Reporting on protests amid repression in Turkey, Serbia, and…

Reporting on protests amid repression in Turkey, Serbia, and Georgia

30 April, 12:00 CET

As authoritarianism rises and democratic institutions weaken across parts of Europe, journalists on the frontlines of protest coverage are increasingly under attack. In Turkey, Serbia, and Georgia, reporters face escalating threats — from police violence and arbitrary detention to online censorship, legal harassment, and coordinated smear campaigns. These tactics not only silence critical voices but also undermine the public’s right to information.

To mark World Press Freedom Day 2025, this webinar will examine the hostile environment facing independent media in these three countries.

Through firsthand accounts and expert insights, the panel will explore:

  • The risks journalists face while covering protests and state abuses

  • Legal and regulatory tools used to restrict independent reporting

  • Digital repression and attacks on press freedom online

  • Strategies for resistance and the role of international actors in promoting accountability

 

This conversation will also consider how the EU, human rights organisations, and civil society can respond to growing repression and support a freer media environment.

Moderator

Oliver Money-Kyrle

Head of Europe Advocacy and Programmes at International Press Institute (IPI)

Speakers

Moreta Bobokhidze

Eurasia Department Programme Officer, Civil Rights Defenders

Özgür Öğret

Turkey Representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

Uroš Jovanovic

Manager of the Public Policy Program at Civic Initiatives

Greece: Investigative media win latest victory in spyware SLAPP…

Greece: Investigative media win latest victory in spyware SLAPP ruling

IPI stands behind Reporters United and Efimerida ton Syntakton. The International Press Institute (IPI) today joins partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFFR) in welcoming the recent ruling by a court in Athens which overwhelmingly dismissed the vexatious lawsuits against journalists from two Greek media outlets over their investigative reporting on the connections of the nephew of the country’s Prime Minister to a spyware scandal.

22.04.2025

On 8 April, the Multi Member Court of First Instance of Athens ruled in favour of journalists Nikolas Leontopoulos, Thodoris Chondrogiannos and Christoforos Kasdaglis from investigative media outlet Reporters United and reporter Dimitris Terzis of newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton (EfSyn), concluding that their reporting on Grigoris Dimitriadis and his connection to a spyware scandal had been accurate.

 

The reporting revealed how Dimitriadis’ phone number had been used to target 11 individuals with spyware hacks. At the time, Dimitriadis was serving as the Secretary General of the PM’s Office and was responsible for overseeing the Greek National Intelligence Service (EYP). The spyware targets had included the head of the Greek Police and the prosecutor of the EYP. The reporting did not suggest Dimitriadis was responsible for the hacking, only that his phone number had been used.

 

Dimitriadis had demanded exorbitant fees of €950,0000 in compensation. In its ruling, the court dismissed the allegations and ordered him to pay legal costs of €4,750. It did not identify a single defamatory or objectionable element in the articles. The court did rule that a single headline by EfSyn in its newspaper article constituted simple defamation and ordered the media outlet to pay €3,000 in damages and €450 for legal costs. After the verdict, Dimitriadis claimed he had been “vindicated” and claimed the media outlets had spread “fake news”. EfSyn said it plans to appeal that verdict.

 

The MFRR welcomes the ruling, which found the reporting itself to have been 100% accurate. However, we note with concern the singular ruling against EfSyn and hope this will be swiftly overturned on appeal. These lawsuits were widely considered to be SLAPPs, a form of abusive litigation aimed at suppressing legitimate public interest reporting. In October 2021, Dimitriadis was awarded the satirical ‘SLAPP Politician of the Year Award’ 2022 by the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE). In its latest verdict, the court did not rule on whether the lawsuits were SLAPPs, which are not recognised under Greek law.

 

Our organisations, which provided financial support to Reporters United for legal fees through our MFRR Legal Support Fund, will continue to defend independent investigative journalism in Greece. As noted in our 2023 report following a mission to Athens, SLAPPs and abusive lawsuits pose an increasing threat to media freedom in Greece.

 

This case underscores the need for the swift implementation by Greek authorities of the EU’s April 2024 Anti-SLAPP Directive, and to ensure Its provisions to protect journalists against vexatious lawsuits also apply to domestic cases. We note that the European Commission’s 2022 Recommendation on SLAPPs also calls on Member States to combine the directive with reforms to civil and criminal law to protect against abusive proceedings against journalists – another reform greatly needed in Greece.

 

We note with concern that Dimitriadis has appealed a previous verdict from October 2024 which dismissed separate lawsuits against Reporters United, EfSyn and reporters Nikolas Leontopoulos, Thodoris Chondrogiannos and Thanasis Koukakis. The appeal will now be heard in October 2025. As the legal cases continue, our organisations will continue to closely monitor the situation and advocate for stronger laws to protect media and journalists in Greece from SLAPPs.

 

The reporting by Reporters United and EfSyn was part of the Predator Files investigation, published as a collaboration by international media including Der Spiegel, Mediapart, Le Soir, Domani and InfoLibre. The reporting can be accessed here.

If you are a media outlet in an EU Member State or Candidate Country which is facing a SLAPP, you can apply for MFRR legal aid here.

Signed by:

  • International Press Institute (IPI)

This statement was coordinated by IPI as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries.

IPI as part of MFRR

Fact Sheet: More than 5,000 press freedom violations in…

Fact Sheet: More than 5,000 press freedom violations in Europe since 2020

16.04.2025

Since the beginning of the MFRR project in 2020, the Mapping Media Freedom (MapMF) database has documented a steady rise of press freedom violations in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. In five years of monitoring, the project has documented over 5,000 attacks that have affected over 8,500 media-related persons and entities.

 

This fact-sheet summarises the most important data drawn from the past five years of monitoring the press freedom situation in Europe, including trends and emerging issues. Digital attacks have become especially prominent over the past couple of years, including novel types of threats such as spoofing, deep fakes, hacking or DDoS attacks. Verbal harassment – especially online – remains the most common type of attack followed by legal and physical attacks. Private individuals are by far the most common perpetrators behind press freedom attacks, followed by the police and government officials. Following the digital space, demonstrations are the second most common scene of press freedom violations – and the most dangerous workplace for journalists in Europe.

 

Looking ahead, there has been a concerning increase of attacks in the context of elections and reporting on environmental issues. The MapMF has also started to track Foreign Agent Laws as an emerging trend that is foreshadowing an increasingly hostile environment for press freedom in the future.

Greece: Total impunity persists on fourth anniversary of Giorgos…

Greece: Total impunity persists on fourth anniversary of Giorgos Karaivaz murder

The undersigned international media freedom and journalist organisations today mark the fourth anniversary of the killing of Greek crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz in April 2021 with a renewed call for justice and an end to ongoing impunity, which continues to cast a dark shadow over the Greek media and press freedom landscape.

09 April 2025

Karaivaz, a veteran reporter specialised in police and crime issues, was gunned-down outside his home in Athens by two men on a moped on 9 April 2021, in what is widely suspected to have been a professional contract killing linked to organised crime groups.

 

In July 2024, two brothers arrested in May 2023 and charged with participating in the murder were found not guilty by a court due to insufficient evidence following an investigation in which key evidence was mysteriously destroyed. Karaivaz’s family has appealed this decision, arguing that evidence and testimonies were not properly assessed. However, these appeals to the Supreme Court were rejected and in December 2024, the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court issued a ruling closing the case.

 

In December 2024, the Mixed Jury Court of Athens then ruled conclusively that Karaivaz was murdered because of his journalistic work. This ruling represented a welcome recognition of the centrality of his journalistic work to his killing, though did nothing to further the case.

 

Since the acquittals, no additional arrests have been made and our organisations are aware of no further tangible progress in the criminal investigation, despite the fact that two other suspects are still wanted in connection with the murder. The result is that one of the most serious attacks on journalism in the European Union in recent years remains in a state of total impunity.

 

On the fourth anniversary of the killing, we therefore urge law enforcement authorities and prosecutors to renew their efforts to identify, detain, and prosecute all those involved in the killing, from the gunmen to the mastermind, in whichever country they may be, if necessary with the assistance of international bodies such as Europol.

 

Our organisations stand by the family and colleagues of Karaivaz in their ongoing search for justice and accountability for the assassination. Our organisations, which conducted a joint mission to Athens in 2023 during which we met with the family as well as judicial and law enforcement authorities, will continue to push for answers and justice.

Signed by:

  • International Press Institute (IPI)
  • European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
  • Free Press Unlimited (FPU)
  • Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)
  • Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
  • ARTICLE 19 Europe
  • European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
  • Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

This statement was coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries.

Journalist Joakim Medin Photo Credit: Daniel-Wiklander, Scoop

Turkey: Detained Swedish journalist Joakim Medin must be released…

Turkey: Detained Swedish journalist Joakim Medin must be released immediately

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners strongly condemn the arrest of Swedish journalist Joakim Medin on terrorism charges in Turkey and call for his immediate release. This is the latest incident amidst the ongoing crackdown on press freedom in which dozens of journalists have been arrested and beaten.

03.04.2025

On 27 March 2025, Joakim Medin, a regular contributor to the Swedish daily newspaper Dagens ETC and member of the Swedish Union of Journalists (SJF), was travelling to cover the widespread protests against the recent arrest of Istanbul Mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. Medin was detained by police shortly after landing in Istanbul.

On 30 March, the Turkish authorities confirmed in a statement that he had been charged with being a “member of an armed terrorist organisation” and “insulting the President”, stating that “the detention order is unrelated to his journalistic activities”.

The charges stem from an investigation launched in 2023 by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office Terrorism Crimes Investigation Bureau related to what they claimed was Medin’s participation in a protest in Stockholm, in which a puppet of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was hung by its feet. His participation was promptly denied by the organisers of the protest.

According to the Swedish Union of Journalists (SJF), Medin has been transferred to Marmara Prison in Silivri, a high-security prison where political prisoners are being detained.

The arrest is the latest case in a rapidly worsening crackdown on press freedom in the wake of nationwide protests. Since the arrest of  Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on 19 March, the MFRR has documented over 13 journalists arrested, of whom at least seven have been charged with violating the law on meetings and demonstrations. At least 12 journalists have been victims of police violence. Moreover, the broadcast regulator has issued numerous fines against broadcasters, including one temporary broadcasting ban and threatened to withdraw licences from media that do not rely solely on official sources.

The MFRR strongly condemns the unjustified arrest of Medin, calls for his immediate release, and for the charges against him and all other journalists to be dropped. We further call on the Turkish authorities to allow all foreign journalists, including foreign correspondents, to work freely and document ongoing events in Turkey in the name of the right to freedom of information.

The MFRR will continue to monitor Medin’s situation closely and continue to advocate for all journalists detained as a result of the crackdown on the press.

Signed by:

  • The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
  • European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
  • International Press Institute (IPI)
  • Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)
  • Free Press Unlimited (FPU)

Türkiye: Tutuklanan İsveçli Gazeteci Joakim Medin Derhal Serbest Bırakılmalıdır

Medya Özgürlüğü Acil Müdahale (MFRR) ortakları, İsveçli gazeteci Joakim Medin’in Türkiye’de terör suçlamalarıyla tutuklanmasını en güçlü şekilde kınamakta ve derhal serbest bırakılmasını talep etmektedir. Bu olay, onlarca gazetecinin tutuklandığı ve darp edildiği medya özgürlüğüne yönelik devam eden baskının son örneğidir.

27 Mart 2025 tarihinde, İsveç’te faaliyet gösteren günlük gazete Dagens ETC’nin düzenli yazarlarından ve İsveç Gazeteciler Sendikası (SJF) üyesi olan Joakim Medin, İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediye Başkanı ve cumhurbaşkanı adayı Ekrem İmamoğlu’nun yakın zamanda tutuklanmasına karşı düzenlenen kitlesel eylemleri takip etmek için seyahat ediyordu. Medin, İstanbul’a iniş yaptıktan kısa bir süre sonra polis tarafından gözaltına alındı.

30 Mart’ta, yetkililer bir açıklama yaparak Medin’in “silahlı terör örgütü üyeliği” ve “Cumhurbaşkanı’na hakaret” suçlamalarıyla tutuklandığını doğruladı ve “tutuklama kararının gazetecilik faaliyetleriyle ilgili olmadığını” iddia etti.

Suçlamalar, Ankara Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığı Terör Suçları Soruşturma Bürosu tarafından 2023 yılında başlatılan ve Medin’in Stockholm’de düzenlenen bir protestoya katıldığı iddiasına dayanan bir soruşturma kapsamında yöneltildi. Söz konusu protestoda, Cumhurbaşkanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’ın bir kuklası ayaklarından asılmıştı. Ancak protestoyu düzenleyenler, Medin’in bu eyleme katıldığı iddiasını derhal yalanladı.

İsveç Gazeteciler Sendikası’na (SJF) göre Medin, siyasi mahkumların tutulduğu yüksek güvenlikli Silivri’de bulunan Marmara Cezaevi’ne nakledildi.

Bu tutuklama, ülke genelindeki protestoların ardından medya özgürlüğüne yönelik hızla kötüleşen baskının en güncel örneklerinden biridir. İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediye Başkanı Ekrem İmamoğlu’nun 19 Mart’ta tutuklanmasından bu yana MFRR, en az 13 gazetecinin gözaltına alındığını belgelemiştir; bunlardan en az yedisi, toplantı ve gösteri yürüyüşleri yasasını ihlal etmekle suçlanmaktadır. En az 12 gazeteci polis şiddetine maruz kalmıştır. Ayrıca, Radyo ve Televizyon Üst Kurulu (RTÜK), çeşitli yayın kuruluşlarına çok sayıda para cezası vermiş, bir kanala geçici yayın yasağı getirmiş ve yalnızca resmi kaynaklara dayanmayan medya kuruluşlarının lisanslarını iptal etmekle tehdit etmiştir.

MFRR, Medin’in haksız yere tutuklanmasını en güçlü şekilde kınamakta, derhal serbest bırakılmasını ve ona yöneltilen suçlamalar ile tüm diğer gazetecilere yönelik suçlamaların düşürülmesini talep etmektedir. Ayrıca, yetkililere, yabancı muhabirler de dahil olmak üzere tüm yabancı gazetecilerin serbestçe çalışmasına ve Türkiye’deki gelişmeleri ifade hürriyeti kapsamında belgelemelerine izin verme çağrısında bulunuyoruz.

MFRR, Medin’in durumunu yakından izlemeye devam edecek ve basına yönelik baskılar sonucunda tutuklanan tüm gazeteciler için savunuculuk çalışmalarını sürdürecektir.

İmzalayanlar:

  • Avrupa Gazeteciler Federasyonu (EFJ)
  • Avrupa Basın ve Medya Özgürlüğü Merkezi (ECPMF)
  • Uluslararası Basın Enstitüsü (IPI)
  • Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)
  • Free Press Unlimited (FPU)

This statement was coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries.

Serbia: Spyware attacks on BIRN journalists further deepen press…

Serbia: Spyware attacks on BIRN journalists further deepen press freedom crisis

The partner organisations of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today raise further alarm about the deepening press freedom crisis in Serbia in the wake of revelations showing evidence of the abuse of advanced Pegasus spyware to target two journalists from leading investigative media platform BIRN.

28 March 2025

Our organisations warn that the ultimately failed attempt to use military-grade surveillance technology to spy on journalists from the award-winning Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) represents another milestone in the deteriorating situation in Serbia, which requires immediate and strong interventions from the European Union.

 

The confirmation of spyware use was published by Amnesty International on March 27 and documented how its forensic testing had shown how the two female journalists – one of whom was Jelena Veljković – had both received messages on February 14 containing fake links, which if clicked would have infected the phone with Pegasus, an advanced spyware tool sold by Israeli cybersurveillance firm NSO Group.

 

The messages were sent hours apart in the messaging platform Viber from the same number registered with the state operator Telekom Srbija, and included a link which led to a fake version of the Serbian news portal N1. According to BIRN, after the identical messages were flagged as potential phishing attacks, they were forwarded to Amnesty, which carried out the tests. The human rights group said that there was a high probability that one or more actors from the Serbian state apparatus, or agents acting on their behalf, were involved in the attack.

 

Our organisations strongly condemn the latest example of spyware use to target investigative journalists in Serbia, which is prohibited as a criminal offense under the country’s Criminal Code. These attacks pose a serious threat to journalistic privacy, source protection and media freedom. Alarmingly, these are the seventh and eighth confirmed cases of spyware use against journalists in Serbia, posing a pattern of illegal yet unsanctioned spyware abuse.

 

The MFRR responded to previous revelations in December 2024 which showed how products made by Israeli company Cellebrite were being used by Serbian authorities to extract data from the phones of journalists and activists. Following Amnesty’s report,  Cellebrite revoked its licence to the Serbian authorities. The revelations by Amnesty also documented how domestically-developed spyware, “NoviSpy”, had been developed to infect Android devices and capture confidential information and upload it to a government-controlled server.

 

The new revelations offer yet more damning evidence of the flagrant abuse of NSO’s technology by its clients. NSO claims its products are “sold exclusively to verified government users” such as state law enforcement and intelligence authorities, meaning its use in Serbia would be limited to state agencies.

 

Given the fresh abuses, our organisations firstly call on all Serbian intelligence authorities, police bodies, the Ministry of Interior, and the government to immediately provide transparent information about cyber-surveillance capabilities at their disposal and their use against journalists, as well as information about all ongoing contracts with private surveillance firms, any of which would violate the country’s laws.

 

Secondly, considering the growing body of evidence of Pegasus use by Serbian authorities, our groups demand that NSO Group launch an immediate internal review of any existing contracts with Serbian authorities, consider the repeated breaches of its terms of use, and swiftly revoke any existing contracts, as well as urgently review its safeguards procedures for abuse of its products by authoritarian states.

 

Thirdly, we urge the European Union to strongly condemn the targeting of journalists from BIRN Serbia, and to request urgent answers from Serbian government and law enforcement authorities about repeated abuses of spyware technology. More widely, the EU must take far stronger action to address spyware use against journalists and the rapidly deteriorating media freedom situation in Serbia, which has now reached its most worrying point in decades, in clear violation of fundamental democratic values required for EU accession.

 

Our organisations stand by BIRN Serbia, its journalists, and their important investigative work. We will continue to closely monitor, document and respond to all attacks on press freedom and journalists in Serbia, and will make spyware a central topic of investigation during the MFRR’s upcoming emergency visit to the country on April 7-9. During this trip we will gather information about other potentially unreported spyware attacks and work with partner organisations to investigate them.

Signed by:

  • International Press Institute (IPI)
  • European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
  • European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
  • Free Press Unlimited (FPU)
  • Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)

This statement was coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries.

Serbia: MFRR media freedom mission to visit Belgrade and…

Serbia: MFRR media freedom mission to visit Belgrade and Novi Sad

The partners organisation of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) will conduct a mission to Serbia between 7-9 April to meet with journalists, media stakeholders and law enforcement authorities amidst a rapidly worsening media freedom crisis.

28 March 2025

During the three-day visit, the delegation will travel to Belgrade and Novi Sad to meet with journalists, editors, media outlets, journalist associations and civil society groups to gather information about the serious spike in pressure on independent journalism and media freedom by state authorities and government officials.

 

The mission has sought meetings with officials from the State Prosecutor’s Office and the Serbian Police, as well as representatives from the European Union office in Belgrade (EU), the Council of Europe (COE), and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation (OSCE).

 

The visit comes as independent media and those covering ongoing nationwide anti-corruption protests face an increasingly dangerous climate of attacks, harassment, death threats, smears from leading public officials, as well as legal threats, and ongoing regulatory and financial pressure.

 

Since the beginning of protests in November 2024 following the Novi Sad station tragedy, Mapping Media Freedom (MMF), the largest platform in Europe for documenting attacks on journalism and media, which is run by the MFRR, has recorded 66 violations of media freedom and different attacks on journalists.

 

The mission will be led by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and joined by representatives from ARTICLE 19 Europe, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the International Press Institute (IPI) and OBC Transeuropa (OBCT). It is being coordinated with support from the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS).

 

The partner organisations of the MFRR last jointly visited Serbia in 2023 to attend events marking the anniversary of the murder of Serbian editor Slavko Curuvija in 1999. An MFRR fact-finding mission to Serbia was also carried out in 2021.

 

A mission report with key findings and recommendations will be published by MFRR partners following the visit and provided to EU authorities.

 

The delegation will also be holding press conferences with both Belgrade and Novi Sad. For more information, or to schedule interviews, please email mfrr@ecpmf.eu

 

Recent MFRR advocacy on Serbia:

Serbia: One year of unpunished attacks on journalist Dinko Gruhonjić

Serbia: Urgent call stop targeting and intimidating journalists

Serbia: Urgent need for a swift and thorough investigation into invasive surveillance of journalists and sources

Serbia: Media independence is an exception rather than the rule

Serbia: Independent journalism faces its biggest crisis in years

Srbija: Misija za slobodu medija MFRR u poseti Beogradu i Novom Sadu

 

Partnerske organizacije platforme Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) će sprovesti misiju u Srbiji između 7. i 9. aprila tokom koje će se sastati sa novinarima, medijskim interesnim grupama i organima za sprovođenje zakona usred sve veće krize slobode medija.

 

Tokom trodnevne posete delegacija će boraviti u Beogradu i Novom Sadu gde će se sastati sa novinarima, urednicima, medijskim kućama, novinarskim udruženjima i organizacijama civilnog društva kako bi prikupila informacije o ozbiljnom porastu pritisaka na nezavisno novinarstvo i slobodu medija od strane državnih organa i službenika.

 

Misija je takođe tražila sastanak sa zvaničnicima Republičkog javnog tužilaštva i policije, kao i sa predstavnicima kancelarije Evropske unije u Beogradu (EU) i Organizacije za bezbednost i saradnju (OEBS).

 

Poseta dolazi u trenutku kada se nezavisni mediji i oni koji izveštavaju o aktuelnim protestima protiv korupcije širom zemlje suočavaju sa sve opasnijom atmosferom napada, uznemiravanja, pretnji smrću, kleveta koje dolaze od visokih državnih funkcionera, kao i pravnih pretnji i kontinuiranih regulatornih i finansijskih pritisaka.

 

Od početka protesta u novembru 2024. nakon tragedije na stanici u Novom Sadu, Mapping Media Freedom (MMF), najveća platforma u Evropi za dokumentovanje napada na novinare i medije, koju vodi MFRR, zabeležila je 66 slučajeva kršenja slobode medija i raznih napada na novinare.

 

Misiju će predvoditi Evropska federacija novinara (EFJ), uz učešće predstavnika ARTICLE 19 Europe, Evropskog centra za slobodu štampe i medija (ECPMF), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), Međunarodnog instituta za štampu (IPI) i OBC Transeuropa (OBCT). Koordinira se uz podršku Nezavisnog udruženja novinara Srbije (NUNS).

 

Partnerske organizacije platforme MFRR poslednji put su zajedno posetile Srbiju 2023. godine kako bi prisustvovale događajima povodom obeležavanja godišnjice ubistva srpskog novinara Slavka Ćuruvije 1999. godine. Mreža MFRR je 2021. godine u Srbiji obavila misiju za procenu stanja slobode medija.

 

Nakon posete partneri MFRR-a objaviće izveštaj sa najvažnijim zaključcima i preporukama, koji će potom biti dostavljen zvaničnicima Evropske unije.

 

Delegacija će takođe održati konferencije za štampu u Beogradu i Novom Sadu. Za više informacija i zakazivanje intervjua pišite na e-mail adresu mfrr@ecpmf.eu

 

Nedavne akcije MFRR-a vezane za Srbiju:

Serbia: One year of unpunished attacks on journalist Dinko Gruhonjić

Serbia: Urgent call stop targeting and intimidating journalists

Serbia: Urgent need for a switf and thorough investigation into invasive surveillance of journalists and sources

Serbia: Media independence is an exception rather than the rule

Serbia: Independent journalism faces its biggest crisis in years

Turkey: MFRR partners call for an end to crackdown…

Turkey: MFRR partners call for an end to crackdown on journalists covering political protests

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partner organisations call for an immediate end to the crackdown against media after documenting widespread attacks, detentions, and censorship measures against journalists following the formal charging of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu with corruption on March 23, 2025.

28 March 2025

Mapping Media Freedom registered that the police violence has been targeted against at least 12 journalists. Most concerning was the brutal attack on journalist Tansel Can by seven police officers, which led to his hospitalization. Anadolu Agency reporter Hakan Akgün suffered a broken nose, while Reuters correspondent Dilara Şenkaya sustained forehead injuries from police violence.

 

The situation worsened on March 24 with detentions and home raids, during which police detained at least 11 journalists for covering the protests in Istanbul. The following day seven of them were charged with “violating the law on meetings and demonstrations.” All but one of the detainees were released on March 27 awaiting trial.  

 

On March 26, BBC News correspondent Mark Lowen was taken from his hotel and detained for 17 hours before being forcibly deported, as “a threat to public order.”

 

On March 27, Evrensel correspondent Nisa Sude Demirel and ETHA News Agency correspondent Elif Bayburt were detained during an early morning police raid.

 

The broadcast regulator RTÜK quickly imposed maximum financial penalties on several TV channels on March 21, and threatened to revoke broadcast licenses from media outlets that do not rely solely on official statements. Following this warning, pro-government channels ceased their live coverage of the protests. 

 

On March 27, RTÜK issued a 10-day broadcast suspension for SZC TV, along with programme restrictions and financial penalties for three other TV channels. RTÜK also threatened to block two YouTube channels—including one owned by journalist Fatih Altaylı—unless they obtained broadcasting licenses within 72 hours.

 

Turkey’s authorities have also implemented sweeping censorship measures, blocking over 700 social media accounts including several journalists and media outlets. For three days, following İmamoğlu’s initial arrest on March 19, the authorities had imposed severe bandwidth restrictions on social media including X, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, Telegram, and Signal, in what appeared to be part of a premeditated plan to restrict public access to information.

 

The government is using multiple powers to stop independent media coverage of the growing political crisis. It is at these moments that journalism that serves the public and not the powerful, is at its most important and must be vigorously defended.  

 

The MFRR consortium calls on Turkey’s authorities to immediately release all journalists, launch an independent investigation into police violence, lift all censorship measures, and ensure journalists can freely report without fear of reprisal.

Signed by:

  • International Press Institute (IPI)
  • European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
  • European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
  • Free Press Unlimited (FPU)
  • ARTICLE 19 Europe
  • Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)

This statement was coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries.

Spyware and Surveillance Fact Sheet: 2020–2025

Spyware and Surveillance Fact Sheet: 2020–2025

24 March 2025

Spywares are extremely powerful and intrusive digital weapons that are increasingly jeopardising the work of journalists and basic human rights, within and outside Europe. Narratives that portray them as being used only against criminals, or that see their abuse committed only by authoritarian states, are no longer acceptable, and constitute a blatant falsehood to the detriment of European and global societies.

This fact sheet on spyware abuse, produced by the MFRR consortium based on carefully verified data collected on the MMF platform, provides an overview of the threat that spywares pose to European journalism. The case studies that follow are an essential insight, and yet represents only a fraction of the breaches that systematically occur in Europe.

Enforcing and further strengthening protections for journalists, as well as ensuring transparency and accountability of abusers, are urgent actions that can no longer be postponed.

This fact sheet was coordinated by ECPMF and OBCT as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries.

Romania: Answers needed over surveillance of investigative journalist

Romania: Answers needed over surveillance of investigative journalist

The undersigned international media freedom organisations today raise concerns over recent revelations about the physical surveillance and wiretapping of an investigative journalist by a local branch of the Romanian National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) and call for an investigation into this and previous cases of surveillance on journalists by the authority.

20 March 2025

Our organizations stress that the surveillance operation against the journalist by the DNA’s Iași office in 2023 appears to have been disproportionate and lacking in proper justification, posing a serious threat to source protection and press freedom in Romania which warrants scrutiny by both national and European authorities.

 

On 17 March 2025, journalist Victor Ilie revealed that he had been surveilled for two months in 2023 as part of an investigation launched by the DNA branch in Iași, northern Romania. According to documents, Ilie was first followed for two days by DNA operatives in the spring of 2023, while working in the RISE Project editorial office in Bucharest. Ilie was photographed in front of the office, and his phone was tapped for two months by the Technical Service of DNA. Ilie was physically surveilled and followed while with his partner, fellow journalist Luiza Vasiliu.

 

The surveillance, which was only revealed to the journalist after the DNA investigation was concluded, was linked to a story Ilie was working on at the time with RISE Project and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project on the grain trade from Ukraine through Romania, which was later published. As part of his journalist work, Ilie had gone undercover in February 2023 to speak with the executive director of a local food safety directorate. After their meeting, the individual made a criminal complaint to the national anti-corruption body.

 

In a public statement, the DNA confirmed the investigation into Ilie was opened based on this complaint of incitement to abuse and bribery and that the surveillance was approved by a court. However, although the DNA quickly established Ilie was a journalist with a track record of investigative reporting, and no evidence was found regarding bribery, the surveillance warrant against him was extended for a second month. During this time, the DNA had access to Ilie’s movements, work projects and conversations with confidential sources.

 

While our organisations recognise the obligation of the DNA to act upon a criminal complaint, as soon as Ilie’s status as a journalist was identified authorities should have immediately taken into account international standards for journalistic source confidentiality and press freedom, which are outlined in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and standards of the Council of Europe. The fact that the surveillance warrant was extended for another month, without identifiable justification, poses questions about the actions of the DNA Iași which require closer scrutiny.

 

Our organisations support the recent letter by Romanian journalists and civic groups sent to state and judicial authorities with a request to provide further clarification over the methods and extension of the surveillance. We urge the National Anticorruption Directorate to respond in full to all inquiries in a prompt and transparent manner. These answers should address both the specific questions over the surveillance of Ilie, but also previous cases of surveillance by the DNA Iași office against journalists Rareș Neamțu, Tudor Leahu and Andrei Viliche in a period spanning back to 2018. Together, these cases present a pattern of questionable practices by the DNA Iași that seriously threaten journalistic freedoms.

 

The Ministry of Justice and relevant judicial bodies in Romania should urgently review the actions of the DNA Iași in these cases to assess the necessity and proportionality of the surveillance operations and investigations. Trainings should be carried out to ensure compliance of all prosecutors and judges with international freedom of expression standards regarding source protection. Moreover, the European Union should closely follow this case, including any further responses of the DNA or DNA Iași, and the European Commission should address questions to the Romanian authorities to seek clarifications on the issues raised above, and at the same time, emphasise the importance of rule of law and the protection of journalistic privacy and press freedom in Romania.

 

Hard-hitting investigative journalism of the kind carried out by Victor Ilie, his partner Luiza Vasiliu and RISE Project is vital for unearthing corruption and abuses of power. Journalists in Romania working against the odds to carry out this important work should be confident in the full protection of the legal system, not fearful of unjustified surveillance operations by the very law enforcement authorities supposed to defend them. Our organisations stand by the affected journalists in Romania will continue to follow this case closely in the coming months.

Signed by:

  • International Press Institute (IPI)
  • Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
  • European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
  • Free Press Unlimited (FPU)
  • Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)
  • Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
  • European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)

This statement was coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries.