in cooperation with the Jordanian Media Institute (JMI) and the Jordanian Press Association. The three day workshop will discuss a draft safety curriculum with ten media school lecturers from the region.
In line with IFJ and UNESCO safety working programme, this first workshop will review a draft safety curriculum and lesson plans to be developed into a fully accredited academic course to be taught in universities across the Arab world and the Middle East.
“Providing safety skills and knowledge to media students is crucial to building a…
