Serbia: MFRR partners demand Belgrade court set Belarusian journalist free May 6, 2024 The undersigned partner organizations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) demand the immediate release of Andrey Gniot, a Belarusian journalist and pro-democracy activist who is being held in custody by Serbian authorities on politically motivated charges formulated by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. Since October, Serbian courts have been deliberating upon a request to […] Read more »
Burkina Faso bans media over critical coverage of military May 3, 2024 The IPI global network condemns the Burkina Faso government’s suspension of three foreign broadcasters for covering a report on alleged military killings of civilians. Authorities also blocked access to the websites of several news outlets. IPI calls on Burkina Faso’s transitional government to reverse the bans and allow journalists to do their jobs. Burkina Faso’s […] Read more » TaggedAfrica attacks on journalists press freedom
Advocacy World Press Freedom Day’s interview with Věra Jourová May 3, 2024 Over the past five years, Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, has been leading the Commission’s efforts to strengthen media freedom under its Democracy Action Plan. This has resulted in an unprecedented array of legislative initiatives through the completion of the European Media Freedom Act, the Anti-SLAPP Directive, the issuing […] Read more » TaggedEuropean Commission European Union interview vera jourova World Press Freedom Day
11 trailblazing organizations shortlisted for 2024 Free Media Pioneer award May 2, 2024 Ahead of this year’s World Press Freedom Day, IPI and IMS are proud to announce the 11 organizations shortlisted for the 2024 IPI-IMS Free Media Pioneer award. These outstanding organizations from around the globe are meeting the moment by defending press freedom, filling crucial gaps in quality, investigative reporting, or driving media innovation. Amid growing […] Read more »
Terrorism investigation into Catalan journalist raises concerns ahead of elections April 30, 2024 Journalists and media freedom organizations express concern over the investigation for terrorism of Catalan journalist Jesús Rodríguez Sellés, now residing in Switzerland. The investigation, lasting for four years after the alleged crime, coincides with negotiations over the amnesty law for pro-independence leaders. Fearing politicization of the case, the Media Freedom Rapid Response partners call for […] Read more » Taggedamnesty law Catalonia independence la directa Spain tsunami democrátic
IJ4EU awards €540,000 to 17 cross-border investigations April 29, 2024 An independent jury has allocated almost €540,000 in grant funding to 17 cross-border reporting teams under the latest round of the flagship grant scheme of IPI’s IJ4EU fund. The grants will allow dozens of journalists based in 30 countries in Europe and beyond to join forces to probe subjects of public interest, ranging from artificial […] Read more » Taggedgrants ij4eu
Twelve years: No justice for Mexican journalist Regina Martínez April 25, 2024 Veera Nikkilä, Helsingin Sanomat Foundation Journalism Fellow at IPI Leer en español April 28 marks 12 years since Mexican investigative journalist Regina Martínez Pérez was beaten and strangled to death in her home. Authorities have failed to credibly solve the murder. The IPI global network calls for justice. President Andrés Manuel Lopéz Obrador must honor his commitment to reopen the case and end impunity. […] Read more »
Bulgaria Minister urged to drop defamation lawsuit April 24, 2024 The Media Freedom Rapid Response consortium partners criticize the criminal defamation lawsuit filed by Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov against investigative journalists Atanas Chobanov and Dimitar Stoyanov of the Bureau for Investigative Reporting and Data (BIRD). The undersigned organisations believe that the lawsuit is designed to silence legitimate investigative reporting and should be immediately withdrawn. The […] Read more » TaggedBulgaria investigative journalism lawsuit SLAPP
Appello contro gli attacchi a Domani e per la libertà di stampa in Italia April 23, 2024 Tre giornalisti del quotidiano italiano Domani – Giovanni Tizian, Nello Trocchia, Stefano Vergine – rischiano fino a 9 anni di carcere. Sono indagati dai magistrati della procura di Perugia con l’accusa di aver chiesto e ricevuto documenti riservati da un pubblico ufficiale, e di aver violato il segreto istruttorio attraverso la richiesta e la pubblicazione […] Read more » TaggedDomani Italy SLAPP
Petition against attacks on Domani newspaper, and for media freedom in Italy April 23, 2024 Three reporters at Domani – Giovanni Tizian, Nello Trocchia, Stefano Vergine – are facing up to 9 years in prison. They are under investigation by Perugia Prosecutor’s Office for allegedly having requested and received confidential documents from a public official, and for allegedly breaching the secrecy of the investigation through the request and publication of […] Read more » TaggedDomani Italy media freedom SLAPP
Somalia: IPI condemns freezing of SJS bank accounts April 23, 2024 The IPI global network condemns Somali authorities’ freezing of bank accounts belonging to IPI member Somali Journalists Syndicate. Somalia must cease its harassment of SJS and its staff and allow the organization to operate freely. A court on April 9 ordered Premier Bank So to freeze accounts belonging to SJS, claiming that SJS was not […] Read more »
Malabo at 10: Africa’s Cyber Security Convention 10 Years Later The International Press Institute (IPI) is hosting a side session at the 2024 Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum in Accra, Ghana, on the 10th anniversary of the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Protection of Personal Information, also known as the Malabo Convention. The Malabo Convention was adopted in 2014 to address the need […] Read more »
Ukraine: IPI sends letter to authorities on apparent intimidation of journalists April 12, 2024 On April 6, investigative outlet Slidstvo.Info reported that one of its journalists, Yevheny Shulhat, had recently been targeted in what appeared to be an intimidation attempt by authorities. Several days earlier, military recruitment officials approached Shulhat at a mall near his home in Kyiv, attempting to hand him a summons notice which could have led […] Read more »
Safety and justice: demanding accountability for attacks against journalists in Serbia April 11, 2024 Commemorating 25 years since the brutal murder of Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija, media freedom organizations unite to condemn continued impunity in this case and demand accountability for all acts of violence against journalists in Serbia. The recent acquittal of security officers accused of Ćuruvija’s murder, as well as the escalating attacks against journalists in Novi […] Read more » Taggedimpunity safety of journalists Serbia
Fighting SLAPPs: Milestone new recommendations in Europe April 5, 2024 The International Press Institute (IPI) joins other members of the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) in welcoming recommendations by the Council of Europe to combat SLAPPs, or strategic lawsuits against public participation, which are increasingly used to target journalists. The recommendations are comprehensive and, if effectively implemented, could significantly limit the damage caused by […] Read more » TaggedCoE SLAPP
Belarus: IPI condemns prison sentences handed to two more journalists April 3, 2024 The IPI global network condemns the prison terms handed last month to two more Belarusians in relation to their past work as independent journalists. Former reporter Ihar Karney was sentenced to three years in a penal colony while camera operator Andrey Tolchyn received a 2.5 year sentence. “The sentences against Ihar Karney and Andrey Tolchyn […] Read more »
Russia: 83 IPI members send letter to imprisoned reporter Evan Gershkovich March 28, 2024 On March 29, 2023, Russian authorities detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Soon after, he was transferred to Moscow’s Lefortovo prison and charged with espionage, an accusation which he and his colleagues have strongly rejected and for which Russian authorities have produced no evidence. Today, one year after these events, 83 IPI members from […] Read more »
IPI Nigeria calls on authorities to produce abducted FirstNews editor Segun Olatunji March 27, 2024 The International Press Institute (IPI) joins its Nigerian National Committee in expressing urgent concern about the safety and security of FirstNews editor Segun Olatunji, who was taken from his home on March 15 by men in military-style uniforms. The IPI global network is closely following this case, and we join the call on Nigeria’s military […] Read more »
Joint statement on the European Commission’s 2024 rule of law report March 27, 2024 The publication of the European Commission’s annual rule of law report serves as a crucial mechanism for assessing the state of press freedom, democracy, and human rights within EU Member States. In an era marked by escalating challenges to press freedom across Europe, our coalition stresses the need for concrete dialogue and robust measures for […] Read more » Taggeddemocracy European Commission human rights joint statement rule of law
The Outlook: Find out what your audience wants from your journalism with user interviews March 27, 2024 IPI Media Innovation and Sustainability This text comes from IPI’s newsletter The Outlook. Click here to sign up to receive future editions direct to your inbox. This is The Outlook, IPI’s media innovation newsletter, where we take a look at tools and strategies for innovation, and learn from newsrooms that are implementing them. In this newsletter we write about developing audience-first […] Read more »
IPI joins 38 other rights groups calling on Media Freedom Coalition states to take concrete action for the safety of journalists in Gaza March 25, 2024 The IPI global network today joined 38 other civil society groups from around the world calling on the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) member states to take meaningful action to protect the safety of journalists and access to information in Gaza. The MFC is a group of 50 states that commit to protect the safety of […] Read more »
New IPI report examines spyware surveillance and the battle for accountability in European journalism March 14, 2024 The International Press Institute (IPI) explores the threat that spyware poses to media freedom in Europe in its new report “Watching the Watchdogs.” Highlighting the use of Predator and Pegasus tools in Greece and Hungary, the report exposes how spyware was used to target journalists and the failure to hold those responsible to account. […] Read more » TaggedEurope Greece Hungary report spyware surveillance
In Peacetime and in War: Protecting Journalists’ Safety and Ensuring Accountability for Crimes against the Press In November 2022, representatives of U.N. member states convened in Vienna to publicly reaffirm their commitments to protect journalists’ safety and pledged to take concrete steps to tackle impunity for crimes against the press. The meeting marked the 10-year anniversary of the U.N. Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of […] Read more »
Analysis: Russia ramps up pressure on media and journalists in exile March 11, 2024 In the first two months of 2024, the Russian parliament has approved new laws ramping up pressure on journalists and public figures critical of the war on Ukraine. The provisions, which allow for the confiscation of property for those convicted of “fake news” and ban commercial advertising on media and other websites designated as “foreign […] Read more »
Empowering women journalists in Africa to curb online harassment Female journalists in Africa face a unique set of challenges, including online harassment that seeks to silence their voices and hinder their ability to report effectively. Online attacks and smear campaigns targeting journalists not only risk generating self-censorship, but studies have shown they can also lead to physical attacks and threats. IPI research has also […] Read more »
Safeguarding women journalists in the digital age March 8, 2024 To mark International Women’s Day, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) presents an analysis of the troubling attacks against women journalists, in European Union member states and candidate countries. In 2023, female journalists faced a disproportionate number of verbal attacks, especially online. The MFRR partners call for collaborative efforts to protect their rights and foster […] Read more » TaggedMFRR online harassment smear campaigns women
Honoring women leaders in media: IPI celebrates International Women’s Day March 8, 2024 To mark International Women’s Day on March 8, IPI is proud to celebrate some of the remarkable women media leaders and women-led newsrooms across our global network. Throughout the month of March, IPI will spotlight the inspiring and groundbreaking work of 20 individuals and organizations around the world. Among the resilient leaders we recognize are […] Read more »
Italy: MFRR partners strongly condemn investigation into Domani journalists March 7, 2024 IPI and the undersigned media freedom and civil society organisations strongly condemn the investigation of three Domani journalists for allegedly receiving confidential documents from a public official and for alleged breaching of secrets through the publication of information contained in those documents. The charges are connected to their reporting on a conflict of interest involving […] Read more » Taggedattacks on journalists Italy
Azerbaijan: IPI condemns prison sentence handed to Avaz Zeynalli March 5, 2024 The IPI global network today condemns the 9-year prison sentence handed to Azerbaijani journalist Avaz Zeynalli, who had been in pre-trial detention since September 2022. On February 27, a court in Baku found Zeynalli guilty of trumped-up extortion charges, which were earlier formulated against him and against lawyer Elchin Sadygov. Prosecutors accused the two of […] Read more »
Carlos Dada to head IJ4EU jury February 28, 2024 Carlos Dada, a trailblazer in watchdog journalism in Latin America, will serve as the jury chair of the flagship grant scheme of IPI’s Investigative Journalism for Europe (IJ4EU) fund. Dada, the winner of numerous awards for his work exposing corruption in one of the world’s most dangerous regions for journalists, co-founded and directs El Faro, […] Read more » Taggedcarlos dada ij4eu investigative journalism
Ukrainian journalists in captivity: Holding out hope for freedom February 22, 2024 By Nastya Stanko, Ukrainian journalist and editor-in-chief of Slidstvo.Info Oleh Baturyn, a journalist from Kakhovka, Kherson region, takes a selfie in front of a gray fence with barbed wire on top. He then records a short video on his mobile phone: “I am standing in Kherson on Teploenerhetykiv Street 3, where I was brought from the Kherson Regional Administration on March 13. I have […] Read more »
Slovakia: Lack of justice for Kuciak and Kušnírová’s assassination exacerbated by growing attacks on press freedom February 21, 2024 On the sixth anniversary of the brutal killing of investigative reporter Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, the undersigned organisations renew our call for long-awaited justice for their killings and the imperative to break the cycle of impunity. As we remember Ján and Martina, we are alarmed by increasing threats to the rule of […] Read more » TaggedMFRR
Jordan: Authorities must investigate Pegasus surveillance of journalists February 8, 2024 Veera Nikkila, Helsingin Sanomat Journalism Fellow at IPI IPI is deeply alarmed by a new report finding that at least 35 journalists, human rights advocates, and political activists have been targeted with Pegasus spyware since 2019. The report, by Access Now and Citizen Lab, said that some of the targets’ devices had been infected multiple times. It also suggested that the findings may […] Read more »
