2015 has been another deadly year for journalists, with at least 109 journalists and media staff killed in targeted killings, bomb attacks and cross-fire incidents, according to the annual report published today by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
The IFJ 2015 list names the 109 journalists and media staff killed across 30 countries, together with 3 who died of accidental deaths. It marks a small drop from last year when 118 killings and 17 accidents were recorded.
This year, the killing of journalists in the Americas topped the toll, at 27 dead. For the second year in a row, the Middle East comes second, with 25 deaths. Asia Pacific comes third, with 21– a drop…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes the convictions and sentencing on 31 December 2015 of eight persons involved in the murder of blogger Rajib Haider in Bangladesh.
Haidar, 35, a blogger and activist calling for the execution of Islamist leaders for crimes committed in the 1971 independence war of Bangladesh, was hacked to death on February 15, 2013 near his house at Mirpur. He is the first of six secular bloggers who have been killed in Bangladesh so far.
The Dhaka Special Trial tribunal handed 2 death penalty and several jail terms to killing perpetrators.
The tribunal sentenced to death Md Faisal Bin Nayem alias Dweep and absconding Redwanul Azad Rana.…
Every week the International Federation of journalists (IFJ) is compiling a list of the top news articles from across the world in which it is mentioned.
Read some of the news highlights from Friday 25 December to Monday 04 January:
1. Au moins 109 journalistes et collaborateurs de médias ont été tués en 2015 dans des assassinats ciblés, des attentats à la bombe ou sous le feu de tirs croisés
2. Solidarité avec les journalistes turcs : une délégation de syndicats de journalistes au Quai d’Orsay
3. Africa: IFJ African Union Leaders Speak Out At African Ministerial Forum On Media
4. La FIP pide más protección para periodistas tras al menos 109 muertes en 2015
5. Somalia: IFJ…
La Federación Internacional de Periodistas denuncia y alerta sobre las modificaciones hechas por el Poder Ejecutivo de la República Argentina, a cargo de Mauricio Macri, a la legislación de medios de comunicación vigente, en un hecho que pretende desarticular una ley que fue debatida, desarrollada y sancionada democráticamente por el Congreso de la República con el aporte de organizaciones sociales, comunitarias, académicas y de los trabajadores.
Marcos Peña, Jefe de Gabinete de Ministros de la Argentina, anunció el día de hoy en conferencia de prensa la modificación por decreto de Necesidad y Urgencia (DNU) de la Ley de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual (conocida como “Ley de…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has strongly condemned the attempted murder yesterday in Mogadishu of Omar Faruk Osman, Secretary general of its member union in Somalia, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ).
According to reports, Osman was entering the union’s office in the Taleh area in Mogadishu when his car was sprayed with bullets by gunmen and he only owed his life to the quick thinking of his body guards, one of them was wounded in the attack as well two pedestrians.
“The IFJ is shocked by this attempt on the life of the leader of our union in Somalia and his escape was nothing short of a miracle,” said IFJ President Jim Boumelha.…
The prominent Syrian journalist Naji Jerf was gunned down by unknown assailants on Sunday 27 December in Gaziantep (Turkey) near the Syrian border. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) calls on the Turkish authorities to investigate the crime and bring to justice the murderers.
Naji Jerf was editor-in-chief of the independent monthly Hentah and the author of documentary films on the terrorist group Daesh. He was shot dead with a silenced pistol on Sunday, in broad daylight, in front of a building that houses Syrian opposition news outlets in downtown Gaziantep.
For more information, please contact IFJ on + 32 2 235 22 16
The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in…
The prominent Syrian journalist was gunned down by unknown assailants in Gaziantep (Turkey) near the Syrian border. The killers of Naji Jerf, editor-in-chief of the independent monthly Hentah and a film maker who documented the activities of the terrorist group Daesh, used a pistol equipped with a silencer in broad daylight in front of a building that houses the Syrian opposition news outlets in downtown Gaziantep. His family reportedly said that Jerf had obtained a French visa after receiving death threats and he was expected in Paris within days.
The presenter and programmes Director at “la radio chrétienne de Tombouctou“ was killed along with two friends by an unidentified gunman who shot them outside the station’s studio according to local sources quoted in media. The station which is owned by a private local radio network” Tahanite” (Mercy in the local Tamasheq language) broadcasts religious programmes focusing on the bible. Media reports said that programmesmentioning the bible were banned in 2012 by Jihadists who occupied the town of Timbuktu .
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the murder of 30-year-old journalist Mashiur Rahman Utsho on Wednesday, December 23 in Rangpur city in Bangladesh.
Utsho was a staff reporter at the Juger Alo daily.
On 23 december in the evening, unidentified assailants hacked Utsho to death after tying him to a tree in an isolated place in Dharmadas area on Dhaka-Rangpur Highway.
Police officers recovered the body on 24 December and confirmed that the death was the result of a planned murder with killers hitting the journalist with sharp weapons in the head and hands. The police is trying to recover the cell phone, motorbike and digital camera the killers took away…
The IFJ and its French affiliates SNJ, SNJ-CGT et CFDT-Journalistes have expressed deep concerns over methods used by Beijing against Ursula Gauthier, French correspondent in China for the weekly magazine L'Obs.
Read full release in French.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is saddened by the death of 45-year-old journalist Aurangzeb Sajib, who was found dead on Wednesday, 23 December, three days after he went missing in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital.
The IFJ demands urgent investigation to find the truth behind his death.
Sajib, the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) correspondent of the Bangladesh Pratidin daily and TV stations Banglavision, Somoy, Jamuna and ITV, went missing on Sunday, December 21. Police recovered his body in the Dhaleshwari River in Munshiganj on 23 December.
On 21 December in the morning, Sajib left his house in Chawkbazar in Old Dhaka and went to his work at the DMCH station…
La Federación Internacional de Periodistas (FIP) muestra nuevamente su preocupación frente a las acciones que el gobierno de Mauricio Macri viene tomando en torno a la Ley de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual, en este caso interviniendo - por medio de un decreto emanado de la Presidencia - su autoridad de aplicación, la AFSCA (Autoridad Federal de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual), así como la AFTIC (Autoridad Federal de Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicaciones), organismo creado por la Ley Argentina Digital.
Como la FIP advertía en un comunicado previo (Alerta sobre amenazas a la democratización de la comunicación en Argentina), es sumamente peligrosa para la…
Leaders from African unions took the lead in representing journalists at the experts meeting of the two-day “Forum on Media in Africa”, organised by the Moroccan government and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation last week in Marrakech.
The Forum which attracted hundreds of journalists, academics, politicians and diplomats discussed in panels and workshops the role of media in Africa in building free and democratic societies and the need to strengthen them by developing access to information, building up the status of journalists and preparing the impact of new technologies on media in Africa.
Speaking at the closing session on behalf of the IFJ affiliates in Africa,…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly criticises the decision handed down by a Beijing court convicting a prominent human rights lawyer for online comments. The IFJ calls on the Beijing authorities to immediately repeal the conviction as it violates freedom of expression and free speech.
Earlier today, on December 22, Pu Zhiqiang, a prominent human rights lawyer was found guilty of "inciting ethnic hatred" and "picking quarrels and provoking troubles" through his online comments. The court sentenced Pu to three years in prison but said the sentence would be suspended. According to local reports, including Xinhua, during sentencing Pu had…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI-Indonesia), the South East Asia Journalist Unions (SEAJU) and the International Partnership Mission to Indonesia (IPMI) in releasing its observations and recommendations following a week-long mission to Indonesia in November 2015. The IFJ joins the IPMI in calling on the Indonesian government to adopt the recommendations to guarantee and protest freedom of expression in the country.
The International Partnership Mission to Indonesia, which included members from international human rights and freedom of expression organisations, including the IFJ and South East Asian…
The journalist,who worked for two satellite TV channels, Al- Mousoliya and Nineveh Al-Ghad, was kidnapped by extremists from the so-called ISIS group and executed.
The Iraqi journalist was kidnapped by the so-called Islamic state group because of an article he had published and was later executed, according to the Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate, and IFJ affiliate.
The cameraman for Al Masar TV was injured during an attack on Iraqi security forces with whom he was embedded, according to media reports. The attack came as the troops were on the way to the frontline with the so-called Islamic state (ISIS) in Garma, a town to the east of Fallujah in Anbar province on 5 May. The Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate (IJS) said that Majed was shot by a sniper. He died of his wounds the following day at the hospital where he had been admitted.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) and the Nepal Press Union (NPU) in condemning recent incidents obstructing the free flow of information in Nepal.
On December 16 the ground station of Nepal’s only Direct-to-Home (DTH) television service provider, Dish Home Media Network Private Limited, was damaged by a improvised explosive device. The damage halted DTH service in Nepal. The Communist Party of Nepal, a Maoist group led by Netra Bikram Chand, aka Biplab, claimed the responsibility adding that the DTH service provider was targeted for broadcasting Indian channels.
The attack completely blacked out TV service to…
The editor-in-chief of the independent Mosul daily Rai al-Nas, was shot dead by ISIS Islamic militants, according to the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate, an IFJ affiliate.
Al-Ali was first kidnapped by ISIS militants on 6 April 6, 2015 from a Mosul café, according to the reports, which said the militants found contacts for Iraqi government officials in his mobile phone and accused him of being an informant for the Iraqi government and the media. Twenty days later, militants shot him dead and handed overhis body to the medical examiner, according to an unnamed source in the medical examiner's office who spoke to the National Iraqi News Agency.
Source: IJS/CPJ
The journalist, who worked for Sama Mossel and Shafak News in Nineveh province, was killed by the so-called ISIS group according to local media. Qais had been detained by the Islamist militants in 2014 for his articles denouncing the ISIS presence in the Iraqi city of Mosul.
The prominent Yemeni journalist was assassinated in front of the family's home in the capital, Sanaa, according to media quoting his relatives. His son Mohammed al-Khewani said that armed men riding on a motorbike opened fire and gunned down his father as he exited the house. Mohammed al-Khewani said the attackers left his father in a pool of blood and sped away. The victim was transferred to a hospital and died there of his wounds later.
Sources: IFJ/Al-Jazeera
Every week the International Federation of journalists (IFJ) is compiling a list of the top news articles from across the world in which it is mentioned.
Read some of the news highlights from Friday 11 to Friday 18 December:
1. Gambia: Eleven Years Of Anguish – A Tribute To A Fearless Dad!
2. Deyda Hydara: Eleven Years On And Still Waiting For Justice
3. Turkey - EU must stop its double standards with Turkey
4. Fundo para Jornalismo Investigativo oferece bolsa para projeto de reportagem ou livro
5. La FIP y Al Jazeera firman un acuerdo marco de relaciones laborales
6. Ser Periodista En America Latina Actualmente Es Una Actividad De Alto Riesgo
7. J.C. Malone asume…
La Federación de Periodistas de América Latina y el Caribe (FEPALC) expresa su profunda preocupación por lo que viene aconteciendo en Argentina desde la asunción al poder del nuevo gobierno: irrespeto a la libertad de conciencia de los trabajadores del diario La Nación, el ataque online al diario Página 12 y los intentos por vulnerar la Ley de Servicios de Comunicación Audivisual.
La FEPALC repudia el editorial del diario La Nación que, horas después de la elección, en una vulgar manipulación de lo que significa reconciliación, hizo un llamado a la amnistía de quienes violentaron derechos humanos en dicho país. El rechazo de los periodistas de esa casa editorial fue inmediato y…
The 40-year-old reporter with online Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagran was killed in his home in Kashta village in the Gaya district of Bihar state, bordering Nepal. According to police reports, Pandey was killed when up to three masked intruders stormed his house and opened fire on him while he slept. Pandey’s family said that prior to his murder, he had been receiving death threats and had informed police of the threats to his life.
The 45-year-old journalist for television channel TV 24 was travelling home on his motorcycle from Kamalpur market in the Chandauli district when he was confronted by two other motorcyclists. After a dispute broke out, Yadav was shot twice in the chest. He was taken to the district hospital but was declared dead on arrival. Yadav was known for taking local cases and advocating for them in his journalism. Police reports suggested that the murder could have been in retaliation for his activism.
The managing director of Asia TV was shot outside his house in Kabul’s Karta-e-Now region. According to the Afghanistan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA), Ataee was likely targeted because of a popular series of investigative reports into the petroleum industry. According to police, two men were arrested in connection with the case and a weapon has been recovered. One of the men is Ataee’s brother-in-law, the other a deputy for the Kabul oil and petroleum department. Ataee’s oldest son told the AIJA that he believes the murder was an attempt to pressure Asia TV into closing down.
The 48-year-old radio host at Rádio Educadora FM 94.5 was shot dead in a rural by gunmen, according to media reports. The attackers, some of them driving in a truck, first confronted him as he was in his car. They shot at his car and tires, forcing Souza to flee to a wooded area, where he was shot, reports added.
The radio host had reportedly been threatened for his criticism on radio for violations of environment legislation. He himself spoke about the reaction to his reporting in a Facebook posting shortly before his killing, in which he vowed not to give in to pressure from his critics.
The 54-year-old journalist for Canal 27 TV was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his home. According to media reports, Fernandez had returned home after presenting his programme when the attackers called as his home and shot him three times.
The International and European Federations of Journalists, (IFJ) and (EFJ), together with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF), yesterday held a lunch time debate at the Brussels Press Club to discuss recent developments on press freedom in Turkey and reactions from EU institutions.
Before analysing the EU recent strategic posture as regards to Turkey, Jean-Paul Marthoz (CPJ EU Correspondent) opened the debate denouncing an important press freedom degradation symptom: while the number of journalists in jail globally has slightly declined in comparison to the record highs of the past three years, the…
In the frame of the peace talks and ceasefire between the warring parties in Yemen starting today in Geneva and sponsored by the United Nations (UN), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Yemen Journalists’ Syndicate (YJS), have called on all sides in the conflict to ensure the safety of journalists, to investigate the tortures and violations they have suffered and to immediately release the 13 colleagues who remain captive.
In a letter sent today to the participants at the peace talks, both organisations have welcomed this step led by the UN which would bring to an end a conflict that has already taken the lives of 10 journalists, the Yemeni…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly criticizes the media ban during the trial of prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqang, been held today in Beijing. The IFJ calls on the authorities to allow media access to the court room.
Pu Zhiqiang, 50, is charged with ‘incitement to racial hatred’ and ‘picking quarrels and stirring up trouble’, following his detainment in 6 May 2014. According to his defence lawyer, Mo Shaoping, the prosecution charged Pu based on seven online posted messages out of his more than 20,000 posted messages on Sina Weibo between 2012 and 2014. Prosecution only based the allegations on seven of Pu’s messages, and only four were alleged to have…
Welcome to the monthly e-bulletin of the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN). The next bulletin will be sent on January 15, 2016, and your inputs are most welcome.
We encourage contributions to let others know what you are doing; to seek solidarity and support from other SAMSN members on your campaigns and activities. To contribute, email Ujjwal Acharya at: [email protected]
Please feel free to distribute this bulletin widely among colleagues in the media. This e-bulletin and South Asia related contents are available at the SAMSN Digital Hub: https://samsn.ifj.org
In this bulletin:
1. South Asian affiliates mark #EndImpunity…
La Federación Internacional de Periodistas (FIP) apoya la solicitada emitida el día 12 de diciembre por la Confederación Sindical de Trabajadores de los Medios de Comunicación Social de la República Argentina – COSITMECOS, confederación que integra su afiliado FATPREN, donde se denuncia la amenaza que sufre la actual Ley de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual argentina.
La Ley 26.522 de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual (o Ley de Medios, como se la conoce popularmente), es una iniciativa legislativa aprobada en el año 2009 por el Congreso Nacional Argentina e impulsada por numerosas organizaciones sociales, académicas y del sector de los trabajadores. Esta alianza de fuerzas…
Desde la Federación Internacional de Periodistas instamos a las autoridades del partido de San Antonio de Areco, así como a las autoridades provinciales, a que se investigue el ataque sufrido por el periodista Sergio Hurtado - director de la radio FM Luna - y su familia.
En la madrugada del viernes, dos delincuentes ingresaron en su hogar – mientras un tercero custodiaba la entrada – y luego de agredirlo y encerrarlo, violaron a su esposa en dos oportunidades.
Hurtado afirma que los delincuentes son personas conocidas en la comunidad de Areco por su vinculación con el tráfico de drogas, situación que el periodista había denunciado en reiteradas oportunidades.
Asimismo sería importante…
The 27-year-old photojournalist who worked for the Turkish news agency, Anadolu, was killed in a suicide car bomb attack by Isis in Syrian town of Huraytan, near the city of Aleppo. The bomb attack which targeted a market place killed at least 20 people, media reports said.
The IFJ launched a global survey to assess the changing nature of employment in the media sector as well as unions & associations' strategies in terms of services to and recruitment of future generations of journalists.
This is a first attempt to conduct a global survey. The survey takes 30 minutes and provides crucial information about the status of journalists, journalists unions and the underlying trends affecting the profession.
All IFJ members are called to respond to the survey.
Results of the survey will be introduced at the IFJ World Congress in Angers, June 2016 and will help the IFJ meet the changing needs and priorities of their members.
“The IFJ is…
For the 25th consecutive year, at the end of December, the IFJ will publish its list of journalists who have been killed in the year (the Killed List).
These journalists were assassinated because they were accomplishing their mission to inform. For the 25th time, we shall sadly observe that these figures remain high, even if they are slightly lower compared with previous years. As I am writing these lines, we can (already) report the deaths of 99 journalists, including a young mother aged 27 recently in Somalia. Some 135 died in 2014 and 123 in 2013.
This report and analysis is the fruit of the collective work of IFJ employees of course, including in its regional offices, but also…
Journalists across the world continue to be harassed, threatened, tortured, jailed and killed for exercising their basic right to inform. The IFJ 3-weeks (2 november-23 November) #endimpunity campaign aimed to raise public and international institutions’ attention to these crimes and hold governments accountable for their failure to investigate.
This year’s campaign focused globally on Yemen, Mexico, the Philippines and Ukraine. IFJ regional offices also held targeted actions on additional countries (check AP web site for more information about the region).
At least 36 affiliates joined the campaign. The IFJ also received support from other Global Union Federations…
Every week the International Federation of journalists (IFJ) is compiling a list of the top news articles from across the world in which it is mentioned.
Read some of the news highlights from Friday 04 to Friday 11 December:
1. Somalia: IFJ Condemns Murder of Female Journalist in a Car Bombing in Somalia
2. West Africa: FAJ Challenges Gambia Repressive Media Laws in Ecowas Court
3. Africa: IFJ Global Youth Survey
4. Turkey rebukes Council of Europe on Dündar, Gül imprisonment
5. Culture of impunity also seen in cases of missing journalists
6. Türkiye'den tutuklama savunması: Basın özgürlüğüyle ilgisi yok
7. La FAJ demande au Cameroun de libérer trois journalistes…
The sports journalist with the state-owned Nepali daily Gorkhapatra, was killed during earthquakes that devastated much of Nepal during April and May 2015. A stringer for the state media for three years, Bomjan had earlier worked for Nepal FM and media in his hometown of Makwanpur, where he also chaired the Nepal Sports Journalists Forum’s district coordination chapter. His body was recovered in Kathmandu on 2 May.
Le harcèlement, les menaces, les tortures, les emprisonnements et les assassinats de journalistes se poursuivent dans le monde, avec pour seul délit celui d’exercer leur droit fondamental d’informer. La campagne de 3 semaines lancée par la FIJ (2 - 23 novembre) contre l’impunité (#endimpunity) avait pour finalité de sensibiliser le public et les institutions internationales à ces crimes et à tenir les gouvernements responsables de l’absence d’enquêtes.
La campagne de cette année s’est concentrée sur le Yémen, le Mexique, les Philippines et l’Ukraine. Les bureaux régionaux de la FIJ ont réalisé des actions ciblées contre d’autres pays (cf. site de l’AP pour en savoir plus sur la…
The first findings of the EFJ survey on Mapping freelance journalists in Europe highlight the disparities in freelancers’ professional situation and labour rights’ protection across the region.
On 19 November, the EFJ Freelance Experts’ Group (FREG) held its biannual meeting. Unions’ representatives discussed the results of the survey “Mapping Freelance Journalists” launched by the EFJ in May to update its database on the social status of freelancers and their representation in professional associations and unions in Europe. Thirty-three organisations from 28 countries responded to the online questionnaire so far. The results reveal disturbing disparities in particular, in their…
In the build up to the November elections in Turkey, an international emergency press freedom mission, including IFJ and EFJ representatives, adopted a Declaration in solidarity with their colleagues in Turkey asking for an immediate end to all pressure that prevents journalists from performing their jobs.
The IFJ/EFJ and their affiliate the Journalists Union of Turkey (TGS) reviewed the implications of the victory of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the re-run of Turkey’s national elections on journalists and trade union rights during a press briefing at the Brussels Press Club Europe on 5 November 2015.
The organisations condemned the arrest of reporters Can Dündar and Erdem…
La FIJ a été invitée à participer à une conférence internationale sur la fin de l’impunité des crimes contre les journalistes qui s’est tenue les 9 et 10 octobre 2015 à la Cour interaméricaine des droits de l’homme à San José, Costa Rica. La Conférence, organisée par l’UNESCO, le Rapporteur spécial pour la liberté d’expression de la Commission interaméricaine des droits de l’homme et la Cour interaméricaine des droits de l’homme avec le soutien de 20 institutions internationales partenaires, dont la FIJ, a rassemblé des juges, des procureurs, des juristes, des ONG, des experts, des journalistes, des autorité gouvernementales et des représentants d’organisations multilatérales de tous…
26 - 28 November in Mexico City, the IFJ organised a national seminar with the Mexican National Union of Press Reporters (SNRP) to highlight the first phase in the three year union building and safety project funded by the Canadian trade union UNIFOR.
Like the workshops held earlier in the year in different regions throughout Mexico, the event aimed to empower Mexican journalists and press workers to generate the conditions for security, labour and trade union rights, and to reach a federal position in the SNRP.
Participating at the seminar were representatives from the delegations around the country who joined in the empowerment sessions and attended the presentation of the security…
The photojournalist with the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun, died from injuries sustained while covering Fiji’s semi-civilian coup in Suva in 2000 as well as the subsequent military coup in December 2006. According to reports, Moce was beaten and attacked by rebel supporters in the 2000 coup. Later, during the 2006 coup, Moce reported that he was confronted while trying to take pictures of soldiers escorting a person from the Methodist Church in Suva. He described being manhandled before being taken to a military camp where he was detained and questioned. Moce never fully recovered from injuries to his back. By 2013, he was left paralysed and bedridden.
In September 2015, Moce was…
The 35-year-old correspondent of the Bangla-language Samakal Daily was critically injured in a stabbing attack at his home on July 7. He died from his injuries at a hospital in Dhaka the next day. Two men were arrested in relation to the murder. Sayem worked in Jibannagar Upazila, near the Bangla-India border. The region is known for arms and drug smuggling and Sayem wrote regularly about the trade as a crime reporter. He had previously received a number of threats for his reporting.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) hailed the signing yesterday in Geneva of an historical International Framework Agreement with Al Jazeera Media Network – the first of its kind in the media sector.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Jim Boumelha, President of the IFJ, and Moustefa Souag, Acting Director of the Al Jazeera Media Network, and took place at a ceremony held in Geneva at the Club Suisse de la Presse.
IFJ President Jim Boumelha said "This is a truly historic agreement and a major step forward in the global battle for the rights of journalists and respect for union activity. I am proud to have participated in its negotiation. It will give…
The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and (EFJ), together with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF), will hold a lunch time debate at the Brussels Press Club on Monday, 15 December at 13:00 to discuss recent developments on press freedom in Turkey and reactions from EU institutions.
Speakers include:
Jean-Paul Marthoz, Committee to Protect Journlaists Europe
Mehmet Koksal, European Federation of Journalists
Johann Bihr, Reporters sans frontières
Marthoz will review the recent positions taken by the EU in relation to Turkey while Koksal will review the recent positions taken by Turkey and the press in…
The television journalist and special correspondent of Hindi news channel Aaj Tak, was covering the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, India, at the time of his death. The scam involves allegations of bribes made for higher results on the exam required for government jobs in the state. Singh was interviewing family members of Namrata Damor, a woman connected to the scam, when he fell unconscious and died. He was 38 years old. More than 35 people linked to the Indian scam have also died in unclear or suspicious circumstances. An investigation into Singh’s death is underway but the results have not been released.
The correspondent for Iraq Times in Basra went missing on 28 October and his body was found a day later with signs of torture particularly on his head, media reported. Al-Iqabi covered protests calling for reforms and end of corruption in the city. He had reportedly received death threats by telephone and Facebook over his reporting on the protests before being kidnapped near a security post in Basra by unidentified armed men.
Welcome to the International Federation of Journalists' (IFJ) Storify on our #EndImpunity campaign 2015. Have a glance at all the activities and events launched internationally by the IFJ to mark the campaign, from November 2 to November 23.
WHAT WILL YOU FIND IN THIS STORIFY?
1) The message of Jim Boumelha, IFJ President, on our campaign
2) The message of UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova on the International Day to end impunity for crimes against Journalists
3) some information and pictures about The #EndImpunity ceremony in Brussels on November 2, co-organised by IFJ, AJP and UNESCO
4) Our actions on #EndImpunity campaign
5) Our detailed actions on the 4 countries we…
The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the African Group of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), has filed an application before the Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to challenge the repressive media laws which have created a pervasive culture of persecution, violence, and injustice against journalists in The Gambia.
The joint application by FAJ and three Gambian journalists in exile, filed on 7 December with the support of the Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI), concerns the violation of the right to freedom of expression, including through the use of criminal laws that prohibit criticism to be made of the government. The…
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has denounced the media safety crisis in the Iraqi city of Basra following a briefing yesterday by Haider Ali Hussain Al-Mansoury, the head of the IFJ affiliate Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate (IJS) in Basra and Jasim Mohammed Oglah, a member of the IJS Press Freedom Committee.
The two journalists met the IFJ General Secretary and staff in Brussels and spoke of a climate of threats, violence and intimidation against journalists from armed groups and the city’s administration. The local administration officials are also blamed for resorting to legal intimidation against independent journalists who expose corruption and abuse of…
La Fédération Africaine des Journalistes (FAJ), le groupe Africain de la Fédération Internationale des Journalistes (FIJ), a demandé aujourd’hui aux autorités camerounaises de mettre fin aux interpellations permanentes dirigées depuis plus d’un an contre les journalistes Félix Ebolé Bola du quotidien Mutations, Rodrigue Tongue (précédemment du quotidien Le Messager maintenant à Canal 2 International) et Baba Wamé, président de l’association des cyber journalistes.
« Nos collègues interpellés sont des journalistes tenus par l’obligation de protection de leurs sources ; ils ne sont pas des agents de renseignement et ne peuvent pas se comporter comme tel.», a…
The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the African Group of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), has filed a legal claim before the Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to challenge the repressive media laws which have created a pervasive culture of persecution, violence, and injustice against journalists in The Gambia.
“The FAJ has experienced first-hand the impact of President Jammeh’s oppressive media laws on journalists in The Gambia, “said FAJ Interim President Maria Luisa Rogerio, “ The ECOWAS Court has already criticised the impunity witnessed in the Hydara case, and we hope that that they will continue in this vein by…
The IFJ and the Syndicat des Professionnels de L’Information et de la Communication (SYNPICS) held a two-day workshop on Climate Change Reporting for journalists from West and Central Africa, 14–15 October, in Dakar. The Workshop brought together 15 journalists from Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo as well as Senegal, to build their capacities in reporting climate change.
Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Madam Mariam Ndaiye, who represented the Minister, said that climate change is at the very core of…
A seminar on freedom of association and labour rights was conducted in Nairobi 12-13 November, by the Kenyan Union of Journalists (KUJ) and IFJ. Participants were drawn from the KUJ, and chapels in the Nation Media Group, Standard Group Limited, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation and British Broadcasting Corporation.
Objectives of the workshop were to:
1. Discuss ILO Conventions 87 and 98 and how they affect trade union movements in Kenya
2. Draw up strategies to increase membership of the KUJ
3. Review safety and security measures for journalists
4. Discuss gender disparities in media and possible interventions
5. Educate union members on laws that govern industrial relations…
"Working at the IFJ is not only a job, it is part of me. I grew up helping people in need and my work at the IFJ fits into this". Monir Zaarour, a dual Belgian and Palestinian national, is our coordinator for the Arab World and Middle East. He grew up in Jenin in the West Bank and holds a Masters degree in International conflict analysis.
The father of two joined the IFJ in 2006 after working in a cinema production center in Ramallah, Palestine. He is a former member of the Palestinian writers’ union where he used to edit the union magazine. He won a first prize for young Palestinian writers with his short story “Thirst of saints” and has kept a real thrust for reading, in…
The European Commission just published a Communication – Towards a modern, more European copyright framework" to review the current EU acquis on authors’ rights.
The document points in particular at the need for fair remuneration of authors and performers, “who can be particularly affected by differences in bargaining power when licensing or transferring their rights”. It refers to current mechanisms which authors and performers raise in this context including the regulation of certain contractual practices, unwaivable remuneration rights, collective bargaining and collective management of rights.
The Commission says it will consider whether solutions at EU level are required to…
From November 8 to 14 the IFJ joined the International Partnership Mission to Indonesia (IPMI) which travelled to Indonesia to meet with journalists, government and civil society representatives to review the media environment one year on since its first visit in December 2014. During this visit, the Mission held meetings in Jakarta and Makassar, Sulawesi, and conducted a fact-finding visit to Jayapura, Papua, in eastern Indonesia. The mission coincided with the release of Human Rights Watch’s report Something to Hide? and the long-awaited release of two British journalists who had been detained in Indonesia for five months.
The IPMI said in a statement: “In a region where the press is…
Under the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) South Asia Media for Democracy project, IFJ affiliates and SAMSN members have launched digital campaigns. In Sri Lanka, the Free Media Movement (FMM) has launched a campaign on Free Expression for All which aims to raise awareness about impunity in Sri Lanka, put pressure on the government to introduce the Right to Information (RTI) Bill and address issues of sexual harassment in the workplace. See more here.
In India, the National Union of Journalists (India) has launched a month-long campaign to Demand enactment of the Journalist Protection Act. The campaign aims to create awareness and put pressure on the government to provide…
On November 24 and 25, the IFJ and the Bangladesh Nari Sangbadik Kendra (BNSK), supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted a two-day gender safety and equity workshop in Bangladesh. The workshop, which was attended by around 20 female journalists from across the country, discussed the challenges women journalists face in Bangladesh and provided practical tools and advice to overcome these challenges. See photos from the workshop here.
On November 25 and 26, the IFJ and SAMSN-member, the Bangladesh Manobadhikar Sangbadik Forum (BMSF), supported by Union to Union, hosted a two-day Digital Campaign Skills workshop. The workshop was attended by more than 25 journalists…
On 16 November, the IFJ Asia Pacific and the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) supported by IFEX launched Without a Trace: Missing Media Workers in the Asia Pacific. The website is an online record highlighting the stories of 10 media workers who disappeared and currently remain missing in the region. To date, their cases are unsolved and largely uninvestigated.
The campaign focuses on the cases of Juanita Nielsen (Australia), Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla (Maldives), Joey Estriber (the Philippines), Prakash Singh Thakuri, Chitra Narayan Shrestha, Milan Nepali, Madan Paudel (all of Nepal), and Prageeth Eknaligoda, Subramaniam Ramachandran and Vadivel Nimalarajah (all of Sri Lanka).
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The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) denounce the situation of journalists in the Iraqi city of Basra following a briefing yesterday by Haider Ali Hussain Al-Mansoury, the head of the IFJ affiliate Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate (IJS) in Basra and Jasim Mohammed Oglah, a member of the IJS Press Freedom Committee. The two journalists met the IFJ General Secretary and staff in Brussels and spoke of a climate of threats, violence and intimidation against journalists from armed groups and the city’s administration. The local administrations are also blamed for resorting to legal intimidation against independent journalists who expose corruption and abuse of office.
Al-Mansoury,…
