Beirut, Lebanon, will host the 4th Arab Free Press Forum in the first of a series of exceptional events planned for the city this coming June. Organized by WAN-IFRA, this year’s edition of the Arab Free Press Forum will be held in the build up to the 63rd World Newspaper Congress and 17th World Editors Forum.More
WAN-IFRA has condemned the sentencing of two Burmese journalists to long prison terms and called on the country's military junta to immediately release them and end its continuing attacks on the media.More
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the International Publishers Association have called on the French Foreign Affairs Minister, Bernard Kouchner, to monitor press freedom violations in TunisiaMore
WAN-IFRA wrote to President Ali
Abdullah Saleh to express its most serious concern at the recent arrests and sentencing of journalists Moaz Al-Ashihabi and Anisa Othman. More
WAN-IFRA wrote to the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to express serious concern at the detention and proposed deportation of journalist Jared Malsin.More
The Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition counting 20 member organisations, including WAN-IFRA, welcomes the European Parliament's public debate on the situation in Tunisia on 20 January. TMG members hope the debate will send a strong message to the Tunisian government to end its unrelenting war on freedom of expression.More
WAN-IFRA wrote to the President of Angola, Jose
Eduardo dos Santos, to express its grave concern at the murder of Togolese sports journalist Stanislas Ocloo.
More
The Cyprus Newspaper & Magazines Publishers Association, ENPA - the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association - and WAN-IFRA strongly condemn the assassination of Andy Hadjicostis, Managing Director of Dias Media Group in Cyprus.More
WAN-IFRA called on the Iranian government to immediately release all jailed journalists and end its crackdown on the media that began after the disputed 2009 election.More
WAN-IFRA wrote to President Ahmadinejad to express concern at the arrest of at least 11 journalists in late December and the continued detention of more than 20 others.More
WAN-IFRA wrote to the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yuschenko, to express concern about the possible withdrawal of the licence of the newspaper Blik, and possible criminal sanctions against its editor-in-chief. More
WAN-IFRA wrote
to the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to express its
grave concern at the murder of newspaper editor Cihan Hayirsevener.More
Shorena Shaverdashvili, publisher and editor of Georgian weekly Liberali, has set up a mission for her magazine to provide in-depth coverage of the most pressing issues in the Georgian society.
More
WAN-IFRA wrote
to the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to express its grave concern at the Supreme Court’s upholding of a lower court ruling permitting prior censorship.More
Ahmad Zeid-Abadi, an Iranian journalist and political analyst who was imprisoned following Iran's disputed presidential election in June, has been awarded the 2010 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
More
Asos Hardi, the Editor in Chief and founder of the
Awene newspaper in Iraqi Kurdistan, has been awarded the 2009 Gebran
Tueni Award, the annual prize of the World Association of Newspapers
and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) that honours an editor or publisher from
the Arab region.More
WAN-IFRA wrote
to the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, to express serious concern at reported attempts by the special services to blackmail and intimidate investigative journalist Tedo Jorbenadze.More
Najam Sethi,
Editor-in-Chief of Friday Times in Pakistan, has been
awarded the 2009 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize
of the World Association of Newspapers.Mr Sethi, whose newspaper advocates liberal and secular
ideas in a country too-often torn by religious extremism, was honoured
for his outstanding defence and promotion of press freedom under
difficult circumstances and constant personal danger.More
Trevor Ncube, Ahmed Benchemsi and Najam Sethi answered WAN-IFRA's questions following the annual press freedom round table held on 30 November in Hyderabad, India.More
More than 750 journalists have been murdered over the past decade and at least 88 have been killed since the beginning of 2009. Hundreds of media employees have been arrested this year, and at least 170 remain in jail today, most often following sham trials with many imprisoned without charges at all. More
The Board of the World Association of Newspapers and
News Publishers, meeting in Hyderabad, India,
on 30 November 2009, issued 7 press freedom resolutions calling on the authorities in The Philippines, Turkey, Cuba, Pakistan, China, Yemen and Russia to uphold press
freedom. More
WAN-IFRA joined major media and press freedom organisations in urging the European Court of Human Rights to affirm high levels of protection of journalists and their sources.More
Forty-seven IFEX members, including WAN-IFRA,condemned the problem of impunity in the Philippines, and appealed for justice in the horrible massacre of a reported 28 journalists.More
WAN-IFRA expressed absolute dismay and condemnation of the horrific massacre of 12 journalists, in an attack on a convoy in the southern Philippines that killed at least 46 people.More
Members of the Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG), including WAN-IFRA, wrote to French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, to express concern over the serious violations of the rights to freedom of expression, and the Tunisian authorities' tendency to resort to censorship, intimidation and violence.
More
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers
and the World Editors Forum wrote to the President of Azerbaijan to to condemn and express dismay at the jailing of two video bloggers.
More
WAN-IFRA wrote
to the President of Lebanon, Michel Suleiman, to express serious concern at
criminal charges brought against a journalist for “insulting” the president. More
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers
and the World Editors Forum wrote to the President of Mexico to express grave concern at the continuing impunity enjoyed by those who murder and commit violence against journalists, as well as the government’s decision to disband a special committee looking into crimes against journalists.More
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers and the World Editors Forum wrote to the President of Yemen to express serious concern at the alleged torture of a journalist in prison and the sentencing to jail of two others.More
WAN-IFRA condemned the beating of a Tunisian journalist, allegedly by police, and the arrest of another, and called on the Tunisian authorities to abandon their campaign of intimidation against the independent press.More
Thirty-one IFEX members, including WAN-IFRA, and 24 other organisations, called on the Moroccan government to stop the current crackdown against press freedom, and condemned the recent arrests and harassment of journalists and independent press.More
On the occasion of the European Development Days, WAN-IFRA joined with the Global Forum for Media Development and other press freedom organisations in calling for stronger dedicated European Union support to media freedom in Africa.More
WAN-IFRA wrote to the President of Zambia, Rupiah Banda, to express serious concern at the prosecution of The Post editor-in-chief Fred M'membe and three of his colleagues.More
WAN-IFRA wrote to de facto President of Abkhazia to express concern at the suspended jail sentence awarded to journalist Anton Kriveniuk for libel.More
WAN-IFRA wrote to President Aliyev to express concern at the jailing of four journalists for defamation only two weeks after the administration assured a WAN-IFRA delegation that measures were being
taken to decriminalise the offence.More
WAN-IFRA and ENPA wrote to the First Minister of Northern Ireland to express
serious concern at the policy applied by the Northern Ireland
Government in buying and negotiating advertising rates in the regional
newspaper market. More
La Repubblica is being sued for defamation by Mr Berlusconi for
repeatedly publishing 10 questions asking the Prime Minister to explain
his extra-marital relationships and behaviour, the subjects of widely
reported public scandals this year.
More
International media and press freedom organisations, including WAN-IFRA, jointly call for reforms and the removal of restrictions on the media in the Republic of
Belarus.More
Members of the Burma Action Group (BAG), a coalition of over 20 press and rights advocacy groups, including WAN-IFRA, welcomed the release of 7,114 Burmese prisoners, among whom were four journalists and approximately 128 political prisoners.More
WAN-IFRA called on the Government of Azerbaijan to introduce “drastic reforms” to create full media freedom in the country, as a delegation from the organisation ended a three-day mission to the capital, Baku.More
WAN-IFRA wrote to the Premier of Greenland to express concern at the cut in postal subsidies to Greenland’s newspapers, which will have a serious impact on news coverage and critical journalism in the country.More
The Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition of 20 member organisations of IFEX, including WAN-IFRA, expresses its support for the democratically elected Board of the Tunisian journalists syndicate, and vehemently denounces the use of the police and judiciary to usurp the union.
More
WAN-IFRA wrote to Prime Minister of Montenegro to express
its serious concern at an assault on two journalists by the Mayor of
Podgorica and what appears to be a pattern of abuse of the daily
newspaper Vijesti and broadcaster TV Vijesti.
More
WAN-IFRA wrote to President of Gambia to express its serious concern at the sentencing to jail for two years of six journalists for criticising the president.More
WAN-IFRA wrote to the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to express concern at a court ruling prohibiting the media from publishing information on a police investigation into an official allegedly involved in corruption.
More
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers and The European Newspaper Publishers Association have called on European governments to help ensure that Lithuania respects freedom of expression and freedom of the press following approval of a law that makes it a crime to ridicule someone.More
The International Press Freedom Mission to Sri Lanka, to which WAN-IFRA is a member, urges the President to consider a 11-point plan to redress the perilous press freedom environment in the country.More
Thirty-two IFEX members, including WAN-IFRA, and partners raise concerns about the proposed AU-EU Pan African Media Observatory Project, arguing it cannot lead to the realisation of the objective of advancing media development in Africa and particularly in ensuring media freedom, independence and professionalism.More
The World Association of Newspapers wrote to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to express its serious concern at the jailing of at least 13 journalists and the imposition of widespread censorship following your disputed re-election last week.
More
The World Association of Newspapers expressed its relief after learning of the release on bail, on 22 June, of the six journalists accused of "seditious publication" and imprisoned at Mile Two jail in Banjul. At the same time, Augustine Kanjia, of the daily "The Point", was arrested.More
WAN and five other organisations write to UNESCO, asking the UN body to continue acting as a defender and champion of freedom of expression worldwide.More
Press freedom
violations including attacks on journalists continue to mount
worldwide, the World Association of Newspapers said in its half-year
review of global press freedom that paints a bleak picture in much of
the world.More
The World Association of Newspapers has condemned a “climate of
impunity” in Mexico that allows the killers of journalists to avoid
prosecution, and has called on President Felipe Calderon to do more to
bring the murderers to justice.
More
The World Association of Newspapers wrote to President Raul Castro on the occasion of 3 May, World Press Freedom Day, to call
for the 22 journalists who are currently in prison.More
The World Association of Newspapers wrote to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the occasion of 3 May, World Press Freedom Day, to call
for the release of journalist Roxana Saberi and all others held for
exercising their right to freedom of expression, and for a full and
transparent inquiry into the deaths of blogger Omidreza Mirsayafi and
photojournalist Zahra Kazemi.More
The World Association of Newspapers wrote to President Hamid Karzai on the occasion of 3 May, World Press Freedom Day, to call
for the release of journalist Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh and all others
held in Afghanistan prisons for exercising their right to freedom of
expression. More
We are writing
on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors
Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 102 countries, to express
our serious concern at the deliberate abuse of state funding of the
press by the regional government of Madeira and the consequent
distortion of the newspaper market and infringement of basic rules of competition.More
The World
Association of Newspapers (WAN) together with 34 other press freedom
advocacy groups expressed concern about the degradation of the media situation
in Moldova following parliamentary elections on 5 April 2009. This
included the violation of the right to access information of public
interest, and harassment of journalists.More
The World Association of Newspapers is urging publications world-wide
to show their support on World Press Freedom Day, 3 May, for
journalists who put their lives in danger to get the news.More
The World Association of Newspapers wrote to Kim Jong-il to express serious concern at the detention of American
journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, and their guide and requested their immediate release.More
The World
Association of Newspapers and World Editors Forum have condemned a
resolution approved by the United Nations Human Rights Council on
“defamation of religion,” calling the measure an attack on the basic
human right of freedom of expression.More
The World
Association of Newspapers (WAN) together with 8 other press freedom
advocacy groups remain deeply worried about Sri Lankan journalist J.S. Tissainayagam's continued detention on charges of terrorism.More
The World Association of Newspapers and World Editors Forum today condemned an 826 million pound (381 million Euro, $490 million dollar) fine imposed on the Dogan Media Group in Turkey, calling it a “politically motivated” response to critical reporting.More
Seventy journalists and other media employees were killed world-wide because of their professional activities in 2008, with the conflict in Iraq continuing to be the most deadly assignment for journalists.More
Ibrahim Essa, Editor-in-Chief of Egypt's Al Dustour newspaper, has been
awarded the 2008 Gebran Tueni Award, the annual prize of the World
Association of Newspapers that honours an editor or publisher in the
Arab region.More
Ahmad Zeid-Abadi, an Iranian journalist and political analyst who was imprisoned following Iran's disputed presidential election in June, has been awarded the 2010 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
More
Najam Sethi,
Editor-in-Chief of Friday Times in Pakistan, has been
awarded the 2009 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize
of the World Association of Newspapers.
Mr Sethi, whose newspaper advocates liberal and secular
ideas in a country too-often torn by religious extremism, was honoured
for his outstanding defence and promotion of press freedom under
difficult circumstances and constant personal danger. More
