Photo credit: James Cruickshank

In the night between Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November, unknown individuals set fire to a car owned by James Cruickshank, the publisher of The Digger as it was parked outside the house he shares with his partner. While the fire spread to his neighbour’s car, no houses were affected and the blaze was soon put out by the fire service. However, as reported by the Press Gazette, this was not an isolated incident. During the same night, individuals visited approximately ‘30 of the 750 shops that stock The Digger in the Glasgow area to try to intimidate them to stop selling it’. According to the article, of those visited, two stopped selling the publication as a result. 

It is strongly believed that the two incidents are connected to each other and to The Digger’s reporting on organised crime in Glasgow. We call on Police Scotland to ensure the investigation is swift, thorough and robust and ensures those behind these attacks are brought to justice.

The letter to the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and First Secretary of State, Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP was signed by 17 organisations. It outlines a number of concerns that without intervention by the government of the United Kingdom, whistleblower and British citizen Jonathan Taylor may be stuck in Croatia fighting extradition to Monaco for many more months.

On 31 July 2020, Taylor, a whistleblower who disclosed bribery and corrupt practices in the oil and gas industry, was arrested upon his arrival in Croatia for a holiday pursuant to an Interpol Red Notice issued on request of Monaco. On 1 September, a court in Dubrovnik ordered his extradition. However, on 12 October the Supreme Court partially sustained an appeal by Taylor, ruling that, as the extradition concerned a UK national, that country should be afforded the right to request Taylor’s surrender under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) scheme. If the UK does not seek his surrender, the Supreme Court said, the lower court should rule on the request for extradition by Monaco. On 20 October, the court in Dubrovnik wrote to the UK authorities requesting a statement as to whether it seeks Taylor’s surrender under the EAW, which would be absurd given he is not under investigation in the UK.

The International Press Institute (IPI) strongly condemned police violence against photojournalists reporting on clashes in the Polish capital Warsaw. The violence led to numerous injuries and the hospitalization of a 74-year-old photographer who was shot in the face with a rubber bullet.

In each of the attacks the journalists in question had either been wearing “PRESS” signs or were otherwise clearly identifiable as members of the media. The incidents happened on November 11, 2020 as media covered violent clashes between police and members of far-right and nationalist groups during the annual Independence Day march through the capital.

Photo credit: Jedrzej Nowicki 

Legislative proposal No. 3452 on global security was introduced by Members of Parliament of the presidential majority on 20 October 2020. The text proposes a host of legislative changes that purport to address the “new challenges for French security” and strengthen law enforcement to this end. In article 24, the legislative proposal advances the amendment of the 1881 law on press freedom, to add a provision (new Art. 35 quinquies) that would make it punishable by one year of imprisonment and a fine of 45 000 euro to disseminate, with the intent of causing psychological or physical harm, an image of the face or any other element that could identify a law enforcement officer in the course of exercising his or her duty.

ECPMF, EFJ and the unions who joined this statement call  on the members of Parliament to delete the proposed text.

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) expresses our serious concern over the string of physical attacks, death threats and acts of intimidation against journalists and media workers covering issues related to COVID-19 and recent anti-lockdown protests across Italy.

Over the last three weeks, MFRR partners have documented at least nine incidents involving 14 members of the Italian media in six different cities, including one photojournalist being hospitalised with a head trauma following an attack.

The majority of recorded incidents have involved reporters and TV crews being harassed by protesters taking part in demonstrations against the government’s COVID-19 measures, many of which were organised and attended by far-right groups.

At least, 43 journalists were prevented from carrying out their work by protesters and police officers at the “Querdenken” demonstration in the eastern German city of Leipzig on Saturday, 7 November. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) strongly condemn the violence and call again on the German police to do its utmost to protect journalists covering demonstrations.

The demonstration was attended by around 20,000 protesters according to German media – including people criticising the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as people from far-right parties including extremist National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD). Many were not wearing face masks and flaunted social distancing rules. As the protest was stopped by the police due to the unexpected number of participants, a number of protesters clashed with police, which also involved targeting journalists on assignment.

IPI as part of the MFRR condemns recent aggression and violence against journalists covering ongoing protests in Poland and called for both police and demonstrators to ensure the safety of the media covering rallies. Over three nights, incidents of aggression towards journalists have been reported by various media outlets as Poland reels from large scale protests sparked by a controversial ruling by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal restricting abortions.

Attacks on media were documented in Poznań, Wrocław and Warsaw, where a nine-day long nationwide Women’s Strike has grown into wider anti-government demonstrations and been met with increasingly violent counter protests.

At least three journalists have suffered injuries, including one from leading daily Gazeta Wyborcza who was taken to hospital after being assaulted by masked men.

On 5 November 2020, photojournalist Borut Živulovič, who works as a photographer for the agency Bobo and a freelancer for Reuters, was hospitalized after suffering a blow to the head while covering violent clashes with riot police in and around Republic Square.

This was not an isolated case. Several other media outlets reported that their news crews had been aggressively pushed and faced obstruction, threats and intimidation as they reported on the protests. Photojournalist Voranc Vogel was also struck in the shoulder by an object thrown at police but was not injured, according to reports.

The aggression towards journalists came amidst wider clashes as protesters threw flares, stones and concrete blocks at riot police, in a demonstration reportedly organised by Anonymous Slovenija and attended by around 500 people from anti-government, anti-lockdown and conspiracy theory groups

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and freedom of expression organisations are concerned about the alleged attempt to bribe a journalist by a member of Yorgen Fenech’s legal team. We call on the Maltese authorities and Chamber of Advocates to ensure the matter is thoroughly and impartially investigated.

On Monday 2 November 2020, lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran, in the presence of lawyer Charles Mercieca, allegedly attempted to hand over a wad of cash to Times of Malta journalist Ivan Martin at the end of a twenty-minute meeting. Caruana Curran is a member of the legal team defending businessman Yorgen Fenech, who is charged with complicity in the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.