2015-10-16
LEIPZIG - The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) is launching its Journalists-in-Residence Programme. It provides a sanctuary, a scholarship, health insurance and a workplace for journalists who are threatened in their home country or who work under pressure.
“Time and time again, when journalists investigate sensitive issues, they make themselves vulnerable to those in power", ECPMF project manager Lutz Mükke says. "The list of European journalists who were or are under threat and had their fights with the powerful is long and constantly growing: Anna Politkovskaya, Roberto Saviano, Hans-Martin Tillack, Oleg Kashin, Du¹an Milju¹, Khadija Ismajilowa."
“Sometimes the only option is to leave their country for a while and to go out of the line of fire. That is the only possibility to continue their work and to save them from being imprisoned. Our programme is able to relieve threatened journalists from a permanent state of anxiety and attract public attention to their cases”, Mükke continues.
Threatened journalists will be offered a safe haven in Leipzig for six to twelve months, depending on the individual case. All travel and visa-costs are covered by the ECPMF, as well as private health care, the accommodation and a monthly scholarship of €1,000.
Journalists who want to attend the programme must meet certain eligibility criteria, e.g. working as an investigative journalist for at least five years and proof that they are under pressure. Furthermore they should not be member of a political movement and must be able to return to their country to continue their work for press and media freedom at home, if appropriate.
The applications will be assessed by the ECPMF international boards, consisting of experienced journalists, media researchers, trades unionists and lawyers, among others from the European Federation of Journalists, SCOOP, Axel Springer SE and Media Legal Defence Centre.
More information on the programme, the eligibility criteria and the application process here.
