U.S. vice president should raise press freedom issues with Singapore and Vietnam August 23, 2021 | Leave a Comment 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 | Leave a Comment 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 | Leave a Comment 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 | Leave a Comment 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 | Leave a Comment 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 | Leave a Comment 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 | Leave a Comment 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 | Leave a Comment 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 | Leave a Comment 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 | Leave a Comment 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 | Leave a Comment 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 »
Belarus: Joint call condemning raids on media and HRDs and demanding the release of those detained July 16, 2021 | Leave a Comment The raids and detentions conducted by Belarusian authorities on independent media outlets, human rights organizations and think tanks are a harsh escalation of attacks against human rights activists and independent journalists in Belarus. The undersigned organizations condemn the government of Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s relentless crackdown on these groups and demand that Belarusian authorities cease their raids on press […] Read more »
Belarus widens crackdown on the press July 13, 2021 IPI Contributor Sasha Schroeder | Leave a Comment At least 30 members of the press across Belarus have been detained over the last week amid a continued crackdown on independent journalists and media organizations. The International Press Institute (IPI) demands the release of those still in detention and an end to the targeting of journalists in Belarus. The latest wave of repression began […] Read more »
Crackdown on press freedom in Eswatini July 7, 2021 Ronja Koskinen, Helsingin Sanomat Foundation Fellow at IPI | Leave a Comment An ongoing violent crackdown on protests in Eswatini by the government’s security forces is also affecting the already limited press freedom and safety of journalists in the country. An Internet shutdown is preventing the access to information and making it difficult for journalists to report about the current events. The International Press Institute today called […] Read more »
Italy: Access to Information Law should not be used to override journalistic source protection July 1, 2021 | Leave a Comment On 18 June 2021, the Administrative Court of Lazio (TAR Lazio) ordered the Italian Media Public Broadcaster (RAI) to release documents held by TV Program Report following an access to information request. Despite the Court correctly decided that the 2016 Decree n. 97 on Transparency (FOIA), which regulates the right of access to information (“accesso […] Read more »
One year on, Hong Kong security law takes aim at journalism June 30, 2021 IPI Contributor Sasha Schroeder and IPI Staff | Leave a Comment One year after taking effect, China’s National Security Law for Hong Kong has confirmed analysts’ worst fears. Despite claims from Hong Kong officials that its impact would be small, the law has become a direct threat to journalism, leading to raids on newsrooms, arrests of editors, and the closure of prominent pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily. […] Read more »
Court gives Italian journalists prison time June 25, 2021 Sasu Siegelbaum | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today condemned the recent prison sentences handed out to three Italian journalists by a court in Milan and strongly urged Italian lawmakers to reform the country’s criminal defamation laws. Italian journalists Andrea Marcenaro, Giorgio Mulé and Riccardo Arena were each sentenced to prison time by the Court of Milan on […] Read more »
Myanmar must free U.S. journalist Danny Fenster June 24, 2021 IPI Contributor Sasha Schroeder | Leave a Comment Today marks one month since Myanmar’s military junta detained U.S. journalist Danny Fenster. The International Press Institute (IPI) is again calling for Fenster’s release, along with all other journalists being held by the Myanmar regime. Fenster was managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, a current affairs magazine based in Yangon, at the time of his detention. […] Read more »
Impunity Day: Insufficient progress in solving killings of journalists June 15, 2021 Ronja Koskinen, Helsingin Sanomat Foundation Fellow at IPI | Leave a Comment November 2 marks International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. The occasion draws attention to the fact that the global conviction rate for violent crimes against journalists is very low – in at least nine out of ten cases the killers go unpunished. The IPI global network calls once again to end the […] Read more »
Poland: PKN Orlen media purchase violates EU merger rules and media pluralism standards June 14, 2021 | Leave a Comment The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today said that allowing the acquisition of regional newspaper publisher Polska Press by Poland’s state-controlled oil giant PKN Orlen to go forward would violate both EU and Polish merger rules and undermine media pluralism. The MFRR supports legal arguments to this effect made by consortium member ARTICLE 19, which […] Read more »
Albania: Accredited journalists to face unequal access restrictions in parliament June 11, 2021 | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today joined the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in writing to the speaker of the Albanian Parliament to raise shared concerns over restrictive and unequal new rules for accredited journalists inside the building. The groups raise a number of issues and urge the National Assembly to reconsider the rules to […] Read more »
Gunmen attack home of Arab Israeli journalist June 11, 2021 IPI Contributor Sasha Schroeder | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) strongly condemns the attack on Arab Israeli reporter Hassan Shaalan amid growing violence against members of the press in the region. Masked gunmen fired shots at Shaalan’s home and car in the Israeli city of Taibeh on June 3. Shaalan writes about Arab affairs for the Israeli news website Ynet. […] Read more »
Albania: Accredited journalists to face unequal access restrictions in parliament June 11, 2021 | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today joined the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in writing to the speaker of the Albanian Parliament to raise shared concerns over restrictive and unequal new rules for accredited journalists inside the building. The groups raise a number of issues and urge the National Assembly to reconsider the rules to […] Read more »
Poland: Orlen continues editorial purge at Polska Press June 10, 2021 | Leave a Comment A purge of editorial management at regional newspapers owned by Polska Press has gathered pace in the last month, as the shockwaves of the controversial takeover of the publishing house by Poland’s state-controlled oil giant PKN Orlen continue to be felt. A total of eight editors-in-chief have now been dismissed or pushed out since Orlen […] Read more »
Lydia Cacho Ribeiro to head IJ4EU jury June 9, 2021 | Leave a Comment Lydia Cacho Ribeiro, an award-winning Mexican investigative journalist living in exile in Spain, will serve as the jury chair of the flagship grant scheme of the IJ4EU fund in 2021, the International Press Institute (IPI) said on Wednesday. Cacho takes over the role from Wolfgang Krach, editor-in-chief of Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung, who oversaw the independent jury’s selection […] Read more » Taggedij4eu Lydia Cacho Ribeiro
Slovenia PM’s ‘fake news’ comment about COE Commissioner condemned June 9, 2021 | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) has joined its partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in expressing dismay at Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša’s disparaging tweet about Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović. On 6 June 2021, Prime Minister Janša said the Commissioner is “part of #fakenews network” in response to […] Read more »
Pakistan should withdraw sweeping new media regulation June 7, 2021 | Leave a Comment In an open letter, the IPI Global Network has urged Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to withdraw a sweeping planned new media regulation, called the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) Ordinance 2021, that would severely undermine press freedom in the country. Underscoring the importance of press freedom in Pakistan, IPI called on the prime minister […] Read more »
IPI condemns arrest of Al Jazeera Jerusalem correspondent June 5, 2021 | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) strongly condemned today‘s arrest of Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Givara Budeiri by Israeli police in East Jerusalem. Budeiri was detained after covering protests in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. Video of the incident shows that Budeiri was wearing a vest clearly marked “Press” and according to Al Jazeera was attempting to […] Read more »
Turkey: SLAPP lawsuit filed against academic over Paradise Papers tweet May 31, 2021 | Leave a Comment NGOs and journalists’ organisations call for the dropping of a lawsuit launched against the academic Prof Yaman Akdeniz by Serhat Albayrak, seeking 100,000 Turkish lira (€9,600) in damages for his tweets about the censorship of reports into the criminal investigations and civil lawsuits against journalists who reported on the Paradise Papers. Serhat Albayrak is the […] Read more »
IPI Vacancy: Africa Programme Officer May 18, 2021 | Leave a Comment IPI Vacancy: Africa Programme Officer Location: IPI Secretariat (Vienna) Deadline for applications: 15 February 2022, 23:59 (Central European Time) About IPI: The International Press Institute (IPI) is a global network of editors, journalists, and media executives dedicated to defending press freedom and independent journalism. Founded in 1950, IPI is one of the world’s leading global […] Read more »
IPI: Vacancy: Head of Communications and Campaigns IPI is hiring! We’re currently looking for a head of communications and campaigns. Please read the full job description and instructions below. The deadline for applications is June 30, 2021. The IPI Weekly Digest Subscribe for press freedom news and updates, opportunities for journalists, and the latest in media innovation. Join us! HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS […] Read more »
Offices of AP and Al Jazeera in Gaza destroyed in Israeli bombing May 15, 2021 | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, today vehemently condemned the attack on the building housing the offices of the Associated Press and Al Jazeera Network in Gaza by the Israeli defence forces. According to media reports, a high-rise building in Gaza city that housed the offices of […] Read more »
Serbia: The government must support media freedom May 11, 2021 | Leave a Comment The International Press Institute (IPI) today joined ARTICLE 19 and the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) in launching a report detailing the findings of a recent online fact-finding mission to Serbia. The report followed an international advocacy mission to Serbia, led by ARTICLE 19, that took place virtually from 29 January to 2 February 2021 […] Read more »
