The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called for the safe return
of Vasily Klimentyev, editor in chief of Novy
Stil ( New style) newspaper who has been missing since 11 August. "We are deeply
concerned about the safety of Klimentyev," said Aidan White, IFJ General
Secretary. "The Government must do all it can to identify his whereabouts and
return him to his family and colleagues who must be fearing the worst." According to
security sources quoted in Ukrainian press, Klimentyev went missing on 11
August after he left his home with an unidentified man. Klimentyev's colleagues say he set out to
photograph luxurious residences belonging to a high…
The
International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) is concerned by an order issued by China’s
Central Propaganda Department that Chinese media avoid any negative reporting of
this week’s hostage crisis in the Philippines.
“The
order attempts to muzzle open reporting of the circumstances surrounding recent
events in the Philippines,
and must be lifted by China’s
central authorities immediately,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan
White said.
Eight
Hong Kong tourists were killed in a day-long siege by Philippines police on August 23, after a tour
bus with 22 passengers was hijacked by a former policeman in Manila. Seven people were…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
extends its support to its affiliate organisation, the Pakistan Federal Union
of Journalists (PFUJ), in its campaign to secure all back wages and special
bonus payments due prior to the festive occasion of Eid-ul Fitr.
The IFJ is
alarmed at the growing distress within Pakistan’s community of journalists on
account of the continuing default on wage payments by the country’s media
houses, including some of the most renowned and profitable enterprises.
The PFUJ
has resolved on a campaign of protests and demonstrations, including work
stoppages and picketing of media offices. Some of the media houses…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the Alliance of
Independent Journalists (AJI), in demanding that Indonesian authorities immediately
arrest the known suspects in the killing of journalist Ridwan Salamun in Tual, in
the Maluku Islands, on August 21.
Ridwan, a new contributor for SUN TV, was reporting
on a clash between residents of Banda Eli and Mangun in Tual, Southeast Maluku,
when he was assaulted by members of one of the groups, news reports said.
Ridwan was taken to hospital with machete injuries to his
neck and back, but died two hours later. His camera is still missing.
“The IFJ has learned that local…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is
alarmed at contempt of court convictions handed down by the Bangladesh Supreme
Court against a reporter, publisher and acting editor of the daily newspaper Amar Desh.
The
contempt petition was moved by two members of the bar after Amar Desh carried a story on April 21
suggesting that the Supreme Court bench was predisposed towards making
decisions that were favourable to the incumbent government.
Reporter
Waliullah Noman has been sentenced to one month in prison and a fine of
Bangladesh Taka (BDT) 10,000 (about USD 150), and acting editor Mahmudur Rahman
has been sentenced to six months in prison and fined…
Nine months since the massacre in which 32 journalists and
media workers were killed in Maguindanao in the southern Philippines,
justice officials have announced a trial date for 17 suspects.
As the National Union of
Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP),
an affiliate of the International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ), prepares today to observe the ninth month
since the November 23 Ampatuan town murders, Quezon City Regional Trial Court
Justice Jocelyn Solis-Reyes said the trials would begin on September 1.
The announcement led the NUJP
and the IFJ to express renewed hope for justice for the 57 victims of the
massacre, in a country where the murder and…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today warned that the
continuing crisis for independent journalism in The Gambia adds to the
uncertainty facing one of the country's journalists who is detained in Israel. The IFJ says immigration authorities in Israel should urgently review
the detention order against Bubacar
Ceesay, who claimed asylum when he entered the country without travel documents
last year but has been in detention ever since. "The brutal repression of journalists in The Gambia is well
documented and includes a travel ban," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.
"This journalist has experienced enough suffering and the uncertainty over his
future…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is concerned about a blanket ban by China’s Central Propaganda Department on
reporting by any media, including the state-owned Xinhua News Agency, of an
explosion in western China
that killed seven people.
The ban was issued immediately after the explosion in Aksu City,
Xinjiang, Uyghur Autonomous Region, on August 19. Fourteen people were injured.
The order said media must not republish any reports by Xinhua
News Agency or Xinjiang local media outlets, or compile individual
reports.
Xinhua reported that the explosion was caused by a bomb, and
that a suspect was arrested at the scene. “The…
The
International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) is concerned about a new ban by China’s authorities on the
reporting of a milk powder product suspected of bringing on the development of
puberty in babies.
The
IFJ has learned that the order, issued by Central Propaganda Department on
August 13, required that the media stop reporting that Synutra formula was the
suspected cause of infant girls appearing to experience early sexual
development.
The
order followed a series of media reports in early August about three baby girls
in Wuhan, Hubei
Province, central China,
who were found to have an appearance of early sexual development after they…
The Eastern Africa Journalists Association (EAJA), a sub-regional body of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ)- a regional body of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Tuesday, 17 August 2010, launched its website http://eaja.org.
The new website, supported by the European Union (EU) and the IFJ, will be used by EAJA as a communication and advocacy platform in its work on media freedom, freedom of expression, journalists’ rights, working conditions and democracy in the region.
The website done in EAJA colours of blue and orange, and designed to be interactive and to encourage information exchange between the EAJA secretariat, its member…
The
International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) is concerned by reports that a suspect in the murder of
broadcaster Desidario “Jessie” Camangyan in the Philippines
will be released from custody just two days before he is due to face trial on
August 25.
The
news prompted the National
Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), an IFJ affiliate, to post an open letter to
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Philippine National
Police Director General Jesus Verzosa.
The
letter appeals for the urgent extension of the restrictive custody placed on Dennis
Lumikid, a police
officer who is accused of killing Camangyan.
Camangyan…
The
International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the Federation of Nepali Journalists
(FNJ) in expressing serious concerns over police complicity in an assault on
journalist Lila Nath Ghimire on August 15.
Ghimire,
a journalist with Fast Times daily based in Dharan, in eastern Nepal,
was attacked by a gang of youths while reporting on an incident at a restaurant
involving Senior Superintendent of Police Mingmar Lama.
The
gang, reportedly led by an individual named Thaman Gurung and
allegedly working with the approval of the superintendent, attacked Ghimire
with a glass, causing serious injury to his right eye.
Ghimire
was…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) denounced today the frequent threats and intimidations against the journalists in Togo. The Federation deplores the incident that occurred particularly on August 10, 2010 during which a French Army officer and adviser of the Chief of staff of the Togolese army threatened a local journalist in the capital of Togo.
“The attitude of the French officer towards the Togolese journalists is scandalous and shows the degree to which the journalists continue to be taken for scapegoat in the political crisis”, said Gabriel Baglo Director of IFJ Africa office. “The journalists do not need authorization to cover the public events…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joined today its affiliates in South America to help the Union of Journalists of Paraguay (SPP) launch its manifesto on the democratisation of media at the 4th Americas Social Forum in Asuncion, Paraguay. "We stand by our colleagues in Paraguay in their efforts for the democratisation of communications. Our message is clear: Democracy demands media at the service of society," said IFJ Vice-President Gustavo Granero at the launch.The manifesto will be launched at a panel entitled " Democratisation of Communications in Latin America" with the participation of SPP General Secretary, Pedro Benitez, IFJ Vice-President…
Journalists working in Indonesia
continue to live with the burden of violent reprisals in carrying out their
duties to inform people of what’s happening in their communities, a new report
has found.
The 2010 Enemy of Press Freedom report by
the Alliance of Independent Journalist (AJI), an IFJ affiliate, documents 40 cases of
violence, threats, intimidation and censorship against journalists and media
workers from August 2009 to August 2010. In the previous year 38 cases were
reported.
“Journalists
in Indonesia
have the right to exercise their duties free from the threat of violence and
intimidation,” IFJ Asia-Pacific
Director Jacqueline…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called for immediate and unconditional release of Thierry Ndayishimiye, Director and Publisher of the private weekly magazine Arc-en-ciel, who was arrested on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 and detained at the central prison of Mpimba in Bujumbura, capital of Burundi.
“It is unacceptable to imprison a journalist for slander which in this case is not even proven”, said Gabriel Baglo, Director of IFJ Africa Office. “After the cas of Kavumbagu who is awaiting life imprisonment, this arrest manifestly shows the authorities are determined to muzzle the media in Burundi”.
The arrest of Thierry Ndayishimiye…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes the display of strength and unity by
colleagues of missing Sri Lankan
columnist and cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda at a protest and public meeting in
Colombo on
August 10.
A coalition of Sri Lankan press freedom groups – including IFJ
affiliates the Free Media Movement (FMM),
the Sri Lanka Working Journalists’
Association (SLWJA) and the Federation of Media Employees’ Trade Union (FMETU)
– staged a satyagraha, or silent
protest, to mark 200 days since Eknaligoda mysteriously disappeared.
Protest organisers the Alliance of
Media Organisations commended the estimated 350…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on the Senegalese authorities to put an end to the legal proceedings against Abdou Latif Coulibaly, investigative journalist and Director of Publication of the weekly magazine, La Gazette, who was charged on July 10, 2010 for “concealment of administrative and private documents pertaining to the Senegalese National Lottery (LONASE)” following a complaint of its Managing Director Mr. Baila Wane.
“The charge itself is problematic, because the said documents normally belong to the public domain, since LONASE is a public company.” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of IFJ Africa Office.…
The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the African Regional Organisation of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), condemns in the strongest terms possible the South Africa’s proposed Protection of Information Bill (the Secrecy Law), terming it a foremost threat to freedom of information and freedom of expression in South Africa.
Protection of Information Bill which is currently before the South African parliament after being presented by the minister of state security is based on broadly defined and severely worded clauses of secrecy, national security and national interest. South African journalists have objected to the bill as a violation to freedom of…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urges
Pakistan’s political parties to ensure their members refrain from abuse of
journalists who have voiced strong objection to obstruction of broadcasts by
GEO TV and ARY News since early August 8.
Journalists
in Karachi and elsewhere in the country conducted rallies on August 9 to
protest blocks on the two cable television channels following the channels’
reporting of a protest against Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in Britain
on August 7. Further protests are expected today.
While the
channels are now airing in some parts of the country, blocks on broadcasts have
particularly…
The International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) is dismayed to learn that the Jakarta State Administrative Court in Indonesia
has upheld a ban on an award-winning film depicting the murder of Australian
journalists in 1975.
A ruling by a panel of judges on August 6 agreed
with the Film
Censorship Board (LSF) that the controversial film Balibo could “reopen old wounds” and that the board had
fulfilled required administrative procedures to ban it, the Jakarta Post reported.
The film, which was prevented from
being screened at the Jakarta Film Festival in 2009, tells the story of the
murder of six Australian journalists in East Timor as Indonesia…
The International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) demands Pakistan’s
Government immediately restore broadcasts by GEO TV and ARY News, after the news
channels’ reports were blocked following the airing of news about a protester
throwing shoes at Pakistan’s
President Asif Ali Zardari.
The cable television channels were blocked on August 8, sparking
protests across the country. Both channels remained off air on August 9
The bans are affecting news coverage and information regarding the country’s relief
effort to deal with widespread disaster
caused by massive flooding.
“The IFJ reminds President Zardari of the promises he…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply concerned that a restrictive order
has stopped journalists from going to report on yesterday’s deadly mudslide in
north-west China.
The IFJ learned that a restrictive order was sent by China’s Central Propaganda Department on August 8
which states that no journalists should be sent to the vicinity of the mudslide
in Zhouqu County,
Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,
Gansu Province.
The mudslide has reportedly killed at least 127 people and more
than 1000 people were missing, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
“The IFJ urges China’s
central authorities…
The International Federation of Journalists and its regional body the European Federation of Journalists today condemned a crackdown by French authorities on the country’s minority Roma community, warning that it will encourage xenophobia and intolerance. They also accuse police of obstructing journalists following a dawn raid on one major campsite yesterday.
The IFJ says journalists were prevented by police from covering their raid on a Gypsy encampment in the central city of Saint-Etienne which saw forced evictions from a squatter camp where the local council had provided fresh water and chemical toilets.
This was the first police action since President Nicolas Sarkozy announced…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) extends its support to the protest planned for
August 10 by the Alliance of Media Organisations in Sri Lanka, to mark 200 days since
the disappearance of cartoonist and columnist Prageeth Eknaligoda.
The protest (or satyagraha) and a seminar will be held in Colombo to urge the authorities fully
investigate the whereabouts of Eknaligoda.
The IFJ calls upon its affiliates
worldwide to show solidarity by contacting their local Sri Lankan missions to express
their concerns at the police and security agencies’ failure to trace the
missing journalist.
“The IFJ calls upon authorities in Sri Lanka
to…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is
deeply worried that two weeks after the murder of Devi Prasad Dhital, a radio
station head in Tulsipur town in Nepal’s far-western district of Dang, there is
little clue about the identity of his killers or the motive behind the crime.
Dhital, 42,
chairman of the Tulsipur FM radio station, was killed on the evening of July 22
by a group of five men who shot at him as he emerged from the home of a school teacher
and political associate in his home town.
An IFJ
representative who accompanied the President of the IFJ-affiliated Federation
of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) to the scene nine days later found that…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is
greatly concerned that an investigation into the practice of “paid news” has
drastically abridged the findings of two senior journalists who played a
crucial role in the inquiry.
“Paid
news” or “cash for coverage” has been a growing practice in the Indian media
but was found especially to have damaged media credibility during the campaign
leading to parliamentary general elections in April and May 2009.
A two-member
inquiry team of experienced professionals - Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, a well-known
print and electronic media journalist, and K. Sreenivas Reddy,…
The International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply disturbed by the death of reporter Ardiansyah Matra’is, whose
body was found in a river in southern Papua province, Indonesia.
The body of Matra’is, a former stringer
for national broadcaster Anteve and reporter for Merauke TV, was discovered on
July 30, at a time when threats against journalists in the province are escalating
ahead of local elections planned for August and September.
“The death of Matra’is is a terrible tragedy, and the IFJ joins with
its affiliate, the Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI), in urging that every effort be made by Indonesia’s authorities to…
The International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) joins Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF) in expressing alarm that
an editor of a prominent Fiji
online news agency was held for questioning overnight after publishing a report
about the nation’s police commissioner.
The move was enacted under the Fiji military regime’s controversial
Media Industry Development Decree, which sets fines and possible jail terms for
journalists and media organisations deemed to breach the regime’s media codes, including
its Media Code of Ethics and Practice.
State-run Fiji Broadcasting Corporation reported that fijilive.com news
editor Richard Naidu was taken in on July 30…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today said that the killing of a journalist in
clashes between Israeli and the Lebanese troops has highlighted the continuing
dangers facing journalists trying to cover the world's longest-running
conflict. Assaf
Abu Rahhal, 55 years old and working for Lebanon's
Al-Akhbar newspaper, was reportedly killed today in the fighting which
erupted along the Israel-Lebanon border. He was killed when an isreali shell landed next to him. Another journalist, Ali Sheaib a reporter for the Lebanese TV outlet Al-Manar was wounded in
the exchange of fire which left three Lebanese soldiers dead. "After years of relative calm, this outbreak of…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is concerned by a series of threats, assaults
and acts of intimidation against journalists and media workers in China
in recent days, but also welcomes statements by authorities noting the rights
of media workers and pledging to investigate several of these
incidents.
The police detention of seven Hong Kong-based
and foreign media workers in Guangzhou
on August 1, however, was not among the incidents which authorities promised to
investigate. In this case, a group of police officers harassed the media
personnel as they reported on a rally to protect the city’s colloquial language.
Journalists in China
were banned…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is
outraged at an arson attack on the Siyatha TV station and radio broadcast
facilities of the Voice of Asia Network in Sri Lanka
during the early hours of July 30.
According to
information from IFJ affiliates, the broadcaster’s offices in central Colombo were attacked by a
group of 12 to 15 men. They held two journalists at gunpoint and reportedly
made staff kneel, before flinging petrol bombs into the facility’s control room.
Two journalists were injured and the control room was gutted.
Commentators
and observers allege that the attack, which occurred close to the main hub of
the Sri…
[Summer Break]14
July Australia: Online
Marketplace Launched for Freelancers Creates Loopholes for Authors' RightsFreelance
journalists, photographers and cartoonists can now trade their content online
in a new online market place founded in Australia . Freelancers can
upload their work to Globizzle.com free of charge and sell
the content at a price they set. The site will take a 10% of the sale proceeds.
Authors can also set the terms and conditions, including the option for an
exclusive licence, for the use of their work. However, purchasers are not
obliged to credit authors for their work : they can alter the content under the
terms and conditions of the…
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today sent to the European Commission DG Education and Culture its response paper to the consultation on "Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries".
Please click HERE to download EFJ's detailed response.
For more information
contact the EFJ at + 32 2 235 2215 The EFJ represents over 250,000
journalists in over 30 countries across Europe
The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the African regional affiliate of
the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), is extremely disturbed and
concerned by the growing tendency towards enactment and enforcement of more
repressive, complicated legal sanctions against journalists. In Senegal,
Cameroon, Tunisia and Burundi,
journalists and their leaders face constant harassment and threats to their
safety as part of a brazen campaign to curb the right to freedom of expression
in Africa. "African journalists are increasingly facing governments- inspired violence
that is intended to silence the independence and credible voice of journalism.
Increasingly, these assaults…
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on Iranian authorities to release journalist Abdolreza
Tajik who has been in detention for 50 days without being charged. His family
claims he has been ill treated in jail. "The
failure to produce evidence that he has broken the law and the fears that he is
being abused in jail should be enough to indicate that there is a terrible
injustice here," said Aidan White,
IFJ General Secretary. "If there is no case to answer he should be freed
immediately and all the allegations of ill treatment must be investigated." According
to media sources Tajik was arrested more than a month ago. No reason for his
arrest has been…
The
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), together with its German affiliate,
Deutscher Journalisten-Verband (DJV),
today called on photographers and civil society groups to back
a European-wide petition against the photography fees imposed
by the Zeche Zollverein, one of the world's most important industrial
historical monuments in the heartland of Germany's industrial Ruhr district,
which is designated this year's European capital of culture. "This
is a ridiculous fee system imposed by authorities in what is
supposed to be a cultural showcase for Europe," said Arne…
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), together with its German affiliate, Deutscher Journalisten-Verband (DJV), today called on photographers and civil society groups to back a European-wide petition against the photography fees imposed by the Zeche Zollverein, one of the world's most important industrial historical monuments in the heartland of Germany's industrial Ruhr district, which is designated this year's European capital of culture. "This is a ridiculous fee system imposed by authorities in what is supposed to be a cultural showcase for Europe," said Arne König, President of…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is troubled and saddened to learn of the death
of Muhammad Syaifullah, who headed the Borneo bureau of Kompas, Indonesia’s biggest daily
newspaper.
Syaifullah, a well-known journalist who reported on
environmental issues, was found dead on July 26 at his rented home in Balikpapan, East
Kalimantan Province.
The last report by Syaifullah, who reported extensively on
illegal logging and environmental destruction in the region, focused on
problems relating to coal mining in Borneo.
“The IFJ calls on Indonesia’s national authorities to
conduct a prompt, full and transparent forensic…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
today condemned a suicide bomb attack in Baghdad on the Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya in which four employees and two members of the public were killed. The Federation says journalists remain prime
targets for terrorists in Iraq
and the government must act now to counter impunity in the killings of
journalists. The suicide bomber blew up a vehicle at around
9.30am local time in front of the station's bureau in Baghdad's city centre, leaving a massive
crater. Iraqi military
spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said three guards and a cleaning woman were killed in the blast that left another 10 injured. "This attack…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is deeply concerned that Sri Lanka’s Government proposes to
establish a body to examine the ethics of journalists, a move which stands to
further impede media independence in the country.
The Media Development Authority proposal
comes as Sri Lankan media personnel mark six months since the disappearance of Prageeth
Eknaligoda, the Lanka-e-News.com online reporter and cartoonist who disappeared
on January 24, two days before the country’s presidential elections. Grave
concerns are held for his welfare.
The IFJ has joined its affiliates in
Sri Lanka
and international organisations in repeatedly…
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the European group of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today welcomed a landmark decision by the Constitutional Court of Serbia rejecting repressive amendments to the Public Information Act of Serbia.
"This is a major victory for press freedom," said Aidan White, General Secretary of the EFJ. "The Court's decision strikes down a chilling attack on free expression and unequivocally vindicates the action taken by our colleagues in Serbia."
The Journalists' Association of Serbia (JAS), an EFJ affiliate, has won its appeal against the Act after its adoption by the Serbian Parliament in August 2009. In…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on
Israeli authorities to investigate violence by its soldiers in the West Bank who attacked a group of local photojournalists last
week as they were covering demonstrations in the area for three international
news agencies. In particular, the Federation is seeking reassurances from the
Government that journalists must in no way be targeted for their presence in the
vicinity of areas where fighting and political direct action are taking place. "We are deeply concerned by attempts to justify attacks on
journalists on their presence near the events they are reporting on," said Jim Boumelha, IFJ President. "This would be…
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) extends its solidarity to colleagues
in the Indian state of Manipur in their collective protest at the dire threats
issued by a local militant group against S. Singlianmang Guite, correspondent
of the The Sangai Express.
In
response to a joint call made by the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union
(AMWJU) and the Manipur Hill Journalists’ Union (MHJU), the state’s newspapers
and news channels shut down en masse on July 22 against this threat to a
colleague.
The AMWJU
has since called off its mass abstention following an unconditional written
apology by the armed group concerned. The MHJU will…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and some 37 journalists' unions and association
are pressing government leaders attending the 15th African Union
Summit in Kampala, Uganda, to make safety of African
journalists a priority for the African Union. In a letter to AU leaders the
unions, led by the IFJ African regional body the Federation of African
Journalists, welcomed the declaration by African leaders to designate 2010 as
the "Year of Peace and Security in Africa". "This timely declaration must be taken
forward with practical, pragmatic and prompt actions," they said. "It is a sad and incontrovertible fact
that, many decades after the achievement of political…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is alarmed
by threats made against the safety of the family of senior Sri Lankan journalist Gamini Pushpakumara.
“We call
upon the Sri Lankan police and
security agencies to take immediate measures to investigate the source of the
threats and to extend all necessary protection to Pushpakumara’s family,” IFJ General
Secretary Aidan White said.
Pushpakumara,
who is an executive committee member of the Sri Lanka
Working Journalists’ Association (SLWJA) and secretary of the program producers’
union of the state-owned Sri Lanka
Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), was summarily dismissed from…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is shocked to learn of a group attack upon a prominent radio director in Janakpur, southern Nepal, which left the journalist unconscious and badly injured.
The unidentified group assaulted Pramod Shah, director of Radio Janakpur, at his home on the evening of July 18.
According to the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), an IFJ affiliate, about 11 people came to Shah’s home about 8.30pm, attacked him with rods and canes, and left him unconscious. The journalist sustained deep injuries to his head and back, and is undergoing treatment in hospital.
Any connection with Shah’s work is unclear. Police…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is calling on Tonga’s authorities to reconsider any move toward instituting wider controls of the country’s media.
The IFJ also fully endorses the Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF) in its demand for open discussion of any plans to remove protections of media freedom enshrined in the constitution of Tonga.
The calls from both organisations come after comments by Tonga’s Information and Communications Minister, ‘Eseta Fusitu'a, on TV Tonga earlier this month which referred to plans to legislate controls of Tonga’s print media to match a government-regulated broadcast environment.
The comments…
The International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns an effort by China’s Central
Propaganda Department to restrict communication between various provincial
city newspapers,
an act which violates the country’s constitution.
The IFJ learns that the department issued
an order, implemented from July 1, forbidding all local city newspapers from
publishing negative articles prepared by newspapers in other provinces. The
order clearly violates Article 35 of China’s Constitution.
Under the current system of
controls, the department’s local branch offices only have power to control
provincial media, not metropolitan (city) media.…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is
shocked by the political intolerance on display in India, with two attacks on
television studios in the country on July 16.
In the
first incident, the premises of news channel Headlines Today were attacked in
the capital, Delhi.
The second incident took place in the distant city of Kolhapur
in the western state of Maharashtra, where the
studios of Zee 24 Taas, a news channel broadcasting in the local Marathi
language, were ransacked as a talk show on a border dispute with the
neighbouring state of Karnataka was aired.
According
to reports from IFJ affiliates, a mob of 3000 people gathered in a busy area…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the biggest
journalists' group in the world, today condemned a report from newspaper
publishers outlining strategies for outsourcing and cuts in journalism across the globe. The IFJ says a survey of the publishers' association, the World
Association of Newspapers (WAN), is a "manifesto for destruction of
quality journalism." "The world's newspaper bosses, including many editors, are taking the
knife to the ethical and quality journalism," said Aidan White, IFJ General
Secretary. "Their strategy is simply slash-and-burn. They seek staff
outsourcing, job losses and reduction of newspaper publishing. This is a
complete betrayal of…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns a threat made against journalist Liu Jianfeng on July 9, after he refused to take a bribe from officials in Jiangxi province in south-eastern China.
Liu, a journalist with China Economic Times, received a life-threatening note after he reported on his blog that people had drowned during floods in Jiangxi on July 8.
His original report, published in the print and online editions of the paper, had been edited by senior management, who reclassified three deaths caused by the floods as "disappearances".
Officials acknowledge that 118 people have died so far in other parts of China as a result of the floods,…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today added its voice
to that of journalists in Africa and around the world who have been shocked by
the news of the death of leading Cameroonian journalist Pius Njawe who has
been killed in a car accident in the United States. "Pius Njawe was a great friend of press freedom and also
a loyal supporter of journalists, not just in Africa,
but around the world," said Aidan White,
IFJ General Secretary. "As an editor he was courageous and as an
employer of journalists he always respected the need for decent working
conditions -- one of the key foundations of a democratic media culture. We mourn his loss and we…
The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the
African regional organization of the International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ), expresses its abhorrence of the bomb attacks in Kampala, Uganda,
last night, in which more than 60 people were killed, including Vision Voice
journalist Stephen Tinka. FAJ President, Omar Faruk Osman, strongly condemned
these barbaric attacks in the Ugandan capital and conveyed his condolences to the
family of late journalist Stephen Tinka, the members of the Ugandan Journalists
Union, as well as to other victims and their families who have been tragically
affected by these attacks. The first bomb went off in Ethiopian
Village in Kabalaga during…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today
called on the United States
to lift a travel ban on a leading Colombian journalist who has risked his life
to expose terrorism, warning of a "grave injustice" that may increase the
dangers facing the reporter. Hollman Morris, who has armed guards to protect him
in Colombia, has been a
fearless reporter of terrorism in the country but he has enraged some of Colombia's
political leaders by his exposure of both right and left wing links with
terrorist groups. Now, in a bizarre reading of American anti-terrorism
law, he has himself been dubbed "a terrorist" and consequently refused a visa
to enter the United States where he…
The International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes the successful mediation of a dispute between Indonesia’s
police forces and Tempo magazine by the country’s Press Council.
The June 28 issue of Tempo featured an illustration showing a
uniformed policeman with piggy banks on its cover, for the story “Fat Bank
Accounts of Police Officers”, on alleged suspicious bank accounts held by
several high-ranking police officers.
The caricature prompted Indonesia’s
police headquarters to file criminal defamation charges against the magazine with the
Police Criminal Unit, an institution under the authority of the national
police.…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is
shocked to learn of an attack on Riyaz Masroor,
a senior journalist, near his home in the Alucha Bagh neighbourhood of Srinagar, capital of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
According
to information accessed by the IFJ, Masroor was attacked by police on his way
to collect a curfew pass from the State Government’s Information Department,
after receiving a telephone call asking for his presence. Masroor’s press pass
had been cancelled as part of the security clampdown that began on July 7,
following month-long civil disturbances in the valley.
IFJ
sources report that the journalist was leaving…
A resolution passed by a provincial parliament in Pakistan is a crude attempt to
silence journalists and will fail, according to the International
Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
The Punjab Assembly passed a resolution on July 9 condemning the role of the
media and accusing it of “irresponsible behaviour” following coverage of fake
degrees held by members of parliament, according to media reports.
The resolution, which was passed
unanimously by the assembly, said some media coverage was being used as
political propaganda, leading to public representatives being maligned, according
to the reports.
The IFJ joined its affiliate, the Pakistan…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is
alarmed by reports of an assault on Lin Feng, a journalist with the Southeast Express newspaper in a village
in China’s Fujian province while reporting on a
building collapse.
Lin was
reporting on the accident in which three people died and 10 were seriously
injured in Fuzhou’s Cangshan District in eastern
China
on July 6. He was attacked by an unidentified group, and images on his camera were
deleted.
An article
about the building collapse and Lin’s assault was also deleted from the Southeast Express website upon orders
from the Fujian Provincial Propaganda Department.
The…
As Jammu and Kashmir state in India enters another day of curfew,
the International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) appeals to the authorities to let local journalists speak.
“The IFJ
is disturbed by the shutdown of newspapers and news channels in Kashmir following the complete lockdown in the region, after
the Indian army was deployed on July 7 to control month-long civil disturbances,”
IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline
Park said.
The
Kashmir Press Guild – a platform of the most senior journalists in the region –
has issued a statement deprecating a situation in which local journalists are confined
to their homes by an unrelenting…
EFJ Focus is a monthly bulletin of the European Federation of Journalists, produced by the Secretariat in Brussels.
The newsletter is now available in French, German and English.
Further Information: Tel: 32-2-235.22.15/02 Fax: 32-2-235.22.19E-mail: [email protected] and [email protected]
The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today expressed its indignation at
the new jail sentence handed out to Eynulla Fatullayev, a newspaper editor already
imprisoned since 2007. Fatullayev was sentenced to two and a half years prison
on charges of drug possession after guards claimed to have found heroin in his
cell in December 2009.The
sentence comes two months after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned
his previous conviction for criminal defamation, making terrorist threats,
inciting inter-ethnic violence and tax evasion, as unsafe and demanded his
immediate release. "Azerbaijan's
record of curbing free speech by jailing journalists and adopting…
