Greece: Answers needed over alleged state surveillance of journalist November 19, 2021 The undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today urge the Greek government to immediately provide clarity over allegations that a state intelligence agency conducted surveillance on journalist Stavros Malichudis and the investigative media organisation Solomon, which focuses on refugees and migration in Greece. The revelations published by Greek newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton […] Read more »
Reporting against all odds: Journalism in Belarus today (Zoom, Nov. 23) Since the fradulent August 2020 presidential elections, the Belarusian regime continues to relentlessly tighten its grip on the few remaining independent media in the country and viciously harass journalists. Since the beginning of the protests at least 497 journalists have been detained. As of 9 November 2021, 29 journalists – among over 800 political prisoners […] Read more »
SLAPP lawsuit in Greece underscores need for swift EU directive November 16, 2021 The undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today express serious concern over a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) targeted against the small independent media outlet Alterthess and its journalist Stavroula Poulimeni by a Greek gold mining executive convicted of serious environmental crimes. Our organisations note that this case again underscores the […] Read more »
Poland: Access to public information must not be constrained November 15, 2021 The undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) are highly concerned about new possible restrictions on the right to information in Poland that could further erode press freedom in the country. On 15 December 2021, the Constitutional Tribunal will hold a hearing on the constitutionality of core provisions of the bill that regulates […] Read more »
Rasha Abdullah Al-Harazi, Yemen On November 9, 2021, Rasha Abdullah Al-Harazi, a journalist from Yemen, died in a targeted car bomb attack while she was nine months pregnant. Al-Harazi had also received many threats in the months before her death, Khalid Ibrahim of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights told IPI last year. “By phone she was told to […] Read more »
Belarus: Government moves to stamp out remaining independent media November 8, 2021 The IPI global network today expresses grave concern over the latest efforts by state authorities in Belarus to stamp out any remaining form of independent media left within the country and urges the international community to respond firmly to the latest string of attacks on media freedom and freedom of expression. On 4 November, the […] Read more »
IPI welcomes U.S. blacklisting of NSO Group over Pegasus spyware abuses November 4, 2021 The IPI global network today welcomes the decision by the United States government to blacklist Israeli company NSO Group over the abuse of its spyware technology Pegasus to target journalists and others, and urged other democratic countries around the world to follow the Biden administration’s lead by sanctioning and regulating the technology. On November 3, […] Read more »
IPI Job Announcement: Head of Advocacy Position description The International Press Institute (IPI) is seeking an enthusiastic, experienced Head of Advocacy to drive the organization’s global advocacy and campaign work in support of press freedom and independent journalism at a critical time. The public’s right to information is coming under increased threat around the world. The Head of Advocacy will play […] Read more »
IJ4EU awards €430,000 to 14 cross-border investigations October 28, 2021 Fourteen teams of investigative journalists from across the European Union have secured grants under the second round of IPI’s IJ4EU Investigation Support Scheme for cross-border journalism. An independent jury awarded a combined €430,000 for investigations on topics ranging from international money laundering and the Belarus–EU border crisis to war crimes prosecutions and corruption in sport. […] Read more » TaggedEU grants ij4eu investigative journalism
Rwanda: IPI calls for release of YouTube journalist Theoneste Nsengimana October 25, 2021 IPI Contributor Anne ter Rele The IPI global network of editors, media executives, and leading journalists condemns this month’s arrest of Rwandan journalist Theoneste Nsengimana of Umubavu TV. IPI calls for his immediate release. On Tuesday, October 13, journalist Theoneste Nsengimana was arrested at his home by the Rwandan authorities. Earlier that day, Nsengimana, who runs a channel called Umubavu […] Read more » TaggedAfrica arrested journalists Dalfa-Umurinzi International Press Institute IPI Rwanda
Protect encryption: IPI joins 150 other groups in global call October 21, 2021 Strong encryption is a critical technology that helps keep people, their information, and communications private and secure. It underpins online trust, protects members of vulnerable communities, and safeguards the data of governments, businesses, and everyday citizens from criminals and hostile governments. However, some governments and organizations are pushing to weaken encryption, which would create a […] Read more » Taggeddemocracy encryption independent journalism press freedom privacy
Post-election, Russia extends ‘foreign agent’ labels October 11, 2021 IPI Contributor Anne ter Rele The IPI global network condemned the labeling of two Russian media companies and two journalists as “foreign agents” by Russian authorities. The move, which is part of a months-long crackdown on activists and journalists, discredits their work and endangers their financial survival. IPI urges international condemnation of the escalating assault on media freedom. On September […] Read more »
Turkey’s press freedom crisis compounded by increasing digital censorship October 9, 2021 Turkey’s press freedom crisis is being compounded by increasing digital censorship, a group of international press freedom, journalism and human rights groups said following a joint mission to the country this week. The government has announced plans to table a “disinformation” law that is likely to result in the further criminalization of freedom of expression […] Read more »
IPI leads international mission to Turkey, Oct. 6 – 8, 2021 October 6, 2021 A coalition of international press freedom and journalist groups will carry out a three-day mission to Turkey this week to investigate serious, continued threats to independent journalism in the country. From October 6 to 8, mission delegates will meet in Ankara and Istanbul, as well as online, with editors, journalists, local civil society groups, Turkish […] Read more »
Croatia: Wave of abusive legal actions against Index.hr September 23, 2021 The International Press Institute (IPI) today joins its partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) is expressing serious concern about the wave of abusive legal actions against Croatian online news outlet Index.hr. Its publisher Index Promocija d.o.o. is currently facing 56 defamation lawsuits and nine further defamation suits target its journalists. Three of the […] Read more »
IPI mourns the death of long-time director Johann Fritz The International Press Institute (IPI) mourns the death of Johann Fritz, director emeritus of the organization, who passed away on September 14 in Vienna, Austria at the age of 81. A former manager of Austria’s respected Die Presse newspaper, Fritz became IPI’s director designate in 1992. In 1993, as the director, he successfully moved its […] Read more »
South Africa’s Khadija Patel elected new IPI Executive Board chair September 17, 2021 Khadija Patel, the head of programmes for the International Fund for Public Interest Media and the former editor-in-chief of South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper, was elected yesterday as the 35th chair of the International Press Institute (IPI)‘s global Executive Board. “I’m honoured to be entrusted with this position”, she said. “And I look forward […] Read more »
MFRR: EU action needed to tackle spyware abuses after Pegasus revelations September 15, 2021 As the European Parliament today debates the Pegasus spyware scandal, the undersigned partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) call for an immediate investigation into the alleged use of the spyware against journalists by Hungarian authorities and urge the strong implementation of new EU rules on the export of cyber-surveillance technology around the world. […] Read more »
Belarusian Association of Journalists forcibly closed September 3, 2021 Ronja Koskinen, Helsingin Sanomat Foundation Fellow at IPI On August 27, the Supreme Court of Belarus liquidated the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), an internationally respected press freedom and journalists’ rights organization. The IPI global network today condemned this politically motivated decision and calls for an immediate end to the systematic oppression of independent journalism and freedom of expression in Belarus. The justice […] Read more »
Indian news site The Wire to receive 2021 Free Media Pioneer award September 1, 2021 Non-profit news site The Wire, a leader in India’s digital news revolution and an unflinching defender of independent, high-quality journalism, is the recipient of the 2021 Free Media Pioneer Award. The annual Free Media Pioneer award was established by the International Press Institute (IPI) in 1996 to recognize media organizations that are innovating for better […] Read more »
With new foreign agent labels, Russia steps up attack on independent media August 24, 2021 The IPI global network today condemned what it called the biggest crackdown on independent media in Russia in several years and urged international condemnation of the escalating assault on media freedom by the Kremlin ahead of next month’s parliamentary election. Pressure on media by authorities reached a new peak on Friday August 20 when the […] Read more »
G7 urged to protect and evacuate journalists in Afghanistan August 23, 2021 Civil society and media organisations call on the G7 to protect and evacuate journalists and media workers in Afghanistan 23 August 2021 Ahead of the G7 summit on the situation in Afghanistan, we, the undersigned organisations, call on G7 countries to make a clear and explicit commitment to taking journalists and media workers as an […] Read more »
U.S. vice president should raise press freedom issues with Singapore and Vietnam August 23, 2021 The IPI global network has urged U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to raise the issue of press freedom during her visit to Singapore and Vietnam this week. Harris is travelling to the two countries and will be meeting with the respective heads of government. In a letter, IPI Exeuctive Director Barbara Trionfi urged the U.S. […] Read more »
Belarus: One year of media crackdown August 20, 2021 Ronja Koskinen, Helsingin Sanomat Foundation Fellow at IPI This week, on August 18, Belarusian authorities raided the offices of the independent news agency independent BelaPAN and the homes of several of its staff members. The agency’s editor-in-chief, Iryna Leushyna; accountant Katsyaryna Boyeva; and former director Dzmitry Navazhylau were detained under suspicion of violating public order. As disturbing as these arrests are, they are […] Read more »
Amidst escalating crackdown, international community must stand with the people of Belarus August 19, 2021 We, the undersigned organisations, firmly condemn the Belarusian government’s rapidly escalating crackdown on Belarusian civil society and its increasingly brazen abuses of the Belarusian people’s right to freedom of expression and information. We further call on officials of the European Union, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the United Nations […] Read more »
Spying scandal further increases worries of Hungarian journalists August 6, 2021 IPI Contributor Blanka Zöldi In mid-July, revelations about the abuse of the Israeli Pegasus spyware sparked scandals across the world. Viktor Orbán’s Hungary made international headlines as the only EU member state where, evidence suggests, the highly intrusive cyberweapon was used against journalists, lawyers, politicians, and businessmen critical of the government. The manufacturer of the spyware, NSO Group, claims […] Read more »
Daphne Caruana Galizia: Landmark Public Inquiry recommendations must be implemented August 3, 2021 We the undersigned organisations welcome the conclusions and recommendations of the milestone Public Inquiry into the assassination of Malta’s leading investigative journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia. Now is the moment for the Maltese authorities to consider and accept the Board’s detailed recommendations and to publish a plan of action on how they will be implemented in […] Read more »
EU Rule of Law report: Little bark, no bite July 28, 2021 On 20 July, the European Commission published the 2021 Rule of Law Report. The document, which is the outcome of months of painstaking work, can be a valuable tool that empowers civil society, the EU institutions and Member State governments who care about the rule of law in the Union. The Report, comprised of a […] Read more »
Secretary Blinken should raise press freedom during India visit July 27, 2021 The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from press freedom, today called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to raise press freedom and harassment of journalists during his talks with Indian officials in New Delhi. Secretary Blinken is on a two-day visit to India, where he […] Read more »
IPI demands withdrawal of charges against Apple Daily editors July 22, 2021 The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and journalists for press freedom, today urged the Hong Kong administration to drop all charges against four Apple Daily editors. According to media reports, four editors of now shuttered Apple Daily have been charged under the National Security Law for conspiring with now […] Read more »
IPI condemns Iran for conspiring to kidnap journalist in U.S. July 21, 2021 The International Press Institute (IPI) condemns Iran for conspiring to kidnap Iranian American journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad and urges the international community to hold Iran accountable for the plot. In a federal indictment unsealed last week, U.S. prosecutors charged four Iranian intelligence agents—who are still at large—with plotting to kidnap Alinejad from […] Read more »
Hungary: MFRR highly alarmed by Pegasus surveillance revelations July 20, 2021 The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) is highly alarmed by the revelations by a consortium led by French NGO Forbidden Stories about the surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and others through the Pegasus spyware program developed by Israeli company NSO Group. The leak, which revealed the involvement of the Hungarian government among others, […] Read more »
Pegasus Project: Full investigation needed after 180 journalists targeted by spyware July 19, 2021 The IPI global press freedom network is appalled by the potential hacking of the phones of 180 journalists in at least 10 countries from 2016 to 2021 using the spyware Pegasus, a cyber-surveillance tool sold to governments to allegedly monitor terrorist activities. The information, disclosed on Sunday by Forbidden Stories and a consortium of 16 […] Read more »
