On 17th February, the European Commission (EC) and representatives of collecting management societies, art market professionals, artists and authors signed the "Key Principles and Recommendations on the management of the Author Resale Right”. The signed document outlines key principles, facilitating the administration and improving the transparency of the collection and distribution of the resale right. This right entitles certain artists and their successors to a royalty, for a limited period of time, each time their art work is resold. As the Author Resale Right is the most valuable right for authors of fine arts including photographers this agreement is very likely…
(21.02.14) On 20th of February the Council of the European Union adopted a Directive on “collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use in the internal market”.The objective is twofold. On the one hand the directive aims to make collecting societies more transparent and effective and thus improve authors’ rights’ management. On the other hand it should facilitate cross-border licensing of authors’ rights in online music.The EFJ supports and welcomes the application of the Directive, but regrets that trade unions are not strictly excluded from the scope of the instrument.EU Member states…
The European Parliament adopted on 27th February a resolution on private copying levies. The text recognizes the value of the private copying system, “a virtuous system that balances the exception for copying for private use with the right to fair remuneration for rightholders, and that it is worth preserving“. European Authors’ and Performers’ Organisations including the EFJ, already supported the Draft report proposed by Ms. Francoise Castex, Member of the European Parliament, on 10 October 2013.The EFJ warmly welcomes the adoption of the current resolution as it represents an importance source of income for journalists while securing the freedom to…
(12.02.2014) A study jointly published by the Belgian associations of newspapers and magazines shows a loss of publishers’ revenues due to online re-use of articles without permission nor license.The study highlights that 11% of articles in Flemish newspapers are not reused correctly online. One of the main concerns is the trend towards “churnalism” whereby articles are being ‘rewritten’ without any additional creative input.Belgian publishers plead for a presumption of transfer of authors’ rights over all components of written press articles, in order to freely reuse them online. The Belgian association of journalists (AGJPB) strongly opposes the…
The existence of public service broadcasters benefits from protection by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This protection is a consequence of a State’s deliberate decision to establish a public broadcasting system. The kind of protection and its scope are influenced by the standards which have been developed by the Council of Europe and the EU with regard to the essential role and contribution of public broadcasting within a democratic society. This contribution comprises all tasks through which a public broadcaster serves the democratic, social and cultural needs of a democratic society.
In the context of the recent closure of the Greek public service…
(05.03.14) Getty’s recent decision to make 35 million images from its portfolio available for free through a new embedding feature raises serious concerns over photographers’ authors’ rights and their income. Photos will be available with an embedded code which will include copyright attribution and a link back to the image’s dedicated licensing page on Getty’s website. Photographs will be available for anyone to use on their own websites, blogs and social media without any further authorization from Getty nor the authors as long as the use is non-commercial. The decision is mandatory for most of Getty’s contributors. The IFJ is concerned that this initiative…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Indian Journalist Union (IJU) and the All India Newspaper Employees Federation (AINEF) are deeply concerned by the latest incident of a reported gang rape of a journalist in India on Thursday, March 28.
According to reports, a 27-year-old journalist on assignment was allegedly gang-raped by two people in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, Northern India. The journalist had gone to Asthabhuja temple to research her story on historic temples in Vindhyachal region and was returning hotel late evening when she was abducted, taken to an isolated place, raped by the two assailants and later dumped in a forest area.
The female journalist…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have welcomed the release of two Spanish journalists kidnapped by radical Islamist rebels in Syria six months ago.
El Mundo correspondent, Javier Espinosa, and freelance photographer, Ricardo Garcia Vilanova, were freed yesterday, Sunday, 30 March, and handed over to the Turkish military. They had been seized by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) near the Turkish border in September 2013.
The pair travelled to Madrid’s Torrejon de Ardoz airbase yesterday where they were welcomed by their friends and family.
“We welcome the great news that Javier Espinosa and freelance…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on Egyptian authorities to ensure that a thorough and transparent investigation is immediately carried out into the murder of journalist, Mayada Ashraf, last Friday, 28 March.
According to her employer, private Egyptian newspaper Al-Dustour, Ashraf was shot while covering clashes between Muslim Brotherhood supporters and Egyptian security forces in eastern Cairo.
She was among three people killed in the clashes which followed the decision by Egyptian army chief, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, to resign from the military and run for president.
It is unclear who was responsible for the murder, but opposing groups - those supporting…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) in strongly condemning the attempted assassination of a Pakistani television presenter and the murder of his driver on Friday night, March 28.
Unidentified armed men opened fire on Raza Rumi, a news show anchor from Express News, while he was in his car on Ferozpur Road in Lahore returning home after finishing his news show. Although Rumi was not injured in the attack, his driver, Mustafa, was killed and his guard was injured.
Police recovered 11 bullet shells from the scene and have registered a case against the unidentified attackers on the complaint of Rumi with…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have strongly backed the call of their Spanish affiliates for new negotations to take place between the management and staff at the regional public TV channel, Telemadrid.
In January 2013, the board of the channel took the decision to make 861 staff (journalists and media workers) redundant, a step that reduced the channel’s employees by nearly 80 per cent.
But a Spanish Supreme Court on Wednesday, 26 March, ruled that the decision to reduce the number of employees was “not according to the rule of law.” Surprisingly however, the court ruled that the redundancies should stand, but said…
FAJ ADVOCACY MISSION ANGOLA: 55th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and 29th African Human Rights Book Fair
Date: 24-26th April, 2014
Venue: Luanda, Angola
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) have today, Friday, 28 March, called on Senegal's Parliament to adopt a new draft revolutionnary media law. (Read full article in French)
(13.02.14) The Media and Entertainment Arts Alliance (MEAA), the Australian union of journalists, expressed serious concerns over the recent release of Australian Law Reform Committee (ALRC)’s Recommendations on copyright and its implication on creators’ authors’ rights.
Following an 18-month inquiry, the ALRC released its report on “Copyright and the Digital Economy”. The report aims to assess the exceptions and statutory licenses contained in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and the need to adapt them to the digital environment.
The ALRC recommends several reforms, including the introduction of the US-like ‘fair use’ exception. This exception permits limited use of…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has received a formal reply from Hong Kong’s Chief Executive of Hong Kong responding to the call by 58 international media and human rights organisations demanding a stronger stance to defend press freedom in Hong Kong. While the Office of the Chief Executive affirmed its commitment to press freedom in its letter to the IFJ, it failed to give any concrete plan of action to put this commitment into effect nor did it respond directly to the series of incidents highlighted by the IFJ.
The IFJ recently catalogued a series of press freedom violations incidents in Hong Kong between June 2013 and February 2014. On March 7, the IFJ and its…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns Beijing police for maliciously abusing their power and detaining a filmmaker using state security law.
He Yang, an independent film maker, was detained by Beijing police for 20 hours on March 20 when he was traveling to interview Ding Zilin, a prominent figure in the Tiananmen Square Mothers group, a group of bereaved mothers who lost their children during the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989. He and his crew were accused of acting against state security. Police ransacked his apartment and took away belongings including two computers and equipment which contained films and images.
A journalist told the IFJ:…
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has welcomed the release of eight journalists in Turkey, but has called on the country’s government to immediately lift the latest social media ban on Youtube.
According to media reports, eight Kurdish journalists, arrested in the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) press case on 20 Dec 2011, were released from prison in the early hours of yesterday morning, Wednesday, 27 March, 2014.
Information provided by lawyers says the names of the journalists released are: Semiha Alankuş and Nevin Erdemir (released from Bakırköy Women’s Closed Prison) Kenan Kırkaya, Mazlum Özdemir, Mehmet Emin Yıldırım, Hüseyin Deniz, Haydar Tekin…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today backed a call by its affiliate in Somalia, the National Union of Somali Journalists, to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn to free Somali journalist, Mohamed Aweys Mudey, found guilty under Ethiopia’s notoriously harsh anti-terror laws and sentenced to 27 years in jail.
The call was made on the occasion of a summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Kampala, Uganda, which is attended by presidents and prime ministers from eight member states in East Africa.
The Prime Minister was sent by NUSOJ a petition signed by 24,000 supporters including journalists, writers and press freedom…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have joined their affiliate, the Union of Journalists in Finland (UJF), to call on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to grant an appeal hearing of the case brought by photojournalist and UJF member Markus Pentikäinen relating to the violation of his freedom of expression.
The case concerns Pentikäinen’s prosecution and conviction in Finland for allegedly defying police orders when they attempted to clear a demonstration against the Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) in 2006.
Pentikäinen was covering the protest for the Finnish magazine Suomen Kuvalehti. Instead of being treated…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) in condemning the restraining of media reporting on a student-led demonstration in Taiwan which led to a violent confrontation between police and protestors earlier this week. This week, the ATJ issued a declaration on the infringement of coverage with calls for police education in the wake of the heavy-handed police response.
Beginning late Sunday evening, March 23, the National Police Administration (NPA) was called in by Premier Jiang Yi-huah to clear thousands of demonstrators that had occupied Taiwan's Cabinet complex, the Executive Yuan, in an extension of the ongoing…
La Federación de Periodistas de América Latina y el Caribe (FEPALC) expresa su solidaridad con los compañeros y compañeras periodistas y trabajadores en general de Paraguay con motivo de la huelga general convocada para el 26 de marzo.
La FEPALC, componente de la Federación Internacional de Periodistas (FIP), manifiesta su apoyo a las reivindicaciones impulsadas por las organizaciones convocantes a la medida de fuerza, a la cual adhirió, asamblea extraordinaria de por medio, el Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay (SPP).
La precarización laboral y la enajenación de la soberanía constituyen graves riesgos para el ejercicio del periodismo y van de contramano a los intentos por la…
El 11 de marzo de 2014, en la provincia de Huamanga, región Ayacucho, la Sala Especializada en lo Penal de la Corte Superior de Justicia de Ayacucho declaró improcedente el recurso de nulidad que interpuso la periodista Esther Valenzuela Zorrilla, directora del diario La Calle, contra la Resolución Nº 20 de esa Sala que la condenó a dos años de prisión suspendida y al pago de quince mil nuevos soles por concepto de reparación civil.
En la Resolución Nº 22, emitida por la Sala Especializada en lo Penal de Ayacucho, los magistrados Antenor Gustavo Jorge Aliaga, Liliam Janet Murillo Valdivia y, José Moisés Bonilla Frías manifestaron que “la resolución cuestionada no se encuentra…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its member union in Macedonia, the Trade Union of Macedonian Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM), joined forces last Friday, 21 March, to launch a white book on professional and labour rights of journalists at a seminar in Skopje attended by journalists, editors, representatives of trade unions, lawyers, academics and diplomats.
The IFJ was represented by its president, Jim Boumelha, and vice-president, Jasmina Popovic.
Opening the conference, Boumelha congratulated the leadership of the SSNM which was only upgraded recently to full membership of the IFJ, for standing up for their members.
He said of the White Book: “We…
(Bujumbura, 26 March 2014) - The Eastern Africa Journalists Association (EAJA) has re-launched its monitoring system in an effort to promote media freedom in the region.
The event is part of a regional workshop hosted by the Burundi Union of Journalists (UBJ) in Bujumbura, Burundi. It is attended by 12 press freedom monitors drawn from Burundi, Kenya, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Seychelles, Rwanda, Djibouti, Tanzania and Uganda.
The activity is part of a new three year project being implemented by EAJA titled “Promoting Respect for Media Freedom and Ending Impunity in Eastern Africa” and funded by the Swedish International Development Agency…
Read a blog from IFJ President, Jim Boumelha, welcoming visitors to our new website:
"Dear colleagues,
I have the pleasure of welcoming you to the IFJ’s new website, bringing a new look, new content and new functionality. Our staff have been working on it since our last world congress to rebuild a site around the needs of our member unions.
The new site not only uses up-to-date technology to create a better look and feel slicker – all new websites do that – but it explains better who we are and what we do, and gives more space to members’ news and activities.
New information architecture and navigation will connect to social media and pulls through the latest tweets from unions…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today launched its brand new website – which will prove a great source of information for its members, affiliates and journalists across the world.
The website is modern and easy to use, making it easier for visitors to access the most up to date information on issues affecting journalists globally and in our regions. View the website at the same address as the previous one: www.ifj.org
“We are very excited to be able to unveil this modern new IFJ website which has been developed with input from our members and unions across the world and will be of great benefit to them and everyone who visits it for the latest information on…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called for the Iraqi government to ensure the soldier who murdered the journalist, Mohamed Bdaiwy, in Baghdad on Saturday, March 22, faces the full weight of justice. According to the IFJ affiliate, the Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate, Bdaiwy, the Baghdad bureau chief of Radio Free Iraq and media professor at al Mustansiriya university in Baghdad, was shot in the head by the Kurdish officer at a checkpoint in the city as he drove his car to work.
The attack provoked protests by other journalists in support of their colleague, Bdaiwy. Following a call from the IJS, Iraqi newspapers working in Baghdad didn’t go to print on Sunday in…
The Turkish President was welcomed by the Danish government with official ceremony and celebration which was seen as the biggest reception of the year in Denmark. Meanwhile, 49 of the fellow citizens of President Abdullah Gül are currently in prison for doing their jobs as journalists.
In this feature article, Esben Ørberg, the communications adviser of the Danish Union of Journalists, as well as representative of the European Federation of Journalists to Turkey, has explained why Denmark has failed to achieve justice for imprisoned journalists Füsun Erdogan so far.
In the women's prison of Gebze near Istanbul, 52-year-old journalist Füsun Erdogan is watching years of her life…
The Baghdad bureau chief of Radio Free Iraq was shot dead by the Kurdish officer guarding the presidential complex in the upper market Jadriyah neighbourhood of Baghdad, according to the Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate (IJS) and the AFP.
The shooting followed an argument between Bidaiwi and the officer in the peshmerga forces in charge at the compound, media reports added. The journalist who was believed on his way to work inside the compound died on the scene and the officer responsible was later arrested on the orders of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
The incident provoked protests by other journalists. Following a call from the IJS, Iraqi newspapers working in Baghdad…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed its deep sadness following the horrifying killing of an AFP journalist and his family in Kabul's Serena hotel yesterday evening, Thursday 20 March. According to media reports, Sardar Ahmad, a staff reporter for Agence France, was shot dead along with his wife and two of his three children, when teenage gunmen attacked the hotel. Reports say the family's youngest son is undergoing emergency treatment after being badly wounded in the attack. The assault came on the eve of Nawroz, the Persian New Year which is a major holiday in Afghanistan, and the hotel was hosting special celebrations. It is believed that the gunmen managed…
The International Federation of Journalists and the European Federation of Journalists have condemned the Turkish government’s decision to block access to the Twitter social media site.
Access to twitter.com was blocked in Turkey soon after midnight this morning, March 21, 2014. The Turkish government blocked access to the microblogging site some hours after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatened to “root out” Twitter, during a stump speech in Bursa on March 20, 2014.
A statement from Turkey's telecommunications regulator (TIB) cited four court orders as the basis for blocking the site, where some users in recent weeks have posted voice recordings and documents purportedly…
Le 4 - 7 Juin 2013, la FIJ a tenu son Congrès mondial à Dublin, en Irlande et a adopté les résolutions suivantes:
- Propositions d'urgence - Propositions non urgentes
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have raised their concerns about judicial double standards in the trials of journalists in Turkey. The lawyers of Füsun Erdogan, Bayram Namaz and Arif Celebi, on trial in the MLKP case, have appealed for the journalists to be released based on the recent examples in separate judiciary cases, such as the Ergenekon, Balyoz and OdaTV trials, but their request has been rejected. Last November, after more than seven years in jail, Erdogan, Namaz and Celebi were sentenced to a total of 789 years in prison for 155 alleged crimes by a Turkish court with special powers (OYM). However, the Turkish government has taken the decision to…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have joined their Ukraine affiliates in calling for Ukraine's prosecutor general to open a criminal case against the members of the far-right nationalist party, Svoboda, who carried out an appalling attack against the head of the country's public television broadcaster. According to reports, a group of members of Svoboda, including MP's Igor Miroshnichenko, Bohdan Beniuk and Andrew Illienko, invaded the office of NTCU Director General, Alexander Panteleymonov, on Wednesday evening, 18 March. The attack, which was filmed and posted to Youtube, shows the group of men manhandle and repeatedly…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) attended a major conference last weekend to discuss the role journalists can play in the fight against neo-Nazism, Fascism and Racism in Greece, Europe and around the globe. Organised by the Cultural Foundation of the Journalists Union of Athens Daily Newspapers, the two-day conference, which ran from 14-15 March, examined "The role of media and journalists on the rise of neo-Nazism, Fascism and Racism in Greece, Europe and all over the world." The high profile meeting also considered the prospect of the IFJ helping Greek unions create an international media project aiming on…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the Chinese authorities’ decision to ban reporting on the death of an activist in detention as a severe violation of media freedoms on a story of critical public interest.
Cao Shunli, 52, died from organ failure on March 14 in 309 Military Hospital in Beijing, after being transferred from Chaoyang District Detention Centre on February 16. Cao went missing at Beijing airport on September 14, 2013, as she was en route to Switzerland to attend a training session on UN human rights mechanisms. At the time, the UN Human Rights Council was preparing to review China’s human rights record over the previous four years under the…
This is a manual for journalists in Europe, on authors’ rights.
Authors’ rights laws provide the legal foundation for charging money for journalists’ work – as the law of ownership of physical property is the foundation for the business of a shoe-maker or a pin-factory.
In other words, authors’ rights are in economic theory what gives journalists’ essentially non-physical product, words and pictures, value in the market. Labour rights laws intervene to give journalists the right to be paid for their time and first use of their work.
Read in ENGLISH or FRENCH
El Comité Ejecutivo Nacional del Sindicato Nacional de Redactores de la Prensa (SNRP) denuncia el alarmante incremento de agravios cometidos en días recientes en contra de trabajadores de medios de comunicación y de representantes de organizaciones defensoras de periodistas y de la libertad de expresión. Demandamos a las autoridades competentes, en sus ámbitos y atribuciones, una pronta intervención e investigación de los hechos para encontrar a los responsables de las agresiones y castigarlos, al tiempo que cumplan con dar garantías para el desempeño del trabajo periodístico en nuestro país.
Manifestamos nuestra solidaridad con la compañera periodista y corresponsal de Reporteros Sin…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today, 17 March, brought together the representatives of their Ukrainian affiliates, Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU) and the National Union of the Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), and their Russian affiliates, the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJ), for a roundtable meeting in Brussels where they agreed co-operative measures to provide support for journalists, and to uphold professional ethical standards and journalist safety.IFJ's Ukrainian and Russian affiliates agreed on a co-ordinated plan of action to support journalists covering events in Crimea, Kiev's Maidan Square and…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has joined its Israeli affiliate, the National Federation of Israel Journalists (NFIJ), to call on the Israeli government to revoke its plans to close down the country's only public broadcaster, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority (IBA). According to the NFIJ, the government last week introduced a plan to lay off IBA's 2000 staff, about 900 of whom are journalists, and replace it with a new broadcasting body that will depend entirely on the government for its budget. The license fee will be abolished. NFIJ says the new body will employ about one third of the number of people currently employed at IBA, while current staff members will not be…
La Federación Argentina de Trabajadores de Prensa (FATPREN) y el Sindicato de Prensa de Entre Ríos (SPER) repudian el fallo condenatorio contra el periodista entrerriano Claudio Gastaldi, demandado en un juicio de “habeas data” por el ex magistrado Julián Genaro Quevedo, y reclaman de la Cámara Federal de Apelaciones el apego a la Constitución Nacional que no supo mostrar la jueza federal de Entre Ríos, Beatriz Aranguren.
Este fallo afecta profundamente la libertad de expresión, restringe el derecho a obtener y difundir información y lesiona seriamente a la democracia, cuya recuperación costó tanta sangre y dolor a todo el pueblo argentino. Asimismo,…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have joined up with the International Committee of the Red Cross and its affiliates in Ukraine and Russia to issue a series of emergency contacts for journalists covering events in Crimea.
If you need to make emergency contact, to report a disappearance or arrest, please call:
- The International Committee of the Red Cross
24-hour Hotline on +41 79 217 32 84; or +41 79 217 32 85
Email: [email protected]
Hotline website: http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/publication/p0394.htm
- All-Ukraine Trade Union "Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine…
La Sala Penal de la Corte Superior de Justicia de Ayacucho condenó a la periodista Esther Valenzuela Zorrilla, directora del diario La Calle, a dos años de pena privativa de libertad suspendida y al pago de quince mil nuevos soles por concepto de reparación civil, por el supuesto delito de difamación agravada contra Isaac Ernesto Molina Chávez, ex presidente del Gobierno Regional de Ayacucho.
La sentencia de fecha 24 de enero de 2014 confirma la emitida en primera instancia el 21 de octubre de 2013, por el juez del Primer Juzgado Penal de Huamanga, Rigoberto Dueñas Carhuapoma, la misma que fue apelada por la defensa de la periodista por adolecer de motivación, vulnerándose el…
EFJ, the European Federation of Journalists, ENPA, the European Newspaper Publishers' Association, EMMA, the European Magazine Media Association, and EPC, the European Publishers' Council, have launched a joint petition calling on EU policy-makers to defend their right to inform the public in the EU data protection law reform. Journalists and press publishers play a crucial role in our democratic society informing citizens about important issues of public interest. A key part of this work is investigative journalism, which has resulted in unearthing countless revelations of concern to our society and which remains a vital part of the process of holding those in power to account. …
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have joined up with the International Committee of the Red Cross and its affiliates in Ukraine and Russia to issue a series of emergency contacts for journalists covering events in Crimea.If you need to make emergency contact, or report a disappearance or arrest, please call: - The International Committee of the Red Cross24-hour Hotline on +41 79 217 32 84; or +41 79 217 32 85
Email: [email protected] website: http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/publication/p0394.htm
- All-Ukraine Trade Union "Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine (IMTUU)Executive Secretary,…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has joined its Italian affiliate, the Federazione Nazionale della Stampa Italiana (FNSI), in calling for the Italian Parliament to reform the country's defamation law so that journalists do not face prison sentences in such cases.The call follows yesterday's announcement by Italy's highest court, the Court of Cassation, that journalists cannot be imprisoned for defamation without "exceptional circumstances," noting that their role as "public watchdog" would be otherwise put in jeopardy. The court underlined that the decision is in line with the European Court of Human Rights.A number of journalists have been sentenced to…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have urged members of the Spanish parliament to give full recognition and protection to the authors' rights of journalists. The call comes as the Spanish Parliament prepares to debate a controversial Authors' Rights Bill. The Bill was presented by the Spanish government on 14 February and will be the subject of intense political debate in the Parliament before its adoption. In a letter addressed to Spanish MPs, the IFJ and EFJ ask them to support the call by their Spanish affiliates, the Federación de Asociaciones de la Prensa Española (FAPE), Federation of Unions of Journalists (FeSP),…
(Brussels, 14 March 2014) ‘‘Anne Gunna’’ is a song written by Aktas Erdoğan, dedicated to his mother Füsun Erdoğan and other (50) imprisoned journalists in Turkey.
In the song, Erdoğan has told a moving story of his mother’s fight for justice against the repressive regime in Turkey. Füsun Erdoğan was the founder of the radio station Özgür Radio (Free Radio) which has been critical about the Turkish government. She was arrested in 2006 and charged with being a member of an illegal organisation, Marxist Leninist Communist Party. But her only crime was to tell the truth as a journalist. Having been separated from his son for seven years, her hope to unite with Aktas Erdoğan was…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have condemned the underhand attempts of Crimea’s regional government to curtail media coverage of the region’s referendum on March 16.
The regional government, the Verkhovna Rada Autonomous Republic of Crimea, yesterday, 12 March, published a statement (read it here) on its website which says: “Applications for media accreditation are served to the press centre of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea up to 13 March 2014 by any means of communication on the official letterhead of the media, signed by the head and sealed.”
Furthermore, the statement says the application…
The new issue of the EFJ Focus is now available in English, German and French. Got a smartphone? Scan the QR code and read the Focus while you are on the move! To subscribe, simply click HERE. If you missed the previous issues, see our archives.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) deeply regrets that the Central Propaganda Department of China continues to issue orders restraining the media from reporting on a Malaysian Airlines plane that disappeared on its way to Beijing last week and calls for China to allow free reporting on the incident.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was scheduled to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board, but was reported missing from radar on Saturday, March 8. Ten countries sent search crews to the location in the South China Sea where it is suspected the plane went down. No wreckage has been found. The circumstances surrounding the plane’s disappearance, to date,…
A coalition of European organisations representing the interests of both journalists and press publishers today criticised the vote in the European Parliament on the draft EU General Data Protection Regulation, which jeopardises press freedom and fails to properly protect journalistic sources.
They vehemently refute claims from the author of the Parliament's report, MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht, that "nothing will change for journalists" following the vote. The coalition is concerned that the Parliament's vote ignores proposals for amendments suggested by two Parliamentary Committees providing Opinions on the draft Regulation, which supported a strong, clear and directly…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has stated that the guilty verdict and prison sentence given to veteran Somali journalist, Mohamed Aweys Mudey, is unacceptable and appealed to Ethiopian authorities to quash his sentence and release him with immediate effect. According to IFJ affiliate, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), Mudey has been sentenced to 27 years in prison under Ethiopia's Anti-terror law. Ethiopian prosecutors reportedly accused him of having information on Al-Shabaab operations in Ethiopia and charged him for participating in terror activities.
The NUSOJ says he did not have a lawyer or family member with him during his trial, while at least…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have called for a thorough investigation into the brutal murder of Swedish journalist, Nils Horner, in Afghanistan today. According to media reports, radio journalist Horner, who also held British citizenship, was shot dead in a rare daylight attack in Kabul on Tuesday morning, 11 March, by an unknown gunman.
Horner was a highly respected journalist who worked in New York and London during the 1990's. Since 2001 he had covered the Asia region for Swedish public service radio station, Sveriges Radio. "We express our condolences to the family and colleagues of Swedish journalist Nils…
The International Trade Unions Confederation (ITUC) ‘Count Us In! campaign engages men and women to bring about change: more women in trade union leadership positions and concerted efforts to organise and mobilise them in unions.
Join the campaign by getting your organization to sign the Count us in form!
Read more on ITUC web site.
The Canadian national and freelance photographer was killed in the Syrian city of Aleppo by a barrel bomb, according to the French Press Agency, AFP.
Reports said that the photographer, who reportedly supplied pictures to SIPA and EPA agencies, was taking photographs of the damage caused by an earlier bomb launched from helicopters of the Syrian army at a roundabout in Haydariyeh when an unexploded barrel bomb went off, killing him.
Mustafa had worked in Syria periodically since early 2013, as well as in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Egypt and Brazil.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have reiterated their appeal for all sides involved in the political unrest in Ukraine to respect the rights and freedom of journalists.
The IFJ/EFJ call follows reports that journalists are facing increasing harassment and intimidation in Crimea as political unrest continues, with news emerging that unidentified men are attacking journalists, brandishing guns and snatching cameras.
In response to the escalation in violence, the IFJ and EFJ are holding a meeting in Brussels on 17 March that will bring together representatives from the journalists union in Russia (RUJ) and…
According to IFJ affiliate, the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate (IJS), cameramen Muthanna Abdul Hussein and Khaled Abdel Thamer, both working for the Al Iraqia TV Channel, were killed on Sunday 9 March.
They died in an explosion caused by a suicide bomber who was targeting the al Athar check point at the northern entrance of the city of Hilla in the province of Babel. The IJS says the cameramen were covering the distribution of voting cards from the police electoral center in the city when the attack occurred.
The murder of the journalists occurs during an escalation in violence in Iraq. A total of 14 journalists have now been murdered in the country since October last…
The European Parliament Legal affairs committee has published a study assessing the impact of abusive provisions in national authors’ rights and contract law have on creators.
The results of the study shows a series of unfair provisions and contractual arrangement that impede journalists and other creators from receiving fairly remuneration for their work.
Results takes stock of existing contractual practices. They point at a series of unfair provisions and contractual mechanisms that impede journalists and other creators from being fairly remunerated for their work.
“The results the study clearly illustrate the unfairness of journalists’s contracts and the lack of…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) have reiterated their appeal for all sides involved in the political unrest in Ukraine to respect the rights and freedom of journalists.The IFJ/EFJ call follows reports that journalists are facing increasing harassment and intimidation in Crimea as political unrest continues, with news emerging that unidentified men are attacking journalists, brandishing guns and snatching cameras. In response to the escalation in violence, the IFJ/EFJ are holding a meeting in Brussels on 17 March that will bring together representatives from the journalists unions in Russia (RUJ) and Ukraine (NUJU and IMTUU)…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has issued a renewed call for the Iraqi government to step up protection for journalists in the country following the latest appalling murder of two journalists in the province of Babel yesterday morning, Sunday, 9 March. According to IFJ affiliate, the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate (IJS), cameramen Muthanna Abdul Hussein and Khaled Abdel Thamer, who were working for the Al Iraqia TV Channel, were killed in an explosion caused by a suicide bomber who was targeting the al Athar check point at the northern entrance of the city of Hilla. The IJS says the cameramen were covering the distribution of voting cards from the police electoral center in…
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has today welcomed the release of journalist Tuncay Özkan who has been accused of leading a terrorist organisation and prosecuted in the Ergenekon case since 2008. Upon his release, Özkan thanked the EFJ and its affiliates, especially the Norwegian Union of Journalists (which adopted his case), for their tireless campaigning for his release. Özkan, founder and owner of Kanal Biz television, had been in prison since 27 September 2008. He had been detained since the beginning of investigations into the Ergenekon case. Several national and international requests to release him or to end his solitary confinement had been rejected. The…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the murder of Lebanese journalist, Omar Abdel Qader, in eastern Syria last Saturday, 8 March. According to media reports, Qader, a cameraman for Beirut-based satellite television channel Al-Mayadeen, was shot by a sniper while covering clashes between regime forces and rebels in the province of Deir Ezzor. "We express our sadness following the death of the journalist, Omar Abdel Qader," said IFJ President Jim Boumelha. "We call on the Syrian government to carry out a thorough investigation into the incident and to ensure the perpetrator of this disgraceful act faces the full and swift weight of justice."The…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), together with journalist organisations across North America and East Asia, have written to Chinese President Xi and Premier Li calling on them to honour the public promise made in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympics to allow a free foreign press in China.
The jointly signed letter draws the Chinese leader's attention to a series of visa incidents involving foreign correspondents working in China.The letter, co-signed by the heads of the National Writers Union USA, Newspaper Guild-CWA USA, Screen Actors Guild, Hong Kong Journalists Association and Association of Taiwan Journalists, calls on the Chinese leaders to uphold their obligations to…
The cameraman for Al-Mayadeen, a Beirut-based satellite television channel was killed while covering the fighting between the Syrian army and rebels in the Deir Ezzor province, according to the channel quoted by AFP.
A Syrian army officer reportedly said that the cameraman was shot in the neck by a sniper and died in hospital, AFP added.
Source: AFP
