IPI: Mid-East governments must free journalists, respect free expression Countries across the Middle East must do more to respect press freedom and free expression in both law and practice, leading international journalists gathered in Qatar for the International Press Institute (IPI)’s World Congress said today. IPI members, meeting at their 65th Annual General Assembly in Doha, unanimously adopted four resolutions urging governments in the […] Read more »
IPI demands explanation after Turkey stops Mazen Darwish The International Press Institute (IPI) today demanded an explanation from Turkish authorities after prominent Syrian journalist and human rights defender Mazen Darwish reported that he was stopped at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, struck and prevented from travelling to Doha, where he was to speak at IPI’s World Congress. Darwish said that immigration agents in Turkey accused […] Read more »
#IPIWoCo2016 Panel: Media Use and Regulation in the MENA Region In recent years, Internet users in the MENA region have begun to support increased Internet regulation, according to a study on Media Use in the Middle East by Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q). The school’s dean and CEO, Everette E. Dennis, pointed to that finding to remind the audience at a panel discussion on media […] Read more »
#IPIWoCo2016 Panel: Digital Journalism – Is the Internet Really a Safer Place? “Ten years ago, the Russian segment of the World Wide Web, ru.net, was the most free place in the world for independent journalism and social media,” Galina Timchenko, editor-in-chief of Riga-based Russian-language online newspaper Meduza, said during a panel titled “Digital Journalism – Is the Internet Really a Safer Place?” at the International Press Institute […] Read more »
IPI World Congress honours Iranian, Turkish journalists Engaging in journalism in Iran can be like “walking on a minefield”, Iranian journalist, academic, writer and political analyst Ahmad Zeidabadi said in a statement delivered on his behalf at a ceremony at the 2016 International Press Institute (IPI) World Congress in Doha, where he was honoured in absentia as IPI’s 68th World Press Freedom […] Read more »
Azerbaijani reporter freed as president issues mass pardon March 17, 2016 A Baku appeals court today ordered the conditional release of an Azerbaijani journalist sentenced in December to six years in prison on a spurious treason charge. Rauf Mirgadirov was arrested in April 2014 at Baku’s Heydar Alivev Airport after being abruptly deported from Turkey, where had worked as a correspondent for two Azerbaijani newspapers. The […] Read more »
#MemberNews: Greece’s ThePressProject aims to honour founder’s legacy This June, trailblazing Greek investigative journalist and IPI member Costas Efimeros passed away, leaving behind the respected independent news site that he founded in the wake of the Greek financial crisis: ThePressProject. Despite this loss, ThePressProject’s journalists are keeping the site’s investigative mission alive. As it has from the beginning, ThePressProject relies on crowdfunding and […] Read more »
Journalists covering torture assaulted at Chechnya border March 10, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) has called on authorities in the Russian republic of Ingushetia to hold accountable those responsible for yesterday’s attack on six Russian and foreign journalists investigating human rights abuses in the north Caucasus region. According to reports, around 20 masked men wielding knives and clubs ambushed the journalists in their minibus […] Read more »
Reports say Turkey moving to seize another media group March 4, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) today expressed deep concern over reports that Turkey’s government plans to take over and silence the opposition Zaman Media Group. Reports have indicated that the government has appointed a trustee to seize the group and oversee it, repeating a similar move the government made in September when it took over […] Read more »
IPI names Iran’s Ahmad Zeidabadi World Press Freedom Hero February 29, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) today named as its 68th World Press Freedom Hero prominent Iranian journalist, academic, writer and political analyst Ahmad Zeidabadi, who has courageously fought for freedom of expression, human rights and democracy in his country despite continued persecution by authorities. IPI also announced today that independent Turkish news platform Medyascope.tv was […] Read more »
Court: Turkey’s detention of Dündar, Gül violates rights February 25, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) today welcomed a ruling by Turkey’s Constitutional Court that the arrest and ongoing pre-trial detention of Cumhuriyet journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül violated their “freedom of expression, freedom of the press and right to personal security and freedom”. Local reports indicated that the decision would now be forwarded to […] Read more »
Dominican Republic partially tosses criminal defamation law February 23, 2016 In a partial victory for media freedom, the Dominican Republic Constitutional Court on Sunday invalidated provisions in the country’s press law criminalising defamation of government bodies and public officials, but declined to strike down criminal defamation more broadly. The Constitutional Court said in a statement that Arts. 30, 31, 34 and 37 of the country’s press […] Read more »
Bahrain frees four arrested American journalists February 16, 2016 By: IPI Contributor Jovana Vujanovic and IPI Staff The International Press Institute (IPI) today welcomed news that four American journalists detained on Sunday in Bahrain while covering protests have been released, but it condemned authorities’ decision to charge them with “illegal gathering” and to deport them. Award-winning freelance journalist Anna Therese Day and her three-person camera crew were arrested while reporting on clashes […] Read more »
IPI urges Bahrain to lift travel ban on Nabeel Rajab February 12, 2016 By IPI Contributor Michael Kudlak Bahraini authorities should immediately lift an ongoing travel ban against Nabeel Rajab, president and co-founder of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, and drop all charges against him, the International Press Institute (IPI) said today. Rajab, who also serves as the deputy secretary general of the International Federation for Human Rights (IFHR) and a member […] Read more »
IPI adds Caribbean defamation laws to online database February 12, 2016 Detailed information in defamation laws in 15 Caribbean countries in now included in the International Press Institute’s (IPI) online media laws database. The information reflects data collected by IPI over the course of a campaign it launched in April 2012 together with the Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers (ACM) to reform defamation law in the Caribbean. […] Read more »
Hungary anti-terror proposal threatens press freedom February 5, 2016 IPI Contributor Jovana Vujanovic and IPI Staff The International Press Institute (IPI) today joined international observers in criticising proposed anti-terrorism measures in Hungary that could give the government sweeping powers to control Internet and other media content, and restrict movement. As Amnesty International observed in a report released on Monday, proposed legislation leaked to the media in January and expected to be […] Read more »
Polish governing party files libel suit over critical commentary February 3, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) today expressed alarm over the decision by Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party to pursue a libel claim against a leading Polish newspaper that criticised Polish President Andrzej Duda’s pardon of a former anti-corruption official convicted of abuse of power. In a commentary piece published in Gazeta Wyborcza on […] Read more »
Ethiopia’s Zone 9 collective – freed, but still under pressure February 2, 2016 Ethiopian authorities should cease an ongoing campaign of persecution targeting journalists and bloggers from the Zone 9 collective and allow them to travel and report freely, the International Press Institute (IPI) said today. Despite a federal high court’s decision to drop widely criticised charges of terrorism against them last year, members of the group continue […] Read more »
In Sri Lanka, media settle in for long march to change February 1, 2016 Scott Griffen, IPI Director of Press Freedom Programmes Just over one year ago, Sri Lankans chose Maithripala Sirisena to be their next president, in a surprise rejection of incumbent leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, the man who had brought the country’s long-running civil war to a close. It was a historic result that triggered a wave of optimism among free expression defenders – a sentiment […] Read more »
Mission urges Poland to guarantee public broadcasting independence February 1, 2016 The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) and the International Press Institute (IPI) completed a two-day fact-finding mission to Poland by calling on Polish journalists to stand together in defence of principles of press and media freedom. The group’s call came after the newly elected Polish government […] Read more »
Groups demonstrate outside Turkey prison in support of Can Dündar, Erdem Gül January 27, 2016 Bu yazıyı okumak için tıklayınız. Delegates from a coalition of leading international free expression and press freedom groups travelled to Turkey’s Silivri Prison today to demonstrate support for imprisoned journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül, to protest Turkish authorities’ denial of permission to visit to the two journalists, and to call for their release. The […] Read more »
Groups urge Morocco to ‘let Ali Anouzla go free’ January 21, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) today joined with 11 other free expression and human rights defenders in urging Moroccan authorities to end the years of judicial harassment journalist Ali Anouzla has faced by finally and fully dismissing spurious terrorism charges against him, and by allowing him the freedom to practice independent journalism unhindered. Anouzla faces […] Read more »
Iran releases imprisoned Washington Post journalist January 18, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) today welcomed the release of Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, who had been imprisoned in Iran since July 2014. Rezaian, 39, was freed Saturday as part of a prisoner swap between the United States and Iran, and is reported to have left the country on Sunday. His release came hours before […] Read more »
New report highlights impunity for police violence against Greek photoreporters January 5, 2016 While a wave of police violence against photojournalists in Greece appears to have ebbed in recent months, the overwhelming majority of past incidents remain mired in impunity, a report released today by the International Press Institute (IPI) has found. Statistics kept by the Hellenic Photojournalists’ Union (EFE) and included in the report indicate that just […] Read more »
Greece passes bill aiming to combat abuse of defamation law against journalists January 5, 2016 The International Press Institute (IPI) and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) today welcomed the passage of legislation intended to strengthen protections for the Greek media in defamation cases. Greek lawmakers on Dec. 22 overwhelmingly approvedcritical reforms to Greece’s Press Law, popularly known as the “press killer”, that were included in a bill legalising […] Read more »
International Declaration and Best Practices for journalist safety launched December 9, 2015 The International Press Institute (IPI), Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN), Geneva Global Media and the Geneva Press Club today presented the International Declaration and Best Practices on the Promotion of Journalists Safety at an event organised in Geneva. The International Declaration, which was timely unveiled on the eve of International Human Rights Day, aims to […] Read more »
IPI joins international call to release Turkish journalists December 1, 2015 IPI Contributor Çağla Zimmermann and IPI Staff The International Press Institute (IPI) today joined Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and eight other leading media freedom watchdogs, and some 29 public figures from around the globe, in calling on Turkish authorities to immediately release Cumhuriyet Editor-in-Chief Can Dündar and the paper’s Ankara bureau chief, Erdem Gül. The groups made the call as they launched an […] Read more »
IPI urges Vatican to drop charges against Italian journalists November 27, 2015 IPI Contributor Çağla Zimmerman and IPI staff The International Press Institute (IPI) today called on Vatican City to drop criminal charges against two Italian journalists it accuses of publishing classified information in books that have cast the city-state and the Catholic hierarchy in a harsh light. A Vatican judge earlier this week ruled that the case against Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi, […] Read more »
In Suu Kyi election victory, Myanmar journalists see chance for change November 27, 2015 Çağla Zimmerman, IPI Contributor The date November 8, 2015 may go down as a historic turning point for democracy in Myanmar. On that day, formerly jailed opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party won 390 seats in the country’s combined Parliament, enough for an absolute majority despite […] Read more »
Journalist Maziar Bahari, formerly jailed in Iran, to join IPI for talk on film ‘Rosewater’ November 26, 2015 The International Press Institute (IPI) has teamed with Austrian human rights film festival “this human world” to present a screening of director Jon Stewart’s “Rosewater”, depicting Iran’s brutal imprisonment of acclaimed journalist Maziar Bahari, followed by a discussion with Bahari himself about the film and his campaign #journalismisnotacrime. The event will take place at Vienna’s Filmcasino theatre (Margaretenstraße 78, 1050) on Dec. 8 beginning at 8:15 p.m. Read more »
Problems remain for independent journalism in Belarus November 20, 2015 IPI Contributor Çağla Zimmermann Do recent events indicate that Belarus could fully turn towards Europe and pull away from Russia politically? In the last few months, a number of developments have excited observers in international media and revitalised old debates about the former Soviet country’s future. But despite positive indications, a broader view suggests that this prediction may be […] Read more »
Greek civil defamation reform bill step in the right direction, IPI/SEEMO delegation says November 16, 2015 New draft legislation intended to combat the abuse of Greece’s civil defamation law in cases involving journalists marks a step in the right direction, but must be complemented by the repeal of criminal defamation, the International Press Institute (IPI) and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) said today following a joint three-day visit to […] Read more »
Spanish political parties urged to strengthen free expression November 5, 2015 Scott Griffen, Director of Press Freedom Programmes The next Spanish government should repeal a controversial public security law and restore independence to the country’s public broadcaster, a group of international press freedom organisations said in a report released today. Read more »
