Julian Assange, the most highly acclaimed journalist of our times, is nearing five years of imprisonment and torture in Belmarsh prison for publishing evidence of US government wrongdoing. Julian Assange’s case is at a critical juncture, as his final appeal against extradition to the United States will be on February 20th – 21st, where he faces 175 years.

If extradited to the US, he faces prolonged solitary confinement in the Eastern District of Virginia, where he will stand trial for “Espionage” for publishing information in the public interest under legislation that forbids a public interest defence. The jury pool in this area is composed overwhelmingly of individuals associated with the CIA, NSA, and other entities associated with the national security sector. The only fair outcome for a case that criminalises journalism is for it not to be brought in the first place. The effect of Julian Assange’s imprisonment is to chill press freedom around the world, and to encourage harassment, politically motivated cases and imprisonment of reporters and dissidents around the world.

Julian Assange’s campaign against extradition is supported by every human rights organisation of note including Amnesty international, Human rights watch, the ACLU, Reporters without borders, the NUJ, the IFJ and Pen International.

The exhibition, titled ‘The Assange Case: Awards and Rewards,’ is scheduled to take place during the plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg from the 6th to the 8th of February. The exhibit will showcase the numerous awards and honours Julian Assange has received, including Australia’s Walkley Foundation Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism and the German Konrad Wolf Prize.

The primary goal of this collection is to underscore the immense global significance and recognition of Julian Assange’s work. Stella Assange, Dominique Pradalie, President of the International Federation Of Journalists, and Günter Wallraff, the legendary German writer and journalist, as well as a lawyer for Mr Assange will be in attendance at the formal inauguration and the press conference on 6 February, 6.30pm at the Winston Churchill building Canal Area.

For any information about the press conference contact Davide D’Antoni: +32 496 28 16 97.

The Free Assange campaign wholeheartedly welcomes the exhibition in Strasbourg to highlight the importance of Julian Assange’s case for the future of journalism as his case reaches its final stage in Britain. None of us are free, until Julian Assange is free.

Awards for journalism:

• Almudena Grandes Special Award for defending the right to information 2022
• Amnesty International New Media Award 2009
• Anticor Ethics Prize 2022
• Audálio Dantas trophy for Indignation, Courage and Hope 2022
• Austrian Journalist Association’s Dr. Karl Renner Solidarity Prize 2021
• Big Brother Award Hero of Privacy 2012
• Blanquerna Award for Best Communicator 2011
• Brazillian Press Association Human Rights Award 2013
• Danny Schechter Global Vision Award for Journalism & Activism 2019
• European Parliament Sakharov Prize (Finalist) 2022
• Free Dacia Award 2011
• Gary Webb Freedom of the Press Award 2020
• Gavin MacFadyen Award 2019
• Gavin MacFadyen Special Award 2023
• Global Exchange Human Rights People’s Choice Award 2013
• GUE/NGL Daphne Galizia Prize for Journalists, Whistleblowers And Defenders of the Right to Information Europe 2019
• Günter Wallraff Prize for Investigative Journalism and Moral Courage 2022
• International Piero Passetti Journalism Prize of the National Union of Italian Journalists 2011
• Jose Couso Press Freedom Award 2011
• Journalists Club of Mexico’s International Journalism Award 2019
• Kazakhstan Union of Journalists Top Prize 2014
• Konrad Wolf Prize 2023
• Le Monde Person of the Year 2010
• Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism 2011
• PEN Norway Ossietzky Prize 2023
• Prix Ars Electronica Award of Distinction 2009
• Sacco-Vanzetti Memorial Award 2021
• Sam Adams Award for Integrity 2010
• Stuttgart Peace Prize 2020
• Sydney Peace Foundation Gold Medal 2011
• The Dignity Commission’s Dignity Award 2019
• The Economist New Media Award 2008
• The Press Project: Person of the Year 2019
• The Walkley Foundation Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism 2011
• Time Person of the Year, People’s Choice 2010
• Trinity College Dublin Historical Society Gold Medal for Outstanding contribution to public discourse 2023
• Voltaire Award for Free Speech 2011
• Weizenbaum Prize for Peace and Social Responsibility 2022
• Yoko Ono Lennon Courage Award for the Arts 2013

Julian Assange recently became an honorary member of the Independent Journalists Association of Serbia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina Radio and Television (BHRT) is facing catastrophic financial difficulties and risks being shut down, leaving 800 employees with no job, if a funding agreement is not reached. The European and International Federations of Journalists (EFJ-IFJ) appeals to the BHRT management and politicians to find a solution as a matter of urgency.

The national public broadcaster was deprived of its only source of income, when the state-owned electric utility company Elektroprivreda BiH did not collect the TV licence fees from the citizens along with their January electricity bills. The contract with Elektroprivreda BiH was not renewed last December after a contract dispute with BHRT management.

BHRT’s financial problems are long-standing. Employees have received no social contributions (paying for pensions and ill-health insurance) since 2015. In addition, the Law on the Public Broadcasting System has been violated since 2017 with the Radio-television of Republika Srpska (RTRS), the Serb autonomous entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, failing to transfer to BHRT the corresponding share of the tax. This had reduced available funding for the station €41 million. Radio-television of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the public service of the second entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also owes the national public broadcaster almost €8 million. All these debts are the subject of court disputes.

Independent Trade Union of Workers in BHRT has been denouncing salary inequalities between the management board and the employees, with taxpayer’s money not being properly distributed among BHRT’s workers. There are also issues with ageing equipment used by BHRT employees, some of which is over 40 years old.

On 30 January, the independent trade union of workers in BHRT warned that, if they are forced to use their legal rights, there may be an interruption in the broadcasting of programs and other telecommunications services, and that the state and entity authorities, as well as the management of all three public broadcasters, will be responsible for this.

The very existence of the public service media is at stake, as well as that of 800 employees. The IFJ and EFJ back the union’s demands for an agreement to be reached urgently, as well as for the implementation of fair salary grids, higher wages and better working conditions. The union further calls for financial inspections and prosecutors to determine where employees’ funds have ended up and who is responsible for BHRT’s bankruptcy, in order to punish those who have broken the law.

“Apart from the fact that for eight years we have not been paid contributions for shamefully low salaries, which has a specifically negative effect on pensions, BHRT workers have not received part of their December salary, and it is absolutely certain that we will not even receive the next salary for January. The workers are in fear for their livelihood and that of their families. We worry about how we will pay the loans and survive. All we ask is that they allow us to be professionals, do our job, and be adequately paid for it,” said Neda Tadić, a BHRT journalist and member of the Independent Trade Union of Workers in BHRT.

EFJ President Maja Sever added: “Bosnia and Herzegovina could become the only European country without a public service media. It’s been a month since BHRT has been officially without funding and politicians have still not agreed on any solution. They must understand that it is an emergency situation. We stand in solidarity with BHRT workers who continue working in this dire situation.”

IFJ President Dominique Pradalié said: “ We are standing with BHRT workers and we urge the government to take action. The public has an interest in getting access to strong, qualitative, independent public service media and this comes at a cost: decent wages for all workers and job security.

Source: EFJ

The head of the temporary authority in Belgrade and former mayor Aleksandar Sapic said that he has stopped all communication with TV N1 and has no intention of continuing it.

During his visit to Mladenovac, Sapic refused to answer the questions of the N1 journalist who was present, saying that „seven days before the election, he stopped communication“ with N1 and that he does not intend to continue it.

“It would be best if we cut off that communication in the best possible way,“ said Sapic.

Sapic said during his visit that there will be no secret agreements during the formation of the government in Belgrade and that he will announce everything he knows regarding that topic publicly, before the constituent session of the Belgrade Assembly, most likely on February 19.

Sapic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won the most votes in the December 17 elections in Belgrade, but not enough mandates to form a government without one of the opposition parties.

However, the opposition, led by the pro-European coalition „Serbia against violence“, says that the elections were stolen and presented evidence that people from Republika Srpska, the Serb-majority entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other cities in Serbia were fictitiously registered in the capital so they can vote for the SNS there.

Source: N1

As the Council of the EU is expected to vote on the AI Act on 2 February 2024, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) urges the EU Member States to reach a long-awaited political agreement on this important text for journalism.

The media reported that Germany and France were still blocking several provisions just a few days before the vote, suggesting that negotiations are not yet completely concluded. They fear that this regulation will subject their startups to increased scrutiny related to foundation models.

In Germany, the coalition government could withhold its backing for the law. With an internal consultation with the ministries due to take place in the next day, the German Federation of Journalists (DJV) is calling on the German government to support the AI Act.

“We urgently need the regulation of Artificial Intelligence at the European level. The AI Act is far from perfect, and we would have liked to have achieved more. But this regulation is better than nothing,” says the DJV Chairman Mika Beuster. “The German government must not miss this opportunity now.”

In particular, transparency obligations laid down in the AI Act are essential for authors. Many companies will use journalistic content for the training of their AI models and therefore, the redistribution of revenue must be regulated not to leave it entirely at the discretion of platforms and AI companies. The European media and creative sectors, representing several hundred thousands of workers, has repeatedly called for meaningful transparency obligations.

“While we would have liked to see stronger provisions at the European level, the AI Act sets out some essential transparency obligations in particular for high-risk models. AI is already widely used in European newsrooms so we can’t wait any longer to introduce some regulations,“ said EFJ Director Renate Schroeder.

In the meantime, the EFJ is calling for the regulation to contain much stricter requirements for transparent documentation of content used for AI training. The current provisions on transparency and copyright are too weak to be applied effectively.

Source: EFJ

On Wednesday, January 31, 2024, journalists will take to the streets in Zagreb and Split to protest against amendments to the Criminal Code, in which the government of Andrej Plenković has introduced a new criminal offense called “Unauthorized disclosure of content from investigative or evidentiary actions.”

What changes in the Criminal Code?

The government has submitted Article 307.a for adoption to the Croatian Parliament, which reads:

“(1) A judicial official or public servant in a judicial body, a police officer or official, the accused, lawyer, legal trainee, witness, expert, translator, or interpreter who, during the preceding criminal procedure considered non-public according to the law, unlawfully discloses the content of investigative or evidentiary actions, with the intention of making it publicly accessible, shall be punished with imprisonment for up to 3 years.

(2) Committing, aiding, or abetting the offense under paragraph 1 of this Article cannot be attributed to those performing journalistic work.”

What does this mean?

This means that anyone who could potentially expose irregularities in investigations of criminal offenses, such as attempts to cover up corrupt actions by officials, will be penalized if they inform the public or journalists about it.

Journalists who publish such information will not be criminally liable, but it opens the door for the police or the State Attorney’s Office to search their phones, computers, emails, etc., to find the source of the information.

What are the consequences of these changes?

If such a law is enacted, citizens will be deprived of information for years about criminal proceedings of public interest, such as evidence that state officials, individuals in high political positions, ministers, for example, have committed corrupt criminal acts or abuse of power. This will prevent discussions on crucial issues for upcoming elections, and Croatia will become a declarative democracy.

The law opens wide doors to concealing abuses from the repressive apparatus and eliminates the public as a control mechanism for the work of the police, the State Attorney’s Office, and the courts. Individuals within the investigative system who come across information about irregularities of public interest will think twice before sharing it with the media. The state has intimidated them; three years of imprisonment is no joke.

If whistleblowers are silenced, citizens may never learn about certain criminal acts.

Remember the traffic accident involving the Vukovar-Srijem County Prefect Damir Dekanić a few years ago, where he crashed his official car while intoxicated and falsely claimed that his cousin was driving. If information from the investigation could not have been disclosed at that time, it is questionable whether he would have been arrested with three police officers under suspicion of assisting in the falsification of the accident.

If nothing could be revealed, the public might still be unaware that a police officer shot Mihael Berak and that it was not an unfortunate accident, as the police claim, but a deliberate murder with an official pistol, as the State Attorney’s Office believes.

The reasons for the failure of the expert examination in the “Agrokor” case, for which citizens paid 1,300,000 euros, would also remain unknown.

How did this proposal come about?

After the initials “AP” appeared in a correspondence during the investigation against former Minister Gabriela Žalac at the beginning of 2023, and the media reported it, the public suspected that these were the initials of the Prime Minister. After that, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković stated:

“We will change the Criminal Procedure Act and the Criminal Code, and situations like these, where things uncontrollably, intentionally, politically, selectively, and arranged leak out of the case and cause political problems, will no longer happen because it will be a criminal offense.”

Subsequently, the amendments to the Criminal Code were referred to as “Lex AP” in public.

The Croatian Journalists’ Association called it a “law of dangerous intentions” because it believes it is directly aimed at protecting abuses in politics, against public interest, and freedom of the media.

The Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Act are fundamental laws that grant state bodies strong repressive powers and are crucial for the rule of law in any country due to daily political events and the possible concealment of political corruption.

Join us on January 31, 2024, at 11 a.m. at St. Mark’s Square in Zagreb or in front of the Croatian National Theater in Split.

Croatian Journalists’ Association

Journalism students and journalists participating in the second edition of the Academy for Information Integrity were taught today about the protection of personal data.

In this Academy module taught by Adison Gara – co-founder and project director at the Institute for Technology and Society, the importance of protecting personal information in the digital age and the ethical and legal part of reporting was discussed, emphasizing responsible reporting. of information.

In this module, taught by Adison Gara, co-founder and project director at the Institute for Technology and Society, the significance of safeguarding personal information in the digital era was discussed, along with the ethical and legal aspects of reporting. The emphasis was placed on responsible information reporting.

Also, participants discussed best practices for confidentiality, recognizing the role in maintaining trust and privacy.

The Information Integrity Academy will continue with three more modules in the following months.