Speaking to a packed room at the Residence Palace in Brussels, the editor of the Kyiv Independent, Olga Rudenko (featured photo), described how she and her colleagues got so used to nightly drone attacks that nobody even reacts anymore.
In no uncertain terms, Rudenko described the very real “threat of extinction” Ukrainian journalists face in Russia. She was speaking at the Safety of Journalists platform’s event held earlier on Wednesday.
In the context of the US’ recent foreign policy U-turn, the spectre of the Russo-Ukrainian war hung above the room.
“Conceding territory to Russia is condemning people in occupied territories to torture,” Rudenko poignantly emphasised, later referring to the case of murdered Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roschyna as an example of how Russia treats dissident journalists.
Given that several press freedom advocacy groups and media outlets previously benefited from USAID grants to be able to carry out their vital work across the globe, the Trump administration’s decision to gut USAID was also mentioned several times.
The Safety of Journalists platform, which is made up of 15 partner organisations based in Europe, monitors alerts relating to attacks on journalists. The event was held on the occasion of the platform’s ten year anniversary.
Besides hosting discussions between leading press freedom advocates and journalists, the event also marked the launch of the annual Europe press freedom report.
In spite of the notable ten year milestone, there is little to celebrate.
Nicholas Williams, representing the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), described the “broad democratic decline” decimating Europe’s media outlets.
It can be reasonably said that the decline noted in the platform’s report is directly proportional to the increased levels of corruption across Europe, as highlighted by Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index earlier this year.
Williams explained that, since its inception, the Safety of Journalists platform has monitored roughly 250 media alerts per year, with 2024 being the fourth biggest year for media alerts in that time period. Nearly half of the alerts were classified as ‘Level 2’, indicating a high level of risk.
He further noted that there is an increase in the variety of tactics used against journalists, ranging anywhere from physical violence up to outright assassinations, digital violence in the form of surveillance and smear campaigns, and the more ‘traditional’ use of legal threats.
Another panelist, the general secretary of the European Federation of Journalists Ricardo Gutiérrez, described the phenomenon of “transnational repression”, which refers to how even journalists in exile cannot be considered safe since governments tend to assert their authority by targeting them regardless.
Williams also emphasised that “the heart of the platform” depends on the responsiveness of Europe’s member states, some of which fail to respond to the alerts flagged by the platform.
This lack of responsiveness, coupled with governments using increasingly authoritarian methods like starving independent outlets of funding and advertising opportunities, contributes to a wide “delegitimisation of journalists” across Europe.
The most striking interventions were made by Olga Rudenko and the executive director for the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, Lia Chakhunashvili. Both highlighted the impossible challenges faced by journalists in their respective countries, Ukraine and Georgia.
Besides literally risking their lives by just being physically present on the battlefield, Rudenko highlighted other key threats faced by Ukrainian journalists – including from “bad actors within Ukraine’s government.”
She noted that both the Ukrainian government and the country’s Parliament are deploying increasingly heavy-handed tactics against independent journalists reporting on domestic corruption, including a legislative bill which aims to impose an eight year prison sentence on anyone “disclosing confidential government information” during wartime.
Out of 51 total alerts issued in 2024, 40 of them were reported in relation to Ukrainian journalists.
Chakhunashvili spoke about Georgia’s dramatic press freedom decline, describing how the government in her country has been “working tirelessly” to delegitimise the work of independent journalists.
Under the rule of The Georgian Dream party, corrupt members of both the judiciary and law enforcement were openly colluding to attack journalists, as is the case for imprisoned journalist Mzia Amaglobeli.
“At this rate, there will be no independent NGOs and media left in this country,” Chakhunashvili said during her speech.
“In a world full of problems, please don’t give up on us,” she added.
During the second panel discussion, the Daphne Foundation’s head of media relations, Corinne Vella, pointed out that the Maltese government has gone to great lengths to make it seem as if changes are being made while actively undermining press freedom in the country.
Vella noted that that the Maltese government’s apparent willingness to transpose “the bare minimum” of European initiatives like the European anti-SLAPP directive has led to a “lack of international attention” on Malta.
Referring to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia as an “emblematic” example of what can happen to journalists when a government targets the free press, Vella said that “journalists are the proverbial canary in the coal mine – when these things happen to journalists, it is a warning sign.”
You can watch the full press conference and access the full report after it is published by clicking here.