Country factsheet: Bulgaria - Article

Called "the black sheep of EU media freedom", Bulgaria faces a lot of issues related to freedom of expression and safety of journalists. Here a detailed overview made by OBCT journalist Francesco Martino, who lives in Sofia

Civil Rights Defenders - Stakeholders

An Expert Organisation for Human Rights. CRD partners with and supports human rights defenders who work in some of the world’s most repressive regions on four continents.

Through advocacy, litigation, and public campaigns, CRD advances people’s rights globally. The organisation also acts as Sweden’s watchdog civil rights group.

Every year, CRD has The Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award, an award for outstanding work in defence of civil and political rights, to recognise a prominent human rights defender who, despite the risk to their own safety, continues the struggle for civil and political rights.
The award highlights the situation of human rights defenders at risk. It enhances their human rights work by providing international recognition and support to the organisation represented by the award recipient. The award recipient is a person who carries out their work without the use of violence and within an independent human rights organisation or network.

Among the support activities, there are security training, emergency support, expertise, organisational development, and long-term financial support.

CRD also brings together its partners so they can exchange experiences, as well as learn from and inspire each other.

Portugal: four journalists under illegal police surveillance - Article

The European Federation of Journalists denounces a clear violation of the confidentiality of journalists’ sources and demands urgent clarification from the General Prosecutor

North Macedonia: MFRR partners express concern over recent attacks on journalists and media workers - Article

Six alerts regarding North Macedonia have been registered through the Mapping Media Freedom project since the launch of the MFRR in March 2020. In a letter to Prime Minister Zaev, MFRR partners highlight that attacks on journalists and media workers remain an acute problem, undermining press freedom in the country

Serbia: no more attacks and threats to journalists covering protests - Article

Alarmed by the increasing violence that police uses against reporters and media workers, the partners of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) ask Nebojša Stefanović, Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia, to ensure all police officers and ministry personnel do not attack journalists, but protect them from other threats

Press Cartoonists in Europe must be protected - Article

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners call for press cartoonists to be protected to ensure they can realise their right to free expression across Europe

Threats against journalists in Northern Ireland must stop - Article

OBCT joins Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners, press freedom and freedom of expression organisations, journalists’ organisations, journalists and media workers in condemning threats against journalists in Northern Ireland

Briefing: Media Freedom Violations in the EU under COVID-19 - Reports

An overview of media freedom violations registered in several EU Member States and Candidate Countries since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the continent in late February 2020

SLAPPs: the Italian Case - Legal Resources

Strategic lawsuits threaten freedom of expression in Italy too: in this analysis, an overview of the situation, the threats, the chilling effect, and the bills currently under discussion in the Italian Parliament

Sexual harassment in the working environment of media outlets - Surveys

A survey among 1,132 women journalists about sexual harassment in the newsroom and outside confirms that the situation is really tense and women often feel uncomfortable at their own workplace