The DJV in Thuringia have received numerous hate emails and threatening phone calls since an incident on 1 May. During a demonstration, its managing director Sebastian Scholz – no longer working as a journalist – tripped up a demonstrator from the “Querdenker” movement as a reaction to the same protestor previously violently breaking through a police chain and hitting and injuring a cameraman. Scholz actually intervened to bring down a violent demonstrator who was trying to escape. However, the shortened video clips that were distributed widely doesn’t mention the whole story.

Regarding the hatred, threats and insults that were stirred by the dissemination of this video, the DJV Thuringia stated: “It shows very clearly that these people are not interested in facts, but that they are only looking for reasons for violence and hatred. We, the board of directors of the DJV Thuringia, condemn the way in which self-appointed defenders of democracy twist the facts and incite violence against our managing director.

The DJV Thuringia received approximately 500 mails, Facebook comments and Facebook messages, a majority of which were insults and threats. Also, an anonymous criminal complaint was filed against Scholz. This campaign against the DJV Thuringia now culminated in a death threat against Sebastian Scholz on 11 May. As seen in thisvideo, a caller threatened Scholz directly, saying, “If he trips a protester again, he will be shot in the head!”.

The DJV Thuringia reported the hate messages to the criminal police and have filed a criminal complaint. In addition, the criminal police have initiated ex officio investigations. The EFJ surges the authorities to hold accountable those behind the campaign .

Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, the President of the EFJ, said:

The appalling hate campaigns that German media workers face, sometimes leading to press freedom violations, and now these death threats must stop. Society has a responsibility to ensure a safe environment for journalists and need to follow up on both the recommendation from the Council of Europe and the UN Action Plan for the safety of journalists and develop a strong and firm national action plan with all parties on board such as police, judges, relevant ministries, journalists, etc. to develop mechanisms not only to monitor but also to address this increasing issue in Germany.

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) is concerned about repeated attacks, threats and intimidation of journalists and media workers reporting on the agro-food industry in Brittany. These attacks, legal threats, harassment and intimidation must end and we call on all relevant public authorities to take the necessary measures to enable critical reporting on this issue.

Despite broad support from the French media community for the affected journalists and outlets, their calls for guarantees and safeguards for the safety and work of those who report on the impact of the agro-food industry in Brittany has been met with deafening silence from both local and national policy-makers.

The MFRR calls for an end to the attacks, legal threats, harassment and intimidation of journalists and media workers who report on the Breton agro-business. The local and national authorities must uncompromisingly condemn any attempt to restrict the right to expression and information in relation to this topic of such apparent public interest and take the necessary action to ensure the safety and work of journalists and media workers is protected, including adequate preventative and protective measures. All attacks, harassment and threats against them must be swiftly and thoroughly investigated, resulting in the perpetrators being held to account.

Sunday 18 April 2021 marks two years since Lyra McKee was shot dead while reporting on riots in Derry. Still no one has been convicted of her murder. As we honour Lyra McKee and reiterate our call for justice, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners also express our grave concern over the recent increase in attacks and threats to journalists and media workers in Northern Ireland.

A talented and courageous investigative journalist, McKee, in her writing on the consequences of the Troubles for a host of domestic and international outlets, tackled issues of equality and inclusion, showing a profound commitment to social change.

On 18 April 2019, McKee had just arrived to report on a riot in the Creggan estate and was standing near a police vehicle with other observers when a gun was fired towards them, hitting her in the head. The New IRA claimed responsibility for the murder, which was investigated by the police as an act of terrorism. On 12 February 2020, 52-year old Paul McIntyre was charged with McKee’s murder. In June, the murder weapon was recovered and a 28-year old man was charged with possessing a firearm in suspicious circumstances and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. Both men deny the charges and are in pre-trial detention. The other perpetrators, including the person who fired the gun, still remain at large two years after the murder.

The cold-blooded killing on Friday 9th April of prominent Greek crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz marked yet another dark day for media freedom in the European Union and has sent shockwaves through the country’s journalistic and media community.

Karaivaz was gunned down outside his home in broad daylight after he returned home from a shift on the daytime show on STAR TV when he was ambushed by two men on a scooter and shot ten times with a silenced weapon.

While it remains too early to point to a clear motive, Greece‘s deputy minister for citizen protection has suggested a link between the assassination and organized crime, and police have described the murder as a “professional hit”.

The journalist’s profession and the execution-style manner of his murder have raised suspicion that the killing was linked in some way to his three decades of reporting into organized crime and mafia groups, shining the spotlight on the issues Karaivaz had been reporting on at the time of his death.

According to reports, the veteran crime reporter was gunned down as he returned home from a shift on a daytime show on Star TV when he was ambushed by two men on a moped and shot at least six times with a silenced weapon, killing him instantly.

The murder reportedly took place at around 2.30pm on Friday as the journalist was getting out of his car near his house in Themou Anninou Street in the southern Athens suburb of Alimos.

The Attica Security Division has launched a manhunt for the suspects and a team from the Directorate of Forensic Investigations is at the scene carrying out preliminary investigations. According to reports, between 17 and 20 bullet casings were found on the road.

The MFRR is worried that the slow-motion yet obvious efforts to stack the Council of the Czech TV (ČT Council) are ultimately aimed at the erosion of the public television’s independence and politically-motivated realignment of its news and opinion programming. Our organisations are also alarmed by the apparent attempt by members of the ČT Council to find grounds to dismiss the broadcaster’s director general ahead of tightly contested parliamentary elections in October.

These concerns were renewed on 18 March, when during its selection process for the next ČT Council election, the Electoral Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, which is dominated by the ANO party led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, again shortlisted several candidates who appear to have been chosen for their political loyalties or long-standing criticism of the broadcaster, rather than their expertise or independence.

It now appears likely that when MPs vote in April to elect four candidates to sit on the ČT Council, the ANO and its allies in the governing coalition will again use their parliamentary majority to stack the 15-member body with their preferred candidates. If so, it would mirror a similar election last year which saw individuals with clear links to political groups selected.

Martinović was convicted for violating the Criminal Code of Montenegro relating to the creation of a criminal organisation, as well as illicit production, possession and distribution of narcotics. While he did set up a meeting with defendants over the filming of smuggled weapons in France, he did so for journalistic purposes. We believe that throughout the detention and subsequent trial, his rights to a fair trial have been violated. Prior to his arrest on 22 October 2015, Martinović had already been held in custody for almost 15 months before being finally freed, provisionally.

A retrial formally began on 2 December 2019 and on 8 October 2020, the High Court of Montenegro sentenced Martinović to one year in prison for participating in drug trafficking. He was acquitted on charges for membership in a criminal organization. Yesterday, while Martinović’s appeal was rejected, an appeal brought by the state calling for these charges to be reinstated was also rejected. This offers little solace either to Jovo Martinović or other investigative journalists who can read the ongoing judicial persecution as an attempt to dissuade and chill reporting of corruption and organised crime in Montenegro. Investigative journalism is not a crime and should not be treated as such by the Montenegrin authorities.

The undersigned organisations condemn the Court of Appeals’ verdict and stand in solidarity with Jovo Martinović and all investigative journalists in Montenegro. We call on Montenegrin authorities and courts to work in line with their commitment to media freedom and European standards, as part of their commitment to the ascension process for the European Union, to ensure Martinović is not further criminalised or persecuted for his journalism.

The MFRR considers this to be yet another example of the Justice Ministry’s use of lawsuits as a tool for pressuring and financially draining the newspaper, which is one of the staunchest critics of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS).

We call directly on the Minister, who is also the Prosecutor-General of Poland, to immediately withdraw the lawsuit and refrain from abusing the civil and criminal code as part of the administration’s broader attack on independent and critical media.

We note that this lawsuit is the latest in a string of 60 civil and criminal cases brought against Gazeta Wyborcza over the last few years – many of which have been initiated by PiS politicians including party leader Jarosław Kaczyński. The scale of this coordinated legal harassment of a critical newspaper is unique within the EU.