The US Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit has rules that violation of an open source licence can indeed be deemed copyright infringement.
Strong open source licenses such as those drawn up by the Free Software Foundation are used by authors, typically of computer software, who want to make their work publicly available in a way that prevents it being “privatised” by incorporation into a “closed” proprietary system. Examples include the Firefox web browser program that you may use to access this, and the Apache web server program that very likely delivered the web page to Firefox.
The case Jacobsen vs Katzer involved the modification and inclusion of Jacobsen’s open-source…
The US Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit has rules that violation of an open source licence can indeed be deemed copyright infringement.
Strong open source licenses such as those drawn up by the Free Software Foundation are used by authors, typically of computer software, who want to make their work publicly available in a way that prevents it being “privatised” by incorporation into a “closed” proprietary system. Examples include the Firefox web browser program that you may use to access this, and the Apache web server program that very likely delivered the web page to Firefox.
The case Jacobsen vs Katzer involved the modification and…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is alarmed that Sri
Lankan authorities are taking the unprecedented step of applying the country’s draconian
anti-terrorism law to seek to condemn senior journalist J.S. Tissainayagam for pursuing his profession.
After being held for five months without charge, Tissainayagam has been formally
indicted by the High Court of Sri Lanka under the Prevention of Terrorism Act
(PTA) (1979), according to the Free Media Movement, an IFJ affiliate.
The indictment reportedly refers to the printing, publishing and
distribution of the North Eastern Monthly between June 1, 2006, and June 1, 2007; alleged…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) fears that conditions for journalists in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province are worsening, after another journalist reported being threatened by a member of the Tamil Peoples’ Liberation Tigers (TMVP, or the Karuna faction).The Free Media Movement (FMM), an IFJ affiliate, said it had received reports that Thakshila Jayasena, of the BBC’s Sandeshaya Sinhala Service, received the threat on August 15 after covering a protest campaign by the United National Party, Sri Lanka’s main opposition party.Jayasena lodged a complaint with police in Polonnaruwa, reporting that a motorcyclist had blocked her taxi as she returned to her…
In a meeting this week in Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan region, Iraqi journalists' unions gave their backing to a new campaign in defence of journalists' rights despite the heavy toll of war over the past five years that has claimed more than 280 media lives.
The conference, called by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its two affiliated organisations in Iraq, the Kurdistan Journalists' Syndicate (KJS) and the Iraqi Union of Journalists (IUJ), brought together 50 journalists and union leaders from across the country.
Despite some progress this year in the country's security situation, the threat of sectarian conflict and attacks against media remains. The latest…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today warned that the results of an Israeli Army investigation clearing a tank crew of any wrong-doing in the killing of Reuters' cameraman Fadel Shana in April in the Gaza Strip could endanger all media professionals working in the Palestinian Territories.
"This inquiry, which has been farcical in its nature, is likely to make life even more dangerous for journalists working in the field," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "We have no confidence in an inquiry that has been used by the Israeli Army to avoid facing up to the consequences of its irresponsible actions. We share Reuters' concern that there has been a…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today pressed Russia to facilitate the return of the bodies of two Georgian journalists killed at the weekend to their families in Georgia.
The IFJ supports the calls of the families and colleagues of the two victims, Alexander Klimchuk, a photojournalist working for Russian news agency Itar-Tass and the owner of independent photo agency Caucasus Press Images, and Grigol Chikhladze, a reporter for Russian Newsweek, that their bodies should be transferred for decent burial.
The IFJ says that its affiliate in Moscow, the Russian Union of Journalists, has taken up this case with the Russian government.
"This is a…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned Chinese security guards for an attack on a British journalist who was detained and roughed up after filming pro-Tibetan protests.
"While the Chinese government has promised that foreign journalists can work freely during the Beijing Games, they have repeatedly set up obstacles for media workers and in some cases security officers have acted violently to stop reporters from doing their work," said IFJ Deputy General Secretary Paco Audije. "The government must live up to its promise and ensure that these attacks stop immediately."
Earlier today, John Ray, a British journalist working for Independent…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on Russian, Georgian and any other combat forces involved in the conflict in the region to respect the rights of media and protect their safety after it received reports that two journalists were killed and at least two others wounded in South Ossetia.
Georgian Alexander Klimchuk, a photojournalist working for Russian news agency Itar-Tass, and Grigol Chikhladze, a reporter for Russian Newsweek, were reportedly killed while covering fighting between the Russian and Georgian forces in the separatist region. Two other journalists travelling in the same car, Teymuraz Kikuradze and Winston Federly, were wounded. Other…
The International Federation of Journalists is alarmed to learn of
journalists and media organisations being targeted in the recent civil
disturbances in the Indian state of Jammu
and Kashmir.
According to reports received from sources in the state capital of Srinagar, police personnel on August 9 seized all copies
of an Urdu-language daily, Etalaat,
for allegedly carrying the report of a village being razed by a mob in the Jammu region of the
state.
Reports have also been received that the staff of the English-language daily,
Rising Kashmir, were warned by state
authorities not to carry certain kinds of reports and that the Jammu offices of…
The International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) is deeply saddened by the murder of broadcast journalist
Martin Roxas, who was shot dead in a broad daylight attack in Capiz, the Philippines, on
August 7.
Roxas, 32, anchorman of Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) station dyVR and host of the station’s
midday program “Targetanay sa Udto” was shot by two unidentified gunmen on a
motorcycle as he left the radio station in Barangay village at 1pm.
Colleagues reportedly informed
police that Roxas, who was also auditor for the Capiz chapter of the National
Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), an IFJ affiliate, had been
beaten by a group of…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called for the release of Mohamed Nema Omar the publisher and Mohamed Ould Abdelatif journalist of the Arab language weekly newspaper Al Houriya.
The two are jailed since 21 July over defamation and insult of three judges.
"This long and painful detention looks like reprisals for our colleagues," said Gabriel Baglo the Director of IFJ Africa office. "We condemn the bad detention conditions of Omar and Abdelatif. We call for their immediate release and a fair trial."
Publisher Mohamed Nema Omar and journalist Mohamed Ould Abdelatif were arrested on 21 July after they published the same day an article accusing three High Court judges…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is alarmed at new reports
that Sri Lankan Army Commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka continues to
menace independent media by interfering with defence reporting in two major
newspapers.
According to the five leading journalists’ organizations in Sri Lanka,
including IFJ affiliates the Free Media Movement (FMM),
the Sri Lankan Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), the Federation of Media
Employees Trade Union (FMETU) as
well as the Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF) and the Sri Lanka Tamil Media
Alliance (SLTMA), Fonseka reportedly advised Lankadeepa staff journalist Indika Ramanayake that he would…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns
the brutal beating of journalists and the confiscation of journalistic
materials in Kashgar, in north-west China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region, on the evening of August 4.
Two Japanese journalists were beaten by police while trying
to report on the aftermath of an attack on Monday which killed at least 16
police officers. The journalists, Masami Kawakita, 38, of Chunichi Shimbun and Shinji Katsuta, 37, of Nippon Television
Network, suffered injuries after being detained by police and barred from
reporting on the attack.
Two journalists from Hong Kong’s
ATV told the IFJ they…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned recent attacks on Palestinian journalists by both governments of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority which are locked in a political power struggle.
The recent reports of torturing journalists in the Gaza Strip and West Bank is the culmination of an intimidation campaign against journalists and media which started during the violent confrontation between Hamas and PA security forces in June 2007 says the IFJ.
At least eight journalists had been arrested in recent days, some of them, according to multiple reports, suffering torture while in detention before being released without charge.…
In a letter sent today to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) denounced the "extravagant requirements" imposed by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) on the EBU and its members for use of their radio broadcasts of the Olympics on the internet.
In an arrangement with the EBU, the IOC asks for the internet use of radio broadcasts to be limited under certain conditions, notably with the application of geo-block denying access from outside the EBU territory, thus impeding certain users from accessing the sites. Moreover, the arrangement prohibits the use of moving pictures and restricts advertisement on web to prior…
In a letter sent today to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) denounced the "extravagant requirements" imposed by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) on the EBU and its members for use of their radio broadcasts of the Olympics on the internet.
In an arrangement with the EBU, the IOC asks for the internet use of radio broadcasts to be limited under certain conditions, notably with the application of geo-block denying access from outside the EBU territory, thus impeding certain users from accessing the sites. Moreover, the arrangement prohibits the use of moving pictures and restricts advertisement on web to prior…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) deplores the recent statements by the commander
of the Sri Lankan army, Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, which suggest a
“blame the victim” attitude with regard to the spate of recent attacks on
journalists
According to reports
received from the Free Media Movement (FMM), an IFJ affiliate, General Fonseka
made these remarks in an interview published in the July 20 editions of the
Sunday Observer newspaper and the
Sinhala-language weekly Lakbima.
With reference to the
abduction and overnight torture of defence correspondent Keith Noyahr in May
2008, General Fonseka is quoted as saying that…
The International
Federation of Journalists strongly urges local and national authorities in
Nepal to enforce heightened
security measures and protection for journalists in all regions of Nepal
and ensure that the perpetrators of the recent spate of violent attacks are
brought to justice.
According to the
Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), an IFJ affiliate, media monitors in the
mid-western and western regions of Nepal received reports of three new
incidents of violence against journalists
overnight.
On July 29, local
correspondent of Radio Nepal K.B. Bana and ABC Television correspondent Deepak
Bhattarai were allegedly beaten by police…
Some 500 journalists employed by about 200 newspapers across Australia will be entitled to six weeks paid maternity leave. Media unions are also seeking increases in paid parental leave in bargaining with the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), a TV channel.
The deal was made between Country Press Australia Inc and the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), the Australian journalists' union. It introduces a six-week paid maternity leave entitlement for part- and full-time employees with three years service.
Meanwhile, the union for public sector workers (CPSU) and the MEAA are seeking a substantial increase in paid parental leave for the 750 employees at SBS. The current agreement…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the Hamas leadership in Gaza ‘for arresting Palestinian journalists working for national and foreign media and confiscating media equipments.'
Over the weekend, a group of masked militants, who identified themselves as the ‘internal security service' of the Hamas government in Gaza arrested Sawah Abu Saif, a Palestinian cameraman working for the German public service TV station ARD. Another Palestinian journalist Fuaad Abu Jaradah was also arrested in the same night. Armed members of Hamas also invaded the offices of Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) and confiscated its equipments and closed…
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), in cooperation with the International Digital Preservation and Copyright initiative (IDPC), organized a one-day workshop to assess recent developments and trends at the intersection of digital preservation and copyright. Anne Louise Schelin from the Danish union of journalists participated on behalf of the IFJ.
With the development of electronic libraries and the wide use of copyright material by search engines the need to define ways to reproduce copyright protected material is rampant.
"From an intellectual property perspective, the preservation of digital materials raises copyright issues in ways that analog preservation…
The Jayaraman family and the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) jointly announce the Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award for young women journalists for the year 2009. The Award had been set up in the memory of Anupama Jayaraman, a young and promising Bangalore-based journalist who passed away in January 2006. Anupama was not only multi-talented and energetic, but she also demonstrated a keen interest in issues of human rights and social justice.The Award is one of several efforts undertaken by her family to keep her concerns and ideas alive. It is meant to encourage and honour young women journalists who, like her, believe in meaningful journalism and have the courage and determination…
As journalists in Sri Lanka continue to suffer intimidation and harassment, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) calls on Sri Lanka’s Government to make good on its recent commitment to investigate thoroughly all acts of violence directed toward members of Sri Lanka’s media community.In late June, the five main journalists’ organisations in Sri Lanka welcomed the Government’s move to set up a Cabinet subcommittee to look into the grievances of journalists, but said the committee must build confidence among the media community by reporting promptly and transparently about the progress of its inquiries. Since then, seven incidents have been reported in…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is alarmed to learn of an attack on journalists by police personnel in Malkangiri district in the Indian state of Orissa, site of the most recent incident of violence involving a long-running Maoist insurgency.On July 17, according to information received from IFJ affiliates in India, police personnel conducting a guard of honour for colleagues killed the previous day in a Maoist landmine attack, began an unprovoked attack on journalists gathered to cover the event. The General Secretary of the Indian Journalists’ Union (IJU), K. Sreenivas Reddy, informed the IFJ that the police seemed to target journalists from other states. Cameras…
The International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) is alarmed at reports that the management of the New Delhi-based Nepal One Television threatened on July 14 to enforce a mass sacking of
journalists and media workers from its Kathmandu
office.
According to the Federation of
Nepali Journalists (FNJ), an IFJ affiliate, the management barricaded the
building on July 14, preventing employees from entering, after employees
demanded the implementation of their workplace agreement.
The FNJ reports that Nepal One’s Kathmandu staff have sought repeatedly in recent weeks to
open a dialogue with the management on the implementation of the terms of the
agreement.…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) notes that the wife of
journalist Dekendra Raj Thapa has identified a body exhumed in the town of
Dailekh, in Nepal’s far western region, as that of her husband.
Thapa, a reporter for Radio Nepal based in the town, disappeared
while on assignment in June 2004.
The exhumation on June 25 took place on the basis of information received
by the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), an IFJ affiliate. Officials of
the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal were at the site for the
exhumation.
The IFJ urges the police and all other relevant authorities in Nepal to launch
appropriate forensic tests to…
The IFJ today condemned the raid by American forces on the home of Hesen Al-Maajon, a journalist and the president of the Iraqi Union of Journalists' Salah Al-Dien branch, and called on the military to release him immediately.
American forces arrested Al-Maajon on Monday after using sound grenades that destroyed furniture in their raid on his home. The IFJ joins the Iraqi Union of Journalists (IUJ) and the Iraqi Media Safety Group in their protest over Al-Maajon's detention.
"Our colleague is a journalist and well-known union leader," said IFJ Aidan White. "There is no reason for him to be detained. He should be released immediately and receive compensation for the damage…
The International Federation of Journalists is calling for solidarity from journalists worldwide with staff working on the Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Bengali, Nepali and Sinhala sections of the BBC World Service who have launched a campaign to protest against off-shoring of programming to the Indian sub-continent in what is described as a "money-saving adventure" at the expense of standards.
The journalists, all members of the National Union of Journalists of Great Britain and Ireland, say the BBC is compromising professional integrity by entering into agreements with governments and subsidiary companies in the Indian sub-continent.
Nearly 60 South Asian journalists are involved…
The International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ) is deeply concerned by reports that officials of the Sri Lankan Police's
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) visited the office of the web-based
news portal www.lankaenews.com on June
17 and questioned editor Sandaruwan Senadeera
and news editor Benet Rupasinghe for more than three hours. The CID visit to the office of www.lankaenews.com was reportedly
provoked by a report published in February. CID officers wanted the editors to
name sources. According to the Free Media Movement (FMM), an
IFJ affiliate, the news portal was among eight media institutions named
recently by Sri Lanka's
Ministry of Defence as being…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) calls on authorities in
Sri Lanka
to ensure fair and transparent judicial process is applied to senior Tamil journalist
J.S. Tissainayagam, who continues to be detained by the Terrorist Investigation
Division (TID) of the Sri Lanka Police.
A magistrate is due to issue a decision on June 30 in the case of the editor
of the OutreachSl.com news website, who has been detained since March 7. A
ruling will also be delivered on N. Jesiharan, owner of E-Kwality printers, and
his partner Valarmathi, who have been held since March 6.
The expected rulings follow a court appearance by Tissainayagam and Jesiharan
at…
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns China’s continuing restrictions on media
coverage of issues related to the Olympics and Tibet,
after limits were placed on what could be reported about the relay of the
Olympic torch through Tibet
at the weekend.
Several
foreign journalists reported to the IFJ that their movements were tightly
controlled. After the torch relay had finished at an open public area in Lhasa, Tibet’s
capital, on June 21, authorities would not permit the journalists to leave
promptly. No reason was given, the journalists said.
A
scheduled media visit to Lhasa’s
Jokhang Monastery, which was badly damaged…
Following wide use of its content on bloggers' web sites, Associated Press (A.P.) hopes to set guidelines that would clarify the extend to which its articles can be used.
In the US, the fair use doctrine allows for reproduction of articles for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research purposes. However, the reproduction must remain limited.
The New York Times (NYT) reveals that AP sent a letter to the Drudge Retort , a social news site which compiles articles from other media asking it to remove seven items that contained quotations from A.P. articles.
Although the targetting of bloggers is new, recent court decisions have shown the judiciary's…
General Secretaries of international unions covering workers across the world economy agreed on Wednesday (June 11) to target union organising rights in major transnational companies, including global media corporations, in the coming year.
The campaign will particularly target major multinational companies based in the United States where union rights have been badly undermined in recent years. American companies routinely deny workers the freedom to decide for themselves whether to form unions or to bargain for better working conditions. They intimidate, harass, coerce and even dismiss workers who try to form unions. This corporate culture of anti-unionism is inevitably injected into…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) demands an explanation from the United States Government for the continued detention without charge of Afghan journalist Jawed Ahmad.According to the Afghan Independent Journalists’ Association (AIJA), an IFJ associate, Ahmad was on assignment for Canadian Television (CTV) when he was arrested by US military forces at Kandahar airport on September 2, 2007.Ahmad, 22, is accused of having contacts with local Taliban leaders and possessing a video containing Taliban materials. US forces are holding him at Bagram air base.US officials continue to deny knowledge of Ahmad’s situation, despite repeated attempts to draw the attention of…
This year's Annual Nordic Freelance Seminar will take place in Hell, Norway on June 13-15, 2008. Over 100 freelance journalists from all of the EFJ member unions in the Nordic countries will discuss challenges in documentary film-making, photography, and protecting authors' rights with special focus on working in Rwanda, the United States, Russia and the Middle East. Well-known photographers and documentary- film producers will share their experiences.
Click here for the agenda in English:
http://www.nj.no/?module=Articles;action=Article.publicShow;ID=7525
The International Federation of Journalists joins its affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) in calling for an investigation into the alleged disappearance of records of the deliberations of the Seventh Wage Board constituted under the Pakistan Working Journalists’ Act.According to the PFUJ, the missing records pertain to many of the commitments made by the All-Pakistan Newspapers Society, the apex body of newspaper management, in regard to their obligations to give workers a fair deal.A PFUJ delegation met with Federal Information Minister Ms Sherry Rehman last Friday, May 16, to protest the delays and the missing records.“As guardians of the public right…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly condemns the May
15 attack on Nilofer Habibi, a woman presenter and reporter for the Herat station of Afghanistan’s official broadcast
agency, Radio and Television Afghanistan (RTA).
According to reports from IFJ partner the Afghanistan Independent Journalists’
Association (AIJA), Habibi sustained minor injuries when her attackers forced her
into a vehicle and demanded that she stop working for the Herat TV station.
The director of the Herat TV station, Mr Hisam-ud-din Shams, reportedly
told the AIJA that Habibi and two other women journalists have received several
death threats…
Euronews is the monthly bulletin of the European Federation of Journalists, produced in the Secretariat in Brussels. DOWNLOAD HERE - Euronews April/May 2008
For more information, please contact: Renate Schroeder and Marc Gruber – European Directors [email protected][email protected] European Federation of Journalists International Press Centre Residence Palace Bloc C, second floor Rue de la Loi, 155 1040 Brussels Tel: 32-2-235.22.15 Fax: 32-2-235.22.19
The International
Federation of Journalists has learnt with some concern about death threats
received by two journalists in the western Nepal
district of Rupandehi on May 13.
According to information
received from the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), an IFJ affiliate,
Bindu Kumar Chauhan and Kanhai Yadav allegedly received death threats by phone
from sub-inspector Dev Raj Aryal, of district police headquarters.
Unnamed personnel of the
district's mobile police squad also reportedly threatened the
journalists.
Mohan Chapagain,
president of the FNJ's Rupandehi chapter, said the journalists had attracted the
anger of the police for their…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on the United States to "tell the whole truth" about the killing of journalists by its soldiers in Iraq after a military source claimed that the US army deliberately targeted a media hotel in Baghdad leading to the death of two journalists at the start of the war.
The attack by a US tank on the Palestine Hotel in central Baghdad on April 8th 2003, the day before Baghdad fell, led to the killing of Spanish journalist Jose Couso, a cameraman for the network Telecinco, and Ukraine-born Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk. A number of others were injured in the hotel which was home to around 150 journalists and media…
The historic international framework agreement signed
between the EFJ and the German-based WAZ media group, which has holdings in
Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Hungary, Romania , Bulgaria and Austria, came to
life this week (14 May 2008) with the holding of the first EFJ-WAZ Group Forum between
company and union representatives from across the region.The agreement, which was signed last year, is the first of
its kind for journalists. The company and the EFJ have agreed to work together
to improve quality in journalism, to jointly confront threats to press freedom,
and to improve working conditions.The results of the first meeting - held in the historic
surroundings of the Zollverein…
On 2 June there will be a public hearing organised by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament.
For more information, click here:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/committees/hearingsCom.do?language=EN&body=LIBE
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns a new wave of jailing and detention of journalists in China.Qi Chonghuai, a journalist working for China Legal News, and He Yanjie, a fellow journalist who co-wrote reports with Qi, were sentenced to jail by a court in Shandong yesterday. Qi was sentenced to four years and He to two years.Qi, 42, has been in detention since June 25, 2007, on charges of blackmail. Qi has worked in the industry for more than 13 years and is known for his reporting on the alleged corruption of Shandong officials. China Legal News is a national newspaper owned and controlled by the Ministry of Justice. Qi’s lawyer, Li Xiongbing, told the IFJ…
The International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of
Journalists (PFUJ), in expressing concern at the Pakistan Supreme Court’s order
on May 12 to restrain the media from reporting anything that may be deemed
“derogatory” of judges.
The order was an over-zealous
protection of judicial privileges and provided wide scope for arbitrary
interpretation, the IFJ said.
According to the PFUJ, the GEO
News TV channel and the Daily Jang, a
newspaper belonging to the same media group, put out reports on May 8 of a
supposed meeting between Pakistan’s
Federal Secretary of the Interior and three…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Hong
Kong Journalists’ Association (HKJA) today submitted a petition with 1518
signatures to China’s Minister
of Justice, Wu Aiying, with copies to Premier Wen Jia Bao and the Liaison
Office of the Central Government in Hong Kong,
demanding the release of Hu Jia.
Hu was sentenced on April 3 to three-and-a-half
years’ jail and one year’s denial of political rights on charges of “inciting
subversion to state power”, for articles and interviews critical of China’s
Government.
Hu, a long-time human rights activist,
suffers poor health and his family has…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the decision of the Moroccan government to suspend the licence of Satellite Television channel, Al Jazeera's programme Magarbi Daily News. The Moroccan government claimed in a statement today that the suspension was made on technical and legal grounds.
"This action is inexplicable," said Younes M'jahed, Vice President of the IFJ and also President of the syndicat national de la presse marocaine (SNPM). "We need to have a clear explanation about why Al Jazeera is suspended. If there is no convincing reason then this will be seen as a political act of interference in media. That is…
The
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the regional group of the
International Federation of Journalists, today protested against the shocking
comments made by French President Nicolas Sarkozy accusing the media of bias. "As a candidate, Mr.
Sarkozy assured us that he believed the media are a key element of
democratic life, but he seems to have forgotten these principles as a
President and he doesn't hesitate to
cry "censorship" when media do not report the news to his liking. We are
outraged by his behavior," said EFJ Chair Arne König. On 6 May, Sarkozy said
media outlets including Agence France-Presse (AFP), le Parisien and l'Express,
were biased because they did…
The Sri Lankan Government’s reported efforts to deny media personnel
access to report on council elections in the island’s Eastern Province undermines
democratic election processes, said the International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ).
According to the Free Media Movement (FMM), an IFJ
affiliate, two Associated Press (AP) media personnel were stopped at a
checkpoint in the eastern town of Valaichchenai
and ordered to return to Colombo
immediately.
Military authorities allegedly told journalist Ravi Nesman
and photographer Gemunu Amarasinghe that they required special permission to
cover the elections, due to be held on May…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today urged Bahrain decriminalise press offences, saying the change was urgently needed as journalists face the prospect of going to jail for writing articles criticising politicians.
"We welcome the move by the Parliament to introduce a law that would end the fear and uncertainty our colleagues face in Bahrain," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "This is a step in the right direction for the press, especially two journalists who are facing prosecution for a critical news story."
The IFJ is supporting its affiliate, the Bahrain Journalists' Association (BJA), in welcoming a proposed amendment to the press and…
MEPS voted today, 8 May, on a White Paper that recognises the importance of sports journalism in Europe. Several MEPs had proposed amendments to the Mavrommatis report on sport which would have severely limited severely limit the freedom of the news media to report freely for the enjoyment of their readers across Europe. Following a call by news media and journalist organisations (EPC, ENPA, EFJ and NMC) for Members of the European Parliament to protect the freedom of the press and the rights of the public to be informed about major sporting events, MEPs rejected harmful amendments and voted today as follows: MEPs voted in favour of the amendment to paragraph 70…
MEPS voted today, 8 May, on a White Paper that recognises the importance of sports journalism in Europe. Several MEPs had proposed amendments to the Mavrommatis report on sport which would have severely limited severely limit the freedom of the news media to report freely for the enjoyment of their readers across Europe. Following a call by news media and journalist organisations (EPC, ENPA, EFJ and NMC) for Members of the European Parliament to protect the freedom of the press and the rights of the public to be informed about major sporting events, MEPs rejected harmful amendments and voted today as follows: MEPs voted in favour of the amendment to paragraph 70…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly condemns the arrest of a freelance writer in China on World Press Freedom Day. Zhou Yuanzhi, a freelance writer and social commentator, was detained in Zhongxiang City, Hubei Province, in central China, on May 3 and charged with “inciting subversion of state power”. According to the Independent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC), Zhou’s wife was also detained by representatives of the National Security Bureau and later released into house arrest.Zhou has written for the Voice of America news service and for Chinese and international websites. His articles have been critical of China’s Government on social and…
A broad alliance of news media and journalists' groups today called upon the European Parliament to step back from endorsing moves by sports organisations to create open-ended protection for their events that will interfere with the way in which journalists report freely on major sporting events.
Tomorrow, May 8th, MEPs will discuss a White Paper on Sport and will vote on amendments which seek sweeping changes in rules including those that purport to establish, for the first time, new intellectual property rights specific to the events themselves.
News media and journalist organisations, including the European Publishers Council, the European Newspaper Publishers Association, the…
A broad alliance of news media and journalists' groups today called upon the European Parliament to step back from endorsing moves by sports organisations to create open-ended protection for their events that will interfere with the way in which journalists report freely on major sporting events. Tomorrow, May 8th, MEPs will discuss a White Paper on Sport and will vote on amendments which seek sweeping changes in rules including those that purport to establish, for the first time, new intellectual property rights specific to the events themselves. News media and journalist organisations, including the European Publishers Council, the European Newspaper Publishers…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) demands
authorities in Sri Lanka
take immediate action to resolve the arbitrary two-month detention, without
charge, of Jayaprakash Sittampalam Tissainayagam and two colleagues.
Tissainayagam, the editor of www.outreach.sl, has been detained since
March 7 along with N. Jasiharan, an outreach writer and the owner of E-Kwality
Printers, and Jasiharan’s partner, Valarmathi, after Sri Lanka’s Terrorist
Information Department (TID) arrested seven media personnel from March 6 to 8.
TID officers said the seven were taken in for questioning in
relation to the outreach website, according to the Free Media…
The International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) calls on the international community to pressure authorities
in Burma
to allow a free flow of accurate information in the country in the wake of Cyclone
Nargis at the weekend.
According to foreign media reports,
Burma’s Foreign Minister, Nyan
Win, told diplomats and United Nations offices that the death toll resulting
from the cyclone, which struck western Burma on May 3, could rise to
10,000.
State-owned media reports that as
many as 4000 people have been killed.
Although information from the
closed country is patchy, reports suggest the cyclone has left hundreds of
thousands…
Attached a sample letter asking for the liberation of Moussa Kaka, the correspondent of Radio France Internationale (RFI) in Niger, who has been in jail since September 2007. On the occasion of the World Pres Freedom Day, we ask IFJ members to send or deliver personally to the Niger Embassy in your country a letter that puts pressure on the Niger government, who depends mostly on the developments aids of the Western countries and particularly the European ones, to release him. As May 3 falls this year during a long holiday week end, members of the EFJ/IFJ can send the letter as late as Monday, May 5. Please note the letter has been edited for a May 5 sending date and refers to World Press…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its
affiliate, the Free Media Movement (FMM), in calling on Sri Lanka’s Government to explain chilling and inflammatory
statements by Sri Lanka’s
Defence Secretary suggesting independent media should be prevented from running
reports allegedly detrimental to the security forces.
The Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who
is the brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was quoted in a local newspaper
calling for the ban and alleging that critical media reports amount to treason.
Rajapaksa
has made a series of anti-media comments last year and early this year in
response to…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is alarmed by reports of Cambodian authorities attacking and detaining a newspaper journalist in Kampong Seila commune, Cambodia, on April 29. According to the Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists (CAPJ), Meas Asi, a reporter for Panhavorn Khmer (Khmer Intellectual), based in Koh Kong province, was allegedly stopped by police and beaten unconscious before being taken to Koh Kong prison. Asi was on his way to cover a protest by members of Chhouk village to draw Prime Minister Hun Sen’s attention to land ownership issues when the incident occurred. CAPJ reported that the incident may be related to Asi’s investigation…
