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Category: press freedom

  • Dan McGarry: The truth is our republic

    ANALYSIS: By Dan McGarry, The Village Explainer

    I wasn’t invited to the inaugural Vanuatu media awards a couple of weeks ago. Nor was I asked to participate.

    Instead, I spent the weekend preparing the final draft of the Media Association of Vanuatu’s Code of Ethics and Practice. I am proud to say it was adopted by the MAV executive last Friday.

    If I had been there, and if I had been asked to say something, this is what I would have said (seriously: when did I ever wait for someone to ask me for my opinion?): Journalism isn’t just a profession; it’s a public service. It consists of sharing, broadcasting or publishing information in the public interest.

    That’s the first paragraph in the new preamble of an updated Media Code of Ethics and Practice.

    This code is integral to our work. It guides us from day to day. It tells us what we must do, what we should do, and what we should aspire to. It will help us serve the community better.

    By describing how we should report the news, it helps us to decide what is news, and what’s not.

    I agreed to help with this final draft because I know how important it is to think carefully about these things. Agonising over each word of this code has been an invaluable process for me. It’s taught me new things. It’s reinforced others. And it’s led me to do the one thing required of every reporter:

    Challenge assumptions
    Challenge every single assumption.

    Reporting starts with asking questions. Who? What? When? Where? Why?

    Socrates, one of humanity’s most famous inquiring minds, reportedly said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

    The professional journey of every reporter begins with that phrase.


    The Media Association of Vanuatu awards 2021. Image: MAV

    In that spirit of examination, I want to take a moment to consider where we are as a media community, where we’ve come from, and where we need to go.

    Vanuatu’s media can congratulate themselves for a number of things:

    Our populace has a more nuanced and subtle understanding of the law and governance than many others. We joke about bush lawyers, but our interest in the law — and respect for it — is a product of how we in the media portray it.

    We are bound to defend and protect the truth. The truth is the seed we sow. And from that seed, we reap a better democracY.

    — Dan McGarry

    Understanding politics
    The same is true of our understanding of politics and Parliamentary procedure. Vanuatu follows Parliament the way some nations follow football. Our society is more engaged with the process of government than a great many others. The media plays a role in that, and we should be proud of it.

    The status of women has advanced by leaps and bounds, both in media industry, and in society at large. Of course, the lioness’ share of the work has been done by two generations of fearless women who have campaigned tirelessly, selflessly to improve their lot.

    But we have been there to mark their progress, to celebrate their wins, and to shine a light on the countless obstacles that still impede their progress.

    The number of prosecutions and convictions for spousal abuse, sexual violence and other gender-based crimes is rising. These crimes are still happening far too often, but we can fairly say that the new, tougher sentences being handed out are a result of an awareness that we helped raise.

    Our nation’s environmental awareness has been assisted greatly by the media. Again, we aren’t the ones saving the planet, but we are celebrating the people who do.

    By giving space to the wisdom of kastom and the knowledge of science, we can exercise our right and our duty to protect this land.

    The list of our achievements is long. I’m grateful that we finally found time to recognise and celebrate them. We have much to be proud of, and we should take this moment to applaud ourselves for a job well done.

    About our failures
    Now… let’s talk about our failures.

    The Code of Ethics requires that we be frank, honest and fair. It also instructs us not to leave out any uncomfortable facts just because they don’t fit the narrative. But we cannot ignore the fact that we could do much, much more, and we could do far, far better.

    Fear still dominates and diminishes us. Don’t pretend it’s not there. And don’t you dare tell me it hasn’t made you back off a story. Every single press conferences reeks of faltering confidence.

    We’re all guilty of it. Every single one of us. Back in 2015, I made sure my ABC colleague Liam Fox was in the room when Marcellino Pipite announced that he had exercised his power as Acting Head of State and pardoned himself and his cronies.

    I made sure he was there because I knew he would ask the one question that mattered: “Aren’t you just trying to save your own skin?”

    I’m grateful to Liam for stepping up. But now I wish I’d been the one who had the courage to ask.

    We have to find a way past our fear, and we can only do that together. If we all enter the room ready to ask hard questions, it’s easier for each one of us to quit wishing we could and just do it.

    Stand up for each other
    We have to learn to stand up for each other. Ten years ago, media pioneer Marc Neil-Jones was savagely assaulted by a minister of state.

    That bullying act of injustice upset me deeply. It’s also what inspired me to take Marc’s place when his health forced him to step aside.

    But what upset me even more was the failure of the media community to say one thing, and say it clearly: Violence against the media is never OK.

    Never.

    The only way we can be sure that those days of violent intimidation are past is if we hold that line, and condemn any act of coercion or violence loudly and in one voice.

    To this day, I’m ashamed that we didn’t do at least that much for Marc.

    Where is Marc’s lifetime achievement award? How much longer are we going to ignore his bravery, his leadership? Is his courage and determination going to be forgotten?

    Not by me, it won’t.

    Standing up to threats
    I know how hard it is to stand up to disapproval, verbal abuse, threats of violence, abusive language, rumours, lies and prejudice. I know how hard it is to stand up to my own peers, to take it on the chin when I find out I’m wrong, and to refuse to bend when I know I’m right.

    I’ve learned this lesson: They can take your job. They can take your livelihood. They can stab you in the back. They can grind you down. They can attack your dignity, they can shake your confidence.

    But they can’t change the truth. Because it’s not my truth, or yours, or theirs.

    You can find another place to work. You can find other ways to ply your trade. You can bear up under pressure, even when nobody else believes you can. You can learn to carry on.

    You can do all of that, if you’re faithful to the truth. The truth is what we serve, not the director, the producer, the editor.

    The truth is our republic. We have a duty to defend it. All of it. Not just the bits that please us. All of it. All the time. Even when it costs us. Especially when it costs us.

    We are bound to defend and protect the truth. The truth is the seed we sow. And from that seed, we reap a better democracy.

    Holding power to account
    Democracy unchallenged isn’t democracy. The people can’t rule if they can’t ask questions.
    This principle underpins the media’s role in keeping democracy healthy, and rebuilding it when it’s under threat. The role of the media is to hold power to account.

    In Vanuatu, this basic idea needs to be better understood by the government and the governed alike. We can do this by helping journalists better understand their role, and helping them get what they need to fulfil that role more effectively.

    The revised Media Code of Ethics and Practice is a milestone on that road. But it’s meaningless if we don’t stand by it.

    To my media colleagues, I say: Forget your jealousies, your rivalries. Reject pride, collusion and corruption wherever you see it, even in yourself. Especially in yourself.

    Stand with MAV. Uphold this code, and we will stand together with the truth. Because the truth is our republic.

    Dan McGarry is former media director (pending an appeal) of the Vanuatu Daily Post / Buzz FM and independent journalist and he held that position since 2015 until the government blocked his work permit in 2019. His Village Explainer is a semi-regular newsletter containing analysis and insight focusing on under-reported aspects of Pacific societies, politics and economics.


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • AJF’s Peter Greste presses for media freedom act to protect journalists

    The Press Freedom Tracker launch video featuring Peter Greste and the tracker team. Video: AJF

    Pacific Media Watch newsdesk

    The Peter Greste-fronted Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom is launching a press freedom tracker for use in engaging with politicians and government officials to push for better protections for journalists in the Asia-Pacific region, reports Miranda Ward of the Australian Finanancial Review.

    Greste, who spent more than 400 days behind bars after he and two colleagues were charged with terrorism offences while on assignment for Al Jazeera in Egypt, said the press freedom tracker would record incidents, both attacks on press freedom and positive steps forward, and help the AJF and other stakeholders assess the state of press freedom in the region.

    Peter Greste wants to help the Australian public understand the challenges facing press freedom in Australia.

    Peter Greste AJF
    Journalism professor Peter Greste … biggest challenge facing press freedom in Australia is making the public understand the threats facing media. Image: Screenshot/Pacific Media Watch

    “It’s designed to be something that looks at the state of press freedom, the direction of travel and whether it’s up or down across the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.

    “We’re also being very careful not to rate countries because we don’t think that’s necessarily helpful. What we’re looking at, though, is a way of comparing and contrasting the way that various countries handle press freedom across the region and the broad direction of trends.”

    Greste said the AJF would use it as a tool “for opening political and diplomatic conversations and as a tool for advocacy”.

    The AJF was formed in 2017 by Greste, lawyer Chris Flynn and former journalist and strategic communications consultant Peter Wilkinson. Flynn and Wilkinson worked with the Greste family to free Greste from an Egyptian prison.

    Complement advocacy work
    The press freedom tracker, which was launched in Brisbane yesterday, will complement the AJF’s advocacy work and how the organisation engages with governments to discuss press freedom issues.

    Greste said the AJF was also working on its “regional dialogue” project, which is a series of semi-formal meetings between news companies, governments and security agencies designed to help each understand the other better and find better ways of working together.

    “One of the chief arguments is that there’s often talk about the trade-off between press freedom and national security, the balance between press freedom and national security, which implies that if you have more of one, by definition, you have less of the other,” he said.

    “We disagree with that characterisation. We think that press freedom is actually part of the national security framework. It indirectly helps government function better, it helps the system work more effectively, it helps expose corruption within governments and organise crime.”

    The biggest challenge facing press freedom in Australia, said Professor Greste who is also UNESCO chair in journalism and communication at the University of Queensland, was making the general population understand the threats facing media.

    “Opening up a daily newspaper, it doesn’t feel as though Australia press is limited in any way. We don’t have explicit censorship and not seeing journalists thrown in prison. Up until the [Australian Federal Police] raids [on the ABC and a News Corp journalist], we weren’t seeing police kicking down the doors of journalists in a rage reaction. So it doesn’t look as though journalism is in a crisis,” he said.

    Greste said that if the public had a better understanding of how “dangerous it is for sources within government to speak to journalists anonymously, confidentially”, and the effect that has on stories that are not being told, he believed it would be more widely recognised that journalism in this country was “not as healthy as we’d like to believe”.

    No constitutional protection
    “The challenge is getting the public to understand the role that journalism plays, and appreciate that role, and recognise the loss of press freedom that we’ve seen since 9/11. The impact that the national security legislation has had on press freedom.”

    In Australia specifically, the AJF is pursuing the creation of a media freedom act that would help provide protections to journalists and compel the courts to consider press freedom in any case that would affect the state of press freedom in the country.

    “Australia is about the worst Western liberal democracy in the world when it comes to legal and constitutional protections for things like freedom of speech and press freedom,” Greste said.

    “We have no constitutional protection at all.”

    The AJF hopes a media freedom act would help protect news organisations from police raids such as the AFP’s 2019 raid on the ABC’s Sydney headquarters by insisting judges be obligated to consider press freedom and the public interest before signing warrants to allow such raids to take place.

    Greste said that while a parliamentary inquiry in August last year recommended sweeping reforms, politicians need to find the will to implement the recommendations.

    “The opportunity for the AJF is to help the public understand this and to find and develop political support for media freedom,” he said.

    “We’re getting some support, we’ve had a number of politicians approach us. We’re in the process of drafting an act. We’ve been speaking to a number of independent MPs about working on the idea and certainly politicians in the Coalition and in the Labor Party privately have been expressing support for the idea.”

    “It’s just that it’s hard to put on the political agenda and get the kind of moment that we need to see a piece of legislation go through.”

    Republished with permission from the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Veteran Filipino journalist and media rights advocate Nonoy Espina, 59, dies

    By Lian Buan in Manila

    Veteran journalist and former chairman of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) Jose Jaime “Nonoy” Espina has died after battling liver cancer, his family has confirmed.

    Espina was 59 years old, and died yesterday at their home in Bacolod.

    “Nonoy passed on peacefully, quietly surrounded by family tonight, at 9:20 pm,” his sister, journalist Inday Espina-Varona, said on Facebook.

    Espina “survived a severe infection of covid-19 and was able to return to the bosom of the family. His death was due to liver cancer,” said Varona.

    Press freedom champion
    Espina had just turned over the NUJP to a new set of officers early this year, but even amid health problems he shepherded the union through challenging times for the Philippine press.

    Under his chairmanship, the NUJP led rallies in support of media organisations which were harassed by the Duterte government – the closure order by the Securities and Exchange Comission of Rappler in 2018, and the franchise kill of ABS-CBN in 2020.

    “Nonoy was among the loudest voices at rallies in support of the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise, leading a march in Quezon City in March 2020 and later joining similar activities in Bacolod City, where he was based,” the NUJP said in a statement.

    “He was a tireless champion for the freedom of the press and the welfare of media workers,” said the NUJP.

    Espina was among the founding members of the union, and a member of the directorate for multiple terms until his chairmanship from 2018 to 2021.

    “He led the NUJP through waves of attacks and harassment by the government. For his defence of colleagues, he was red-tagged himself, and, alongside other members of the union, was made a target of government propagandists,” said the NUJP.

    Espina “was also among the first responders at the Ampatuan Massacre in Maguindanao in 2009,” said the NUJP, referring to the worst attack on Philippine media in the country’s history, where 32 journalists were killed when a powerful political clan ambushed the convoy of its rival who was on his way to file a certificate of candidacy.

    At the tail end of his chairmanship, the NUJP led the campaign for justice for the 58 victims of the massacre up to the historic conviction in December 2019 for the principal suspects.

    Media welfare
    Speaking to Rappler in 2019 about the Ampatuan case, Espina discussed the need for the Philippine media to galvanisxe and fight for workers’ rights, saying the situation “has worsened” since the massacre.

    “Community media aside, even the mainstream especially broadcast, there are more and more contractual workers, there’s no security of tenure, no benefits – that’s harsh,” said Espina.

    This is true to Espina’s character.

    “A former senior editor for news website InterAksyon, he advocated for better working conditions for media despite himself being laid off from the website, a move that he and other former members of the staff questioned before the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC),” said the NUJP.

    “They won that fight and Nonoy has led many other journalists to join the bigger fight for a more independent and freer press,” said the NUJP.

    Active in the ‘mosquito press’
    Espina was a musician known to journalists for his signature singing voice, “but he was first and foremost a journalist,” said Varona.

    Espina had been a journalist from high school to college, editing UP Visayas’ Pagbutlak. Espina was a recipient of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines or CEGP’s Marcelo H. Del Pilar Award, the highest honour of the guild.

    “He was later part of community media group Correspondents, Broadcasters and Reporters Association—Action News Service, or COBRA-ANS, which was part of the “mosquito press” during the Marcos dictatorship,” said the NUJP.

    He also served as editor for Inquirer.net.

    “NUJP thanks him for his long years of service to the union and the profession and promises to honour him by protecting that prestige,” said the union.

    “Nonoy leaves us with lessons and fond memories, as well as the words he often used in statements: That the press is not free because it is allowed to be. It is free because it insists on being free,” the NUJP said.

    Republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • RSF’s 2021 ‘Press freedom predators’ gallery includes old tyrants, 2 women

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has published a gallery of grim portraits — those of 37 heads of state or government who crack down massively on press freedom, reports RSF.

    Some of these “predators of press freedom” have been operating for more than two decades while others have just joined the blacklist, which for the first time includes two women and a European predator.

    Nearly half (17) of the predators are making their first appearance on the 2021 list, which RSF is publishing five years after the last one, from 2016.

    All are heads of state or government who trample on press freedom by creating a censorship apparatus, jailing journalists arbitrarily or inciting violence against them, when they do not have blood on their hands because they have directly or indirectly pushed for journalists to be murdered.

    Nineteen of these predators rule countries that are coloured red on the RSF’s press freedom map, meaning their situation is classified as “bad” for journalism, and 16 rule countries coloured black, meaning the situation is “very bad.”

    The average age of the predators is 66. More than a third (13) of these tyrants come from the Asia-Pacific region.

    “There are now 37 leaders from around the world in RSF’s predators of press freedom gallery and no one could say this list is exhaustive,” said RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire.

    “Each of these predators has their own style. Some impose a reign of terror by issuing irrational and paranoid orders.

    Others adopt a carefully constructed strategy based on draconian laws.

    A major challenge now is for these predators to pay the highest possible price for their oppressive behaviour. We must not let their methods become the new normal.”

    The full RSF media predators gallery 2021.
    The full RSF 2021 media predators gallery. Image: RSF

    New entrants
    The most notable of the list’s new entrants is undoubtedly Saudi Arabia’s 35-year-old crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who is the centre of all power in his hands and heads a monarchy that tolerates no press freedom.

    His repressive methods include spying and threats that have  sometimes led to abduction, torture and other unthinkable acts. Jamal Khashoggi’s horrific murder exposed a predatory method that is simply barbaric.

    The new entrants also include predators of a very different nature such as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, whose aggressive and crude rhetoric about the media has reached new heights since the start of the pandemic, and a European prime minister, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, the self-proclaimed champion of “illiberal democracy” who has steadily and effectively undermined media pluralism and independence since being returned to power in 2010.

    Women predators
    The first two women predators are both from Asia. One is Carrie Lam, who heads a government that was still democratic when she took over.

    The chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region since 2017, Lam has proved to be the puppet of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and now openly supports his predatory policies towards the media.

    They led to the closure of Hong Kong’s leading independent newspaper, Apple Daily, on June 24 and the jailing of its founder, Jimmy Lai, a 2020 RSF Press Freedom laureate.

    The other woman predator is Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s prime minister since 2009 and the daughter of the country’s independence hero. Her predatory exploits include the adoption of a digital security law in 2018 that has led to more than 70 journalists and bloggers being prosecuted.

    Historic predators
    Some of the predators have been on this list since RSF began compiling it 20 years ago. Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, were on the very first list, as were two leaders from the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko, whose recent predatory inventiveness has won him even more notoriety.

    In all, seven of the 37 leaders on the latest list have retained their places since the first list  RSF published in 2001.

    Three of the historic predators are from Africa, the region where they reign longest. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 79, has been Equatorial Guinea’s president since 1979, while Isaias Afwerki, whose country is ranked last in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, has been Eritrea’s president since 1993.

    Paul Kagame, who was appointed Rwanda’s vice-president in 1994 before taking over as president in 2000, will be able to continue ruling until 2034.

    For each of the predators, RSF has compiled a file identifying their “predatory method,” how they censor and persecute journalists, and their “favourite targets” –- the kinds of journalists and media outlets they go after.

    The file also includes quotations from speeches or interviews in which they “justify” their predatory behaviour, and their country’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index.

    RSF published a list of Digital Press Freedom Predators in 2020 and plans to publish a list of non-state predators before the end of 2021.

    Asia Pacific Report and Pacific Media Watch collaborate with the Paris-based RSF.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Internet Shutdown And Detention And Torture Of Journalists In Eswatini

    “We stand with New Frame and Mndebele and Mbuyisa who have taken risks to their personal security and safety in order to break the communication shutdown and tell the stories of those risking their lives to fight an oppressive government. The attacks they suffered are not isolated, and are part of the larger repressive attacks on dissent and democratic freedoms by the government in eSwatini.”

    The post Internet Shutdown And Detention And Torture Of Journalists In Eswatini appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Malawi Pride and press freedoms in Palestine: human rights this fortnight – in pictures

    A roundup of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Chile to Cambodia

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • RSF’s Apple Daily ‘funeral protests’ mark risk of death of free press in China

    Pacific Media Watch newsdesk

    Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has staged parallel protests outside the Chinese embassies in Paris and Berlin, holding funeral-style processions to denounce the “killing” of Apple Daily by the Hong Kong government, and to raise alarm of the threats posed by the Beijing regime to press freedom globally.

    Arriving at the Chinese embassy following a hearse, RSF representatives in Paris staged a mock funeral procession, delivering a coffin and funeral flowers with a placard inscribed “Apple Daily (1995-2021).”

    In Berlin, RSF representatives staged a parallel action, “burying” the daily newspaper which was one of the last major independent Chinese-language media critical of the Beijing regime.

    Two days prior, Apple Daily announced that it must cease all operations from June 27, with the last print edition of its newspaper to be published on June 24, due to the government’s decision to freeze its financial assets, leaving the media outlet unable to pay their employees and suppliers, reports RSF in a statement.

    RSF condemns the killing of the outlet perpetrated by Chief Executive Carrie Lam by order of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and calls for the immediate release of all detained Apple Daily employees as well as the media outlet’s founder Jimmy Lai, RSF 2020 Press Freedom Prize laureate.

    “We have gathered today to raise alarm about the urgent risk of death to press freedom in Hong Kong,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire told reporters gathered outside the Chinese embassy in Paris.

    “Democracies cannot continue to stand idly by while the Chinese regime systematically erodes what’s left of the country’s independent media, as it has already done in the rest of the country.

    International community ‘must act’
    “Today’s funeral is for Apple Daily, but tomorrow’s may be for press freedom in China. It’s time for the international community to act in line with their own values and obligations and defend what’s left of the free press in Hong Kong, before China’s model of information control claims another victim.”

    Deloire also called out China’s Ambassador to France Lu Shaye, who last week gave an interview labelling media critical of the Chinese regime a “media machine” and journalists criticising Chinese authorities as “mad hyenas”.

    Lu Shaye believes there is no need for a plurality of media: “With two or three groups and a few people, we can become the vanguard of the war of public opinion and we can coordinate this war well.”

    Lu Shaye has previously been critical of French media, stating last year at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemics: “I’m not saying the French media always tell lies about China, but much of their reporting on China is not true.”

    Earlier this week, RSF submitted an urgent appeal asking the UN to “take all necessary measures” to safeguard press freedom in Hong Kong.

    Hong Kong, once a bastion of press freedom, has fallen from 18th place in 2002 to 80th place in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index.

    The People’s Republic of China, for its part, has stagnated at 177th out of 180.

    Pacific Media Watch works in association with Reporters Without Borders.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • AJF, RSF and other media freedom watchdogs condemn China’s ‘suffocation’ of free press

    Pacific Media Watch newsdesk

    Apple Daily has announced its imminent closure in a dark day for Hong Kong’s press freedom and democracy, sparking condemnation by global media freedom watchdogs.

    The Australian-based Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom, Reporters Without Borders in Paris and the Committee to Protect Journalists were among the watchdogs that issued statements criticised the crackdown by authorities that has forced Hong Kong’s last pro-democracy daily to close.

    Founded by Jimmy Lai, who is currently jailed on a series of charges including unlawful assembly, fraud and “colluding with foreign forces”, Apple Daily has been a longstanding and well-read publisher for 26 years.

    This closure comes days after more than 100 police raided their offices, arrested five Apple Daily executives and froze their assets on Monday. Another columnist was arrested yesterday afternoon.

    These incidents occurred under a new National Security Law, which critics say restricts the territory’s autonomy and undermines the human rights of its citizens.

    Peter Greste, spokesperson and director of the AJF said:

    “Since the national security law was introduced, we’ve seen: the arrest and ongoing detention of Jimmy Lai as he awaits trial; the freezing of a news publisher’s assets so they can no longer pay their staff; the mass-raid of the publisher’s offices – in numbers fit for terrorists – and the arrest of five executives; and the arrest of a columnist during a company board meeting only days later.

    ‘This is not normal’
    “This is not normal. This is not democracy,” said Dr Greste, who is also the UNESCO chair in journalism at the University of Queensland, Brisbane.

    “Press freedom and democracy cannot function when journalism in the public interest is restricted or denied. Apple Daily was a vocal critic of the government, but that should not be a crime.

    “They were a legitimate news outlet. If a publisher like Apple Daily cannot exist in Hong Kong anymore, it is hard to see what remains of their democracy.

    “The AJF implores Hong Kong to re-commit to the democratic principle of press freedom, release the Apple Daily journalists and employees now in custody, and unfreeze the company’s assets so they can continue to report freely.”

    In Paris, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) deplored the shutdown following the announcement by the parent Next Digital media group’s board of directors yesterday that Apple Daily would cease all its operations from Sunday, June 27, due to the government’s decision to freeze its financial assets, leaving the media outlet unable to pay their employees and suppliers.

    On Tuesday, June 22, RSF submitted an urgent appeal to the United Nations, asking the organisation to “take all necessary measures” to safeguard press freedom in Hong Kong.

    “The tearing down of Apple Daily, one of the last major Chinese-language media critical of the Beijing regime, after years of harassment, is sending a chilling message to Hong Kong journalists,” said Cédric Alviani, RSF East Asia bureau head.

    Erasing press freedom
    “If the international community does not respond with the utmost determination, President Xi Jinping will know that he can erase press freedom in Hong Kong with complete impunity, as he has already done in the rest of China.”

    In New York, the Committee to Protect Journalists also denounced the Chinese government’s “outrageous efforts to stomp out critical voices in Hong Kong”.

    Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia programme coordinator, said: “Even under colonial rule, the people of Hong Kong enjoyed robust freedom of expression. China has managed to snuff that out, in stark violation of firm commitments it made to the people of Hong Kong during the handover from British rule in 1997.”

    Apple Daily, launched in 1995, was one of the last major Chinese-language media to still dare publish information contradicting the Beijing regime’s propaganda and editorials critical of its authoritarian policies, and for many years it was the target of harassment by government and pro-Beijing camps.

    On the 17 June 2021, approximately 500 police officers raided its headquarters and five executive staff members were arrested on suspicion of “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces”, a crime that bears a life sentence under the National Security Law imposed last year by the Chinese regime.

    Apple Daily founder and 2020 RSF Press Freedom Awards laureate, Jimmy Lai, detained since December 2020, was recently sentenced to a total of 20 months in prison for taking part in three “unauthorised” pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019 and also faces six other procedures, including two charges for which he risks life imprisonment.

    On the May 28, RSF submitted another urgent appeal asking the UN to “take all measures necessary’ to obtain his immediate release.

    Hong Kong, once a bastion of press freedom, has fallen from 18th place in 2002 to 80th place in the 2021 RSF World Press Freedom Index.

    The People’s Republic of China, for its part, has stagnated at 177th out of 180.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Hungary’s LGBT protests and Juneteenth Day: human rights this fortnight – in pictures

    A roundup of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms from China to Colombia

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Reality Winner’s Release From Federal Prison Met With Calls for Full Pardon

    Reality Winner exits the Augusta Courthouse on June 8, 2017, in Augusta, Georgia. Winner is an intelligence industry contractor accused of leaking National Security Agency (NSA) documents.

    Press freedom advocates were among those celebrating the release of former National Security Agency contractor Reality Winner on Monday after her attorney announced Winner had been transferred from federal prison to a halfway house.

    Alison Grinter Allen, Winner’s lawyer, said the legal team is continuing to pursue a full pardon from President Joe Biden.

    Winner’s release was not part of a commutation but was the result of “time earned from exemplary behavior while incarcerated,” according to Grinter Allen, who added that San Antonio’s Residential Reentry Management field office may allow Winner to serve the rest of her time in home confinement.

    “The Residential Reentry center is in charge right now and will manage her transition, but we are definitely still seeking commutation and pardon,” the attorney said in a tweeted statement. “The fight continues and I’ll still be taking meetings in Washington to press forward the case for commutation and pardon, but the family will be stepping back to concentrate on Reality and her health and healing.”

    Winner, who worked at Fort Gordon in Georgia as a contractor with Pluribus International, was arrested in 2017 after federal law enforcement agents determined she had given a secret document about Russian hackers targeting the U.S. election system to reporters at The Intercept.

    She was charged under the Espionage Act and took a plea deal which included a five-year prison sentence, which she is scheduled to finish serving on November 23, 2021.

    The Freedom of the Press Foundation said Winner’s release from federal prison was “long overdue.”

    Grassroots public interest newswire The Sparrow Project tweeted that Winner’s prosecution served as a reminder of “the separate standards of justice in ‘leak’ investigations, and just how politicized they have become.”

    Winner’s legal team sent thousands of letters to former President Donald Trump asking for clemency, but he did not intervene in the case.

    The digital rights group Fight for the Future called on Biden to pardon Winner “immediately.”

    “Telling the truth is not a crime,” the group said.

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Jeremy Corbyn among 24 MPs urging Joe Biden to drop Assange extradition bid

    A group of British MPs have written to the US president urging him to drop his administration’s attempt to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

    An open letter to Joe Biden, who’s in the UK for the G7 summit, said dropping the prosecution would be a “clarion call for freedom”.

    Assange is being detained in Belmarsh prison in London. Meanwhile the US continues an attempt to extradite him over the activities of WikiLeaks.

    Joe Biden at the G7 summit
    Joe Biden at the G7 summit (Leon Neal/PA)

    Dangerous precedent

    The MPs said they’d hoped Biden’s victory might be the occasion to draw a line under the prosecution.

    They added:

    Unfortunately, the US Department of Justice is still pursuing this case, leaving Julian Assange facing a third year of incarceration in Belmarsh high-security prison.

    The effect of your predecessor’s decision to take a criminal case against a member of the press working in our country is to restrict the scope of permissible press activities here, and set a precedent that others will no doubt exploit.

    The case against Mr Assange weakens the right to publish important information that the government finds uncomfortable. Indeed, this value is central to a free and open society.

    Prominent signatories

    Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott

    Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott are among the signatories (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

    The letter continued:

    The case against Mr Assange also undermines public confidence in our legal systems. Our countries are also increasingly confronted with the contradiction of advocating for press freedom abroad while holding Mr Assange for years in the UK’s most notorious prison at the request of the US government.

    We appeal to you to drop this prosecution, an act that would be a clarion call for freedom that would echo around the globe.

    The letter was signed by 24 MPs including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MPs Diane Abbott and John McDonnell and Green MP Caroline Lucas.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Biden DOJ Says It Will No Longer Spy on New York Times Journalists

    The New York Times has revealed shocking details about an unsuccessful attempt by the Trump administration, and then the Biden administration, to secretly obtain the email logs of four reporters at the newspaper. As part of the campaign, the Biden Justice Department placed a gag order on the Times in March to prevent many at the paper from even knowing about the request until a federal court lifted it. In recent weeks the Justice Department also disclosed the Trump administration had secretly obtained the call records of four journalists at the Times, as well as three journalists at The Washington Post and one at CNN. Jameel Jaffer, founding director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, says subpoenas for journalists’ records are “really troubling” because of their potential chilling effect on critical journalism. “It’s about the right of the public to have access to information about the government,” he says.

    TRANSCRIPT

    This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

    AMY GOODMAN: I’m Amy Goodman. This is Democracy Now!

    We turn now to look at a fight over press freedom. The New York Times has revealed shocking details about an unsuccessful attempt by the Trump administration — and then the Biden administration — to secretly obtain the email logs of four New York Times reporters. As part of the campaign, the Biden Justice Department placed a gag order on the Times in March to prevent many at the paper, including its executive editor, from even knowing about the request. The Times reported on the story Friday after a federal court lifted the gag order. In recent weeks the Justice Department also disclosed the Trump administration had secretly obtained the call records of four journalists at the Times, as well as three journalists at The Washington Post and one, Barbara Starr, at CNN.

    On Saturday, the Justice Department reversed course and announced it’s changing its policy and will no longer force media companies to hand over source information as part of its leak investigations.

    On Sunday, New York Times reporter Adam Goldman appeared on CNN’s Reliable Sources. His phone records were seized by both the Obama and Trump administrations.

    ADAM GOLDMAN: It’s certainly disappointing, but I wasn’t surprised. Some of the same prosecutors who were involved in seizing my phone records earlier this year, and unsuccessfully trying get my emails, were involved in secretly obtaining my phone records in 2013 when I worked at the Associated Press. This office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C., has a history of trampling on the First Amendment. So that’s why I wasn’t surprised. They treat the media, they treat newspapers like drug gangs.

    AMY GOODMAN: In late May, President Biden spoke out against the seizing of records from journalists at the very time when The New York Times was still under a gag order. He was questioned by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

    KAITLAN COLLINS: [Should the government be] seizing reporters’ phone records and emails? And would you prevent your Justice Department from doing that?

    PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Only yours. But beyond yours, OK, for them, no.

    KAITLAN COLLINS: But honestly.

    PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: And we should — absolutely positively, it’s wrong. Simply, simply wrong.

    KAITLAN COLLINS: So you won’t let your Justice Department do that?

    PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I will not let that happen.

    AMY GOODMAN: It was only this weekend that the Justice Department announced they would not do this.

    We’re joined now by Jameel Jaffer, the founding director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, previously the deputy legal director at the ACLU.

    Jameel, it’s great to have you back. Can you first respond to what we learned this weekend?

    JAMEEL JAFFER: Yeah, sure. And thanks for inviting me.

    I mean, I guess the first thing to say is that these kinds of subpoenas are really troubling for a number of reasons. It’s not so much about journalists’ rights; it’s about the right of the public to have access to information about the government. And if reporters’ sources are available to the government, then reporters won’t be able to get the information they need in order to write the stories we want them to write. So there’s a real concern that these kinds of subpoenas can have a chilling effect on journalism that is, you know, really necessary, journalism that goes to the ability of the public to hold government officials accountable for their decisions. So, that’s why I think these reports are so disturbing, these reports of Trump administration subpoenas directed at news organizations, intended to uncover the identities of reporters’ sources. And, you know, as your intro noted, we’ve seen now a number of these; just over the last few weeks, a number of these have come to light.

    One sort of background fact that’s important to recognize here is that the Supreme Court hasn’t weighed in on this set of issues for 50 years. And the result is that whatever protections journalists have in this context are really a matter of executive grace. They’re a matter of what protections the Justice Department wants to give them, rather than what protections the First Amendment requires. The First Amendment is kind of strangely absent in this context. The relevant set of rules has come, over the last few years, at least, from the attorney general’s guidelines, which were strengthened under President Obama. Attorney General Holder tightened those restrictions — tightened those rules in some ways to make it slightly — not just slightly, more difficult for prosecutors to obtain reporters’ sources, the identities of reporters’ sources.

    But even with that kind of tightening, the Justice Department has found it possible to serve these subpoenas, and not just serve these subpoenas, but this most recent report out of The New York Times involves not just a subpoena intended to obtain reporters’ phone and email records, or subpoenas meant to obtain those records, but a gag order on Times executives that prevented, initially, the Times’s lawyer, David McCraw, from disclosing the fact of the subpoena and court order to other Times officials. And that, I think, is a kind of independent First Amendment problem, not just the subpoena directed — you know, intended to uncover the reporters’ sources, but then a gag order that prevents the Times from sharing that kind of information even within the organization, let alone with the public.

    AMY GOODMAN: And, of course, we don’t know if there are — though the Biden Justice Department says they’re not going to engage in these, whether there are any more of these gag orders out there, because people can’t talk about them. And what do you make of — I mean, Goldman and Matt Apuzzo had been — the Justice Department had gone after them both under the Obama administration — they worked for AP, and now they’re working at The New York Times — and him saying, “They treat us like drug gangs. They’re using the same laws”?

    JAMEEL JAFFER: Yeah. Well, I mean, I do think that there’s a real risk here that people will come to see journalists as kind of extensions of law enforcement or extensions of the intelligence agencies, and then, you know, would-be sources won’t go to people like Apuzzo or Goldman with information that is crucial for the public to have. So I do think that the concerns are justified.

    I know that President Biden has now said that his administration won’t tolerate these kinds of subpoenas, and the Justice Department has said that it’s going to implement that direction, which is obviously a good thing. You know, what I would say about that, though, just to temper it a little, number one, is, again, it’s really troubling that all of this is a matter of executive grace rather than constitutional law. There should be some set of rules, that is independent of whoever’s in office right now, that limits what kinds of information the Justice Department can get, and when, in these kinds of investigations.

    But the other thing I’d say is just that there are real questions about implementation. You know, the definitions matter. Like, who counts as a journalist? What counts as a leak investigation? The attorney general’s guidelines have historically had exception for foreign intelligence investigations. And that means that subpoenas and court orders served under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or national security letters that are sometimes served on technology companies or telecoms, those are essentially exempt from the attorney general guidelines that were put in place under the Obama administration. So there’s a real question now — you know, great that the Biden administration seems willing to go in a different direction, but I think we should ask some questions about the precise scope of the commitment that the Justice Department has now made.

    AMY GOODMAN: Would it be up to Congress to pass laws?

    JAMEEL JAFFER: Yeah, well, you know, many states have shield laws that protect journalists when state law enforcement seeks access to their records. There is no federal shield law, so, you know, again, we have no background First Amendment law, or almost no background First Amendment law. There’s a 1972 case, Branzburg v. Hayes, which is the last time the Supreme Court weighed in, in this context. But that case is very, very muddy, sort of notoriously muddy. It doesn’t really give journalists any kind of real confidence that their records can be kept secret. So you’ve got that, and, on the other hand, you have no federal shield law. There’s no congressionally enacted protections for journalists.

    So, again, what that leaves journalists with is really just whatever protections the Justice Department wants to give. And I don’t think that’s really defensible in a society that is committed to press freedom. You know, you can’t call yourself a society that’s committed to press freedom if the only press freedom that exists is the press freedom that the government wants to provide or the executive branch wants to provide.

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Israeli forces just ‘assaulted’ and arrested an Al Jazeera journalist

    On Saturday 5 June, Israeli security forces “assaulted” and then arrested a prominent Al Jazeera journalist. The media outlet has condemned her treatment, accusing Israeli forces of ‘violating all international conventions’. And the incident comes in a long line of the occupying force’s abuse of journalists.

    “Brutal” arrest

    Al Jazeera reported that its journalist:

    Givara Budeiri was arrested in a brutal manner by Israeli occupation forces while covering demonstrations in the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

    The outlet noted that:

    Israeli police assaulted the Doha-based media network’s Jerusalem correspondent while arresting her on Saturday and destroyed equipment belonging to Al Jazeera cameraman Nabil Mazzawi.

    People shared footage of Budeiri’s arrest on Twitter:

    Budeiri was reporting on protests over Israel’s planned eviction of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah in the occupied territories. She said that Israeli security forces:

    came from everywhere, I don’t know why, they kicked me to the wall

    She also said:

    They kicked me inside the car in a very bad way … they were kicking me from everywhere

    ‘Violating international conventions’

    They arrested Budeiri then released her several hours later. Israel forces have told her she cannot go back to Sheikh Jarrah for 15 days. All this is despite the journalist holding an official Israeli-issued press pass. Al Jazeera‘s director general said:

    We condemn the actions of the Israeli occupation forces in the strongest terms. The systematic targeting of our journalists is in total violation of all international conventions. Today’s violent actions by Israeli occupation forces against Givara Budeiri and Nabil Mazzawi are in total disregard for the fundamental human rights of journalists.

    Israeli forces clamping down on journalists is an ongoing tactic. For example, in May its military destroyed a building in Gaza that was used by the Associated Press (AP) and other media:

    Israel’s persecution has been particularly stark towards journalists reporting on the situation in Sheikh Jarrah.

    An ongoing Israeli tactic

    As The Canary previously reported, at the start of June Israeli security forces were detaining 13 Palestinian journalists, some following the violence in May. Reporters Without Borders has been monitoring the situation in Gaza and the occupied territories. It said that:

    the Israeli authorities are currently holding a total of at least 13 Palestinian journalists. They include Alaa Al-Rimawi, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in the West Bank city of Ramallah and head of the online news agency J-Media, who has been held since 22 April without any official charge being brought against him.

    Al Jazeera took the story further. It reported that Israeli security forces released two Palestinian journalists only to then put them under house arrest. Like Budeiri, they had been reporting on the protests in Sheikh Jarrah. An Israeli judge ordered that these two journalists could not communicate for 15 days. 

    It appears as though Israeli forces are actively trying to stop reporting on the situation in Sheikh Jarrah. Moreover, there was international outcry about Israel’s most recent assault on Gaza. Its forces killed at least 247 Palestinians, including 66 children, in 11 days. So it seems the state of Israel is growing increasingly concerned that the world is watching its actions. And it appears to be actively trying to now prevent media coverage.

    Endemic of apartheid

    Budeiri and other journalists’ arrests are symptomatic of the Israeli state’s apartheid occupation. As Jareer Kassis said on Twitter:

    Meanwhile, Israeli media reported on Budeiri’s arrest from a different angle. The right-wing Times of Israel pushed the Israeli security forces narrative that they arrested her for “assaulting” them. But the paper did give Budeiri’s side of the argument.

    So, not only are Israeli forces actively silencing journalists, but some of the country’s corporate media is reinforcing this too. The state of Israel has all the signs of apartheid. And Palestinians will see little respite in the coming weeks and months.

    Featured image via Al Jazeera – YouTube 

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Detained Belarusian dissident says he was set up by an associate

    A dissident journalist arrested when Belarus diverted his flight has said in a video from prison that he was set up by an unidentified associate. The footage of Roman Protasevich was part of an hour-long documentary aired late on Wednesday by the state-controlled ONT channel.

    In the film, the 26-year-old is also shown saying that protests against Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko are now pointless amid a tough crackdown, and suggesting the opposition wait for a more opportune moment. The film claimed Belarusian authorities were unaware Protasevich was on board the Ryanair jet en route from Athens to Vilnius when flight controllers diverted it to Minsk on May 23 citing a bomb threat.

    Belarus Dissident Journalist
    The Ryanair jet on the tarmac at Minsk (Mindaugas Kulbis/AP)

    The EU response

    No bomb was found after the landing, but Protasevich was arrested along with his Russian girlfriend. The flight’s diversion outraged the European Union, which responded by barring the Belarusian flag carrier from its skies, told European airlines to skirt Belarus and drafted new sanctions against key sectors of the Belarusian economy.

    Lukashenko’s rule

    Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet nation of 9.3 million for more than a quarter of a century, has accused the West of trying to “strangle” his country with sanctions.

    Belarus has been rocked by months of protests fuelled by his re-election to a sixth term in an August 2020 vote that was widely seen as rigged. Lukashenko has only increased the crackdown, and more than 35,000 people have been arrested since the protests began, with thousands beaten.

    Alexander Lukashenko
    Alexander Lukashenko (Sergei Shelega/BelTA Pool Photo/AP)

    “Bloody rebellion”

    Protasevich, who left Belarus in 2019, has become a leading critic of Lukashenko. He ran a popular channel on the Telegram messaging app that played a key role in organising the huge anti-government protests and was charged with inciting mass disturbances — accusations that carry a 15-year prison sentence.

    Lukashenko last week accused him of fomenting a “bloody rebellion” and defended the flight diversion as a legitimate response to a bomb threat. The ONT documentary appeared to be intended to back that contention by claiming Belarusian authorities were unaware Protasevich was on the plane when they diverted it.

    Set up?

    In the video, the journalist alleged that the bomb threat could have been issued by someone with whom he had a personal conflict. He said the perceived ill-wisher – who he did not name – had links with opposition-minded hackers who have attacked Belarusian official websites and issued bomb threats in the past.

    Protasevich said:

    When the plane was on a landing path, I realised that it’s useless to panic,

    Once the plane taxied to a parking spot, he described seeing heavily armed special forces waiting. It was a dedicated Swat unit — uniforms, flak jackets and weapons,

    A day after his arrest, Protasevich appeared in a video from detention that was broadcast on Belarusian state TV. Speaking rapidly and in a monotone, he said he was confessing to staging mass disturbances. His parents, who now live in Poland, said the confession seemed to be coerced.

    By The Canary

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Israel is detaining over a dozen Palestinian journalists

    Israeli security forces are detaining 13 Palestinian journalists; some following the violence in May. An international organisation campaigning for journalists has called this “unacceptable”. The situation highlights the reality of Israeli apartheid and the poor press freedom that exists in the occupied territories.

    Israeli violence in Gaza

    As The Canary previously reported:

    Israel’s recent aerial assault on the Gaza Strip killed 247 Palestinians, including 66 children, in 11 days. A ceasefire was announced on 21 May.

    Palestinians have also been under attack in the West Bank and inside Israel’s borders. Israeli colonists backed up by the Israeli army have launched repeated attacks on the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, the third most holy site in Islam. Mosques and Muslim graveyards have been attacked in Palestinian cities within Israel. Lynchings and fatal shootings have taken place both within the West Bank and within Israel, as ultra-nationalist Israeli colonists attacked Palestinians.

    But while the violence may have temporarily and partially subsided, for some journalists working in Gaza and the occupied territories there appears little respite.

    Detaining journalists

    Reporters Without Borders has been monitoring the situation Gaza and the occupied territories. It’s said that:

    the Israeli authorities are currently holding a total of at least 13 Palestinian journalists. They include Alaa Al-Rimawi, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in the West Bank city of Ramallah and head of the online news agency J-Media, who has been held since 22 April without any official charge being brought against him.

    Al Jazeera took the story further. It reported that Israeli security forces released two Palestinian journalists only to then put them under house arrest. They had been reporting on the protests over Israel’s forced evictions of Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah area of the occupied territories.

    Making up evidence?

    As Al Jazeera noted:

    After five days in jail, the judge at Jerusalem’s Central Court released them on bail of 4,000 shekels ($1,230) each and ordered them to be under house arrest for a month, forbidding them from communicating with each other for 15 days.

    “The police accused the two of assault, obstructing police work, and of making threats,” their lawyer Jad Qadamani told Al Jazeera.

    However, video footage of the day’s events and their arrest was shown to the judge that contradicted police evidence.

    “The police wanted to keep them locked up for further investigation but they lacked sufficient evidence,” said Qadamani.

    This is endemic of the Israeli authorities approach to Palestinian journalists.

    An entrenched problem

    For example, the Palestinian Centre for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) said Israeli forces committed “408 violations of the media” in 2020 in the occupied territories. But reporter Rajai al-Khatib told Al Jazeera that this time it seemed worse:

    I’ve been injured many times in the past, but over the last month during coverage of the pending expulsions of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem, and the invasions of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the behaviour and attitude of the Israeli forces has deteriorated.

    He added:

    My leg was broken by a rubber bullet near Jerusalem’s Old City several weeks ago and I had to go to hospital.

    On another occasion, my camera was smashed and I was also beaten from behind by Israeli police while in Sheikh Jarrah.

    The police are getting personal and their actions seem like retaliation against journalists for the negative media coverage they are receiving internationally

    Reeking of apartheid

    Little wonder that Reporters Without Borders ranks Israel as 86 out of 180 countries in its latest Press Freedom Index. Moreover, the Israeli government’s draconian actions against journalists reeks of similarities to how apartheid South Africa treated Black reporters. Reporters Without Borders stated:

    The repeated recourse to administrative detention exempts the Israeli authorities from having to bring charges and allows them to prolong detention indefinitely, which is unacceptable… Palestinian journalists are just doing their job and should not, under any circumstances, be presumed to be guilty.

    Israel’s crackdown on Palestinian journalists is utterly regressive and authoritarian. Other journalists around the world would do well to condemn this. Yet so far, there’s a telling silence from the Western corporate media.

    Featured image via TRT World – YouTube

    By Steve Topple

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • It’s not just Belarus. The world is becoming a hostile place for journalists.

    On 23 May, a Ryanair plane was forced to land before it could reach its destination. Instead of coming down in Lithuania as intended, the plane was told it must perform an emergency landing in Minsk due to a suspected security threat.

    When the plane landed in Belarus, police instead detained one of the passengers. Roman Protasevich, a blogger who has criticised the authoritarian regime of president Alexander Lukashenko, was taken into custody in Belarus.

    He reportedly told another passenger before he was arrested:

    I’m facing the death penalty here.

    His whereabouts are now unknown.

    In more than a year of coronavirus cover-ups and political unrest, these kinds of arrests of journalists are beginning more common – not just in Belarus, but across the world.

    “Reprehensible act of state terrorism”

    The plane was apparently only two minutes from Lithuanian airspace when it was hijacked. According to the government press service, Lukashenko gave the order to divert the plane, escorted by a scrambled military jet.

    Belarus has accused Protasevich of ‘inciting social hatred and organising mass riots’. He was a former editor on Poland-based Telegram channels Nexta and Nexta Live, which covered the anti-Lukashenko protests last year.

    Protasevich denies the charges, which could see him face up to 15 years in prison.

    His arrest has been widely condemned by Europe and the US, some calling it an act of “state terror”. The US and EU demanded Protasevich’s immediate release. Leaders have asked for a full investigation and have banned flights over Belarus.

    “An attack on democracy”

    Protasevich isn’t the first journalist to be imprisoned by the Lukashenka regime.

    In August 2020, Alexander Lukashenko won the election that gave him a sixth term. Many said the election was fraudulent, and it sparked mass protests across the country.

    Authority forces detained many journalists during the protests. Some were fined. Others faced more serious charges. As of December 2020, at least 10 journalists were imprisoned in Belarus.

    This has continued into 2021, with at least 16 journalists detained in a short period at the end of March.

    Chair of the foreign affairs select committee, Tom Tugendhat, said:

    This isn’t just a story about Belarus or one journalist. It’s a direct assault on the liberties of all of us. If aircraft can be forced to the ground, if aircraft can be diverted from their course in order to punish the political opponents of tyrants, then journalists here in the UK, politicians anywhere in Europe, will find it harder to speak out. …

    This is a direct assault on all of us. An attack on democracy and freedom of speech.

    An increasingly hostile environment

    Indeed, this has in no way been limited to Belarus. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 2020 was a record year in terms of the number of journalists imprisoned across the world.

    The committee found that  274 journalists were in jail in December 2020. The worst offenders were China, Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, though the number of journalists imprisoned has risen significantly in both Belarus and Ethiopia.

    It attributes the increase in arrests, in part, to governments trying to cover up reporting of the pandemic and opposition to political unrest.

    Even in the US – CPJ found no journalists imprisoned in December 2020, but 110 had been arrested of criminally charged. Around 300 had been assaulted.

    In December 2020, CPJ executive director Joel Simon, said:

    It’s shocking and appalling that we are seeing a record number of journalists imprisoned in the midst of a global pandemic. This wave of repression is a form of censorship that is disrupting the flow of information and fuelling the infodemic. With COVID 19 raging through the world’s prison, it’s also putting the lives of journalists at risk.

    Journalists murdered

    2020 also saw the killing of at least 30 journalists. 21 of these were specifically murdered in response to their reporting – double the 10 who were murdered in 2019.

    At the time of reporting, CPJ were still investigating the deaths of 15 more journalists.

    Members of the press are no safer in 2021; five journalists have already been killed. CPJ designated four of these deaths as murder.

    Simon added:

    It’s appalling that the murders of journalists have more than doubled in the last year, and this escalation represents a failure of the international community to confront the scourge of impunity.

    He further argued:

    The fact that murder is on the rise and the number of journalists imprisoned around the world hit a record is a clear demonstration that press freedom is under unprecedented assault in the midst of a global pandemic, in which information is essential. We must come together to reverse this terrible trend.

    Featured image via YouTube/BBC News 

    By Jasmine Norden

    This post was originally published on The Canary.

  • Gaza damage and Glasgow raids: human rights this fortnight in pictures

    A roundup of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Myanmar to Peru

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Scheer Intelligence: The Ruling Class’ Revenge Against Julian Assange

    The mistreatment of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over the past decade has been defined as “psychological torture” by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer. Yet, there is still no real end in sight to Assange’s promethean plight. Several months after a British judge blocked his extradition to the U.S.–citing that conditions in America’s inhumane prison system would be detrimental to his health–the WikiLeaks founder continues to be held in a maximum security prison in the U.K. The U.S. government, first under Donald Trump’s rule and now under Joe Biden’s, is appealing the extradition ruling. With a new decision in the case is due to be announced any day now, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and ScheerPost columnist Chris Hedges joins Robert Scheer on this week’s installment of “Scheer Intelligence” to discuss what Hedges has called Assange’s “martyrdom.”

    The post Scheer Intelligence: The Ruling Class’ Revenge Against Julian Assange appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Media alliance calls in Jokowi’s pledge to allow foreign journalists into Papua

    By Achmad Nasrudin Yahya in Jakarta

    The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) is calling in a pledge made by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in 2015 over press freedom in Papua that has never been fulfilled over the past five years.

    AJI trade union advocacy division head Erick Tanjung said that at the beginning of Widodo’s first term in office he pledged to allow foreign and domestic journalists to freely report in Papua.

    “But the fact is that to this day this promise has never been fulfilled by President Jokowi,” he said during an event on World Press Freedom Day launching an AJI report titled The Press Freedom Situation in Indonesia in 2021.

    “So we have consistently called on the president to open access to foreign journalists to report in Papua, including domestic journalists and journalists from Papua.”

    Based on AJI’s records, between 2012 and 2015 there were at least 77 cases where journalists were prevented from carrying out their work in the Land of the Bird of Paradise, as Papua is known.

    In addition to this, AJI also recorded 74 cases of journalists having to obtain prior permission to report in Papua and 56 cases of permits being refused.

    Meanwhile, out of the scores of applications for permits to report in Papua, only 18 permits were issued.

    Six deportation cases
    “There were six cases of deportations,” said Tanjung.

    In addition to the issue of access, freedom of information in Papua also faces obstacles due to the high level of violence against journalists in Papua.

    Tanjung said that there were at least 114 cases of violence against journalists in Papua over the last 20 years or between 2000 and 2021.

    “Based on data we gathered through the AJI Papua subdivision, the number of cases of violence against journalists and the media in Papua over the last 20 years or between 2000 and 2021 was 141 cases of violence,” said Tanjung.

    Thirty-six out of these 114 cases were against journalists from Papua while 40 were against non-Papuan journalists.

    Finally, there were 38 cases of intimidation against media companies and the media in general.

    When he visited Wapeko Village in the Kurik subdistrict of Merauke regency, Papua, on Sunday, 10 May 2015, President Widodo said that foreign journalists from any country were allowed to arrive and report in all parts of Indonesia, including Papua and West Papua provinces.

    Two provinces closed
    Up until then, the two provinces were closed to foreign journalist on the grounds that conflicts and violence in Indonesia’s two eastern-most provinces was still frequent, such as actions by armed groups wanting to separate from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

    “Starting today, foreign journalists are allowed to and are free to come to Papua, just the same (as they can come and report) in other parts of the country,” said Widodo.

    According to Widodo at the time, the situation in Papua and West Papua provinces was different than in the past.

    “We have to think positive and trust each other on all issues”, said the President when asked what would happen if foreign journalists began reporting more on armed groups in the highlands.

    Widodo asserted that the decision must be implemented.

    “This decision must be implemented. Enough, don’t ask negative questions about this issue any more,” said Widodo.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “AJI Tagih Janji Jokowi soal Akses bagi Jurnalis Asing ke Papua”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Media alliance calls in Jokowi’s pledge to allow foreign journalists into Papua

    By Achmad Nasrudin Yahya in Jakarta

    The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) is calling in a pledge made by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in 2015 over press freedom in Papua that has never been fulfilled over the past five years.

    AJI trade union advocacy division head Erick Tanjung said that at the beginning of Widodo’s first term in office he pledged to allow foreign and domestic journalists to freely report in Papua.

    “But the fact is that to this day this promise has never been fulfilled by President Jokowi,” he said during an event on World Press Freedom Day launching an AJI report titled The Press Freedom Situation in Indonesia in 2021.

    “So we have consistently called on the president to open access to foreign journalists to report in Papua, including domestic journalists and journalists from Papua.”

    Based on AJI’s records, between 2012 and 2015 there were at least 77 cases where journalists were prevented from carrying out their work in the Land of the Bird of Paradise, as Papua is known.

    In addition to this, AJI also recorded 74 cases of journalists having to obtain prior permission to report in Papua and 56 cases of permits being refused.

    Meanwhile, out of the scores of applications for permits to report in Papua, only 18 permits were issued.

    Six deportation cases
    “There were six cases of deportations,” said Tanjung.

    In addition to the issue of access, freedom of information in Papua also faces obstacles due to the high level of violence against journalists in Papua.

    Tanjung said that there were at least 114 cases of violence against journalists in Papua over the last 20 years or between 2000 and 2021.

    “Based on data we gathered through the AJI Papua subdivision, the number of cases of violence against journalists and the media in Papua over the last 20 years or between 2000 and 2021 was 141 cases of violence,” said Tanjung.

    Thirty-six out of these 114 cases were against journalists from Papua while 40 were against non-Papuan journalists.

    Finally, there were 38 cases of intimidation against media companies and the media in general.

    When he visited Wapeko Village in the Kurik subdistrict of Merauke regency, Papua, on Sunday, 10 May 2015, President Widodo said that foreign journalists from any country were allowed to arrive and report in all parts of Indonesia, including Papua and West Papua provinces.

    Two provinces closed
    Up until then, the two provinces were closed to foreign journalist on the grounds that conflicts and violence in Indonesia’s two eastern-most provinces was still frequent, such as actions by armed groups wanting to separate from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

    “Starting today, foreign journalists are allowed to and are free to come to Papua, just the same (as they can come and report) in other parts of the country,” said Widodo.

    According to Widodo at the time, the situation in Papua and West Papua provinces was different than in the past.

    “We have to think positive and trust each other on all issues”, said the President when asked what would happen if foreign journalists began reporting more on armed groups in the highlands.

    Widodo asserted that the decision must be implemented.

    “This decision must be implemented. Enough, don’t ask negative questions about this issue any more,” said Widodo.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “AJI Tagih Janji Jokowi soal Akses bagi Jurnalis Asing ke Papua”.

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • [Open Letter] Crackdown on Press Freedom & Freedom of Expression in Bangladesh

    03 May 2021
    H.E. Michelle Bachelet
    United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
    Palais Wilson
    52 rue des Pâquis
    CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland

    RE: Crackdown on Press Freedom & Freedom of Expression in Bangladesh

    Dear High Commissioner Bachelet,

    On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, we write to draw your attention to the escalating human rights violations perpetrated by the Bangladesh government, exemplified in part by the increasing crackdown on press freedom and the freedom of expression of journalists, activists, and dissidents.

    We welcome your March 1 statement following the death in custody of writer Mushtaq Ahmed and torture of cartoonist Ahmed Kishore, which remarked on the “long-standing concern” over allegations of torture by Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), called for an “overhaul” of the draconian Digital Security Act (DSA), and urged the release of all prisoners charged under it.

    In light of the continuing attacks on the media, we now respectfully urge you and other UN special mandates to engage in sustained outreach by publicly and vigorously expressing concerns over the situation of media freedom and using all means at your disposal to urge the Bangladeshi authorities to protect and respect freedom of expression.

    Seven years ago, UN special mandates communicated with the Bangladesh government to bring attention to “the arrest of journalists and the adoption of disproportional punitive measures disrupting the activities of newspapers and televisions.” However, since retaining power in December 2018, the ruling Awami League party has taken an even tougher line with the media. With widespread repression of the media and the harassment of editors who publish reports critical of the government, journalists have taken to self-censoring at unprecedented levels given the risks of imprisonment or closure of media outlets.

    Journalists have been subjected to violence by party activists, they have been arrested arbitrarily, and news sites have been blocked. The Bangladesh government is reportedly targeting websites and YouTube channels of Bangladeshi dissidents abroad. In March, for instance, Indian news website Scroll was rendered inaccessible in Bangladesh after publishing an article by a Bangladeshi writer criticizing the Bangladesh government adviser Gowher Rizvi.

    In recent months, a number of journalists have been targeted for their work, and those who expose government corruption or express dissent are particularly at risk. At least 17 journalists were injured covering protests over the visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2021, a majority of whom were photographers.

    Demonstrators and police officers hit journalists with rifle butts, sticks, iron rods, stones, and bricks, and journalists were shot with rubber bullets resulting in various injuries including bruises, swelling, bleeding, broken bones, a dislocated shoulder, and a cracked skull. During these protests, there were also reports that Facebook and Messenger services were restricted in Bangladesh. In 2020, at least 247 journalists were reportedly subjected to attacks, harassment, and intimidation by state officials and others affiliated with the government.

    Authorities continue to use the DSA to harass and indefinitely detain journalists, activists, and others critical of the government, resulting in a chilling effect on any expression of dissent. This overbroad cybercrime law, passed in 2018, effectively stifles journalism by criminalizing peaceful speech at the discretion of the government. More than 900 cases were filed under the DSA between January and December 2020; with nearly 1,000 people charged and 353 detained. Bangladesh authorities are poised to undertake even more prosecutions of DSA cases, as the Law Ministry has approved a proposal to expand the number of special tribunals specifically for these types of cyber “crimes.”

    One such DSA case took place in October 2020, when Bangladesh police arrested journalist Ruhul Amin Gazi, a reporter with the pro-opposition newspaper The Daily Sangram in a case filed under the DSA for a news article published in 2019. Most recently, on April 20, 2021, Bangladesh police arrested Abu Tayeb, a Khulna journalist who works as a correspondent of the private TV channel NTV and a local correspondent of Dainik Loksomaj. He was arrested from his residence at night and charged under the DSA for an alleged Facebook post.

    In light of these violations and the deepening trend they represent of silencing a free press, we respectfully urge your mandate to explore avenues to hold Bangladeshi perpetrators accountable and urge the government of Bangladesh to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression, repeal the Digital Security Act, and release all journalists, critics, and activists who are in detention for speaking out.

    Sincerely,
    Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
    Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
    Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
    Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL)
    Committee to Protect Journalists
    Eleos Justice, Monash University
    Human Rights Watch
    International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
    Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

    CC: UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan

    UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor

    Ambassador/Head of Delegation of the EU to Bangladesh Rensje Teerink

    EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore

    U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller

    **
    For a PDF version of this joint statement, please click here.

    For further information, please contact:

    For media inquiries, please contact:

    This post was originally published on FORUM-ASIA.

  • World Celebrates Press Freedom Day, Julian Assange Remains In Belmarsh Prison

    As people worldwide celebrate the UN’s World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, WikiLeaks publisher and journalist Julian Assange remains incarcerated.

    The US continues to demand Assange’s extradition for his role in obtaining and publishing national defence documents from 2009 to 2011. The leaks, provided by US Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning, are known as the Guantanamo Files, the Iraq War Logs, the Afghan War Diary, and the US diplomatic cables (aka Cablegate).

    There are noteworthy parallels which can be drawn between Assange’s case and that of famed US Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. Ellsberg was a former senior adviser and analyst with the defence and state departments during the Vietnam War.

    The post World Celebrates Press Freedom Day, Julian Assange Remains In Belmarsh Prison appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

    This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.

  • Media freedom fraternity must counter attacks on j-education, says JERAA

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Australia’s leading journalism education advocacy body has marked World Press Freedom Day by condemning attacks on journalism education and research, including individual academics.

    President Dr Alexandra Wake of the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA) said such attacks had a real impact on press freedom, adding: “I call on all those who want quality journalism in Australia to flourish, to support our work within the academy”.

    In a statement released today, she said that in the past year:

    • the cost of journalism degrees had increased by 110 percent,
    • universities had been “ditching journalism programmes”,
    • headlines about job losses were encouraging “our best and brightest students” to choose other courses of study, and
    • some parts of the media continued attacks on universities and individual academics.

    “Journalist watchdogs, like all other professionals, must be trained,” she said.

    “They do not learn their skills by osmosis in understaffed news organisations, stripped of senior staff.”

    Dr Wake’s statement said:

    Focus on attacks on journalism education

    “On World Press Freedom Day 2021 I would like us to focus on how attacks on journalism education and research, including on individual academics, have a real impact on press freedom in Australia. I call on all those who want quality journalism in Australia to flourish, to support our work within the academy.

    “In the past year we have seen the cost of journalism degrees increase by 110 percent, universities ditching journalism programmes, headlines about job losses encouraging our best and brightest students to choose other courses of study, and some parts of the media continuing their attacks on universities and individual academics.

    “However, it is within Australia’s universities that much world-leading research is happening, seeking out answers for our ailing industry, not just around financial viability, but also around important social issues – from the need for greater diversity, equity and inclusion to ethics and artificial intelligence, misinformation and regional security issues.

    “It is also within our universities that budding journalists are trained in all the skills of journalism: from fact checking and verification to data analysis and analytics, while still learning to write and broadcast news stories which ask the tough questions of the rich and powerful.

    “Journalist watchdogs, like all other professionals, must be trained. They do not learn their skills by osmosis in understaffed news organisations, stripped of senior staff. At universities we not only teach new recruits to be watchdogs, we ask them to consider themselves as guide dogs showing audiences which issues are worth the investment of their time, and even therapy dogs to help build and rebuild communities.

    “Journalists within the university system work in all kinds of roles, sometimes in traditional modes, with others experimenting with new styles and theories of journalism. In fact, some of the highest quality journalism currently taking place is produced by students and academics. It is often under the guidance of academic staff, most of whom were long-time journos, that students have won the highest local, national and even international journalism awards.

    “Journalism programmes clearly don’t just result in jobs in journalism. But such a course of study does give students the opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills, to build their knowledge of the world, and it gives them the time to think deeply about the issues that need changing in the world.

    “Many of our graduates have thanked us for their training in journalism even those who later choose careers in medicine, engineering, politics and international development.

    Vital life-long skills
    “Undergraduate journalism degrees certainly give students vital life-long skills of media literacy, while graduate diploma and masters programmes in journalism result in highly-skilled and deep thinking journalists.

    “I do not claim that all of Australia’s journalism programs are perfect, but all those who work in journalism within the academy are constantly reviewing curricula and upskilling for the current and future industry requirements.

    “Journalism programmes aren’t stuck in what some newsroom leaders learned in the 1980s, or 2000s. Today’s classes are filled with tools and skills to debunk ‘deep fakes’ and edit incredible sound. Industry professionals are brought in to ensure the students know what is expected in the modern workforce.

    “But with so many newsrooms now devoid of senior staff with the time to guide younger recruits, in many cases, that role has reverted to their academic.

    “More than ever before new journalists find that the only people available to support them, particularly when they are under siege as freelancers, or are within an unwelcoming newsroom is their former lecturer.

    “Although this year I am raising concerns about a lack of support for journalism education and research as a key press freedom issue for Australia, I do not overlook the serious issues faced by Australian journalists working on the front line of covid-19, under the gaze of an unsympathetic public.

    Australians in jail
    “We also remain concerned about the Australians who are in jail in China (Cheng Lei) and the UK (Julian Assange), the very difficult work conditions faced by women, particularly Indigenous women, women of colour and those with disabilities. These are issues which fill our classrooms and conversations with students and all have been heighted during covid.

    “As covid-19 continues to wreak havoc around the world, I would like to call on all those who support excellent journalism – university leaders, newsroom bosses, parents, and philanthropists – to be more vocal in their support of journalism education and research, the overlooked but vital supplier of current and future talent, ideas and solutions.”

    Dr Alexandra Wake
    President
    Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Media freedom fraternity must counter attacks on j-education, says JERAA

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Australia’s leading journalism education advocacy body has marked World Press Freedom Day by condemning attacks on journalism education and research, including individual academics.

    President Dr Alexandra Wake of the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA) said such attacks had a real impact on press freedom, adding: “I call on all those who want quality journalism in Australia to flourish, to support our work within the academy”.

    In a statement released today, she said that in the past year:

    • the cost of journalism degrees had increased by 110 percent,
    • universities had been “ditching journalism programmes”,
    • headlines about job losses were encouraging “our best and brightest students” to choose other courses of study, and
    • some parts of the media continued attacks on universities and individual academics.

    “Journalist watchdogs, like all other professionals, must be trained,” she said.

    “They do not learn their skills by osmosis in understaffed news organisations, stripped of senior staff.”

    Dr Wake’s statement said:

    Focus on attacks on journalism education

    “On World Press Freedom Day 2021 I would like us to focus on how attacks on journalism education and research, including on individual academics, have a real impact on press freedom in Australia. I call on all those who want quality journalism in Australia to flourish, to support our work within the academy.

    “In the past year we have seen the cost of journalism degrees increase by 110 percent, universities ditching journalism programmes, headlines about job losses encouraging our best and brightest students to choose other courses of study, and some parts of the media continuing their attacks on universities and individual academics.

    “However, it is within Australia’s universities that much world-leading research is happening, seeking out answers for our ailing industry, not just around financial viability, but also around important social issues – from the need for greater diversity, equity and inclusion to ethics and artificial intelligence, misinformation and regional security issues.

    “It is also within our universities that budding journalists are trained in all the skills of journalism: from fact checking and verification to data analysis and analytics, while still learning to write and broadcast news stories which ask the tough questions of the rich and powerful.

    “Journalist watchdogs, like all other professionals, must be trained. They do not learn their skills by osmosis in understaffed news organisations, stripped of senior staff. At universities we not only teach new recruits to be watchdogs, we ask them to consider themselves as guide dogs showing audiences which issues are worth the investment of their time, and even therapy dogs to help build and rebuild communities.

    “Journalists within the university system work in all kinds of roles, sometimes in traditional modes, with others experimenting with new styles and theories of journalism. In fact, some of the highest quality journalism currently taking place is produced by students and academics. It is often under the guidance of academic staff, most of whom were long-time journos, that students have won the highest local, national and even international journalism awards.

    “Journalism programmes clearly don’t just result in jobs in journalism. But such a course of study does give students the opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills, to build their knowledge of the world, and it gives them the time to think deeply about the issues that need changing in the world.

    “Many of our graduates have thanked us for their training in journalism even those who later choose careers in medicine, engineering, politics and international development.

    Vital life-long skills
    “Undergraduate journalism degrees certainly give students vital life-long skills of media literacy, while graduate diploma and masters programmes in journalism result in highly-skilled and deep thinking journalists.

    “I do not claim that all of Australia’s journalism programs are perfect, but all those who work in journalism within the academy are constantly reviewing curricula and upskilling for the current and future industry requirements.

    “Journalism programmes aren’t stuck in what some newsroom leaders learned in the 1980s, or 2000s. Today’s classes are filled with tools and skills to debunk ‘deep fakes’ and edit incredible sound. Industry professionals are brought in to ensure the students know what is expected in the modern workforce.

    “But with so many newsrooms now devoid of senior staff with the time to guide younger recruits, in many cases, that role has reverted to their academic.

    “More than ever before new journalists find that the only people available to support them, particularly when they are under siege as freelancers, or are within an unwelcoming newsroom is their former lecturer.

    “Although this year I am raising concerns about a lack of support for journalism education and research as a key press freedom issue for Australia, I do not overlook the serious issues faced by Australian journalists working on the front line of covid-19, under the gaze of an unsympathetic public.

    Australians in jail
    “We also remain concerned about the Australians who are in jail in China (Cheng Lei) and the UK (Julian Assange), the very difficult work conditions faced by women, particularly Indigenous women, women of colour and those with disabilities. These are issues which fill our classrooms and conversations with students and all have been heighted during covid.

    “As covid-19 continues to wreak havoc around the world, I would like to call on all those who support excellent journalism – university leaders, newsroom bosses, parents, and philanthropists – to be more vocal in their support of journalism education and research, the overlooked but vital supplier of current and future talent, ideas and solutions.”

    Dr Alexandra Wake
    President
    Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • World Press Freedom Day 2021: Hostility towards journalists on rise

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Journalists are fearful that increased harassment, abuse and violence directed towards them during the covid-19 pandemic could become the new normal, says the union for Australian media workers.

    Releasing its 2021 report into the state of press freedom in Australia, Unsafe at Work – Assaults on Journalists, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance says attacks on journalists increased both globally and and in Australia throughout 2020.

    MEAA has been cataloguing the decline of press freedom in Australia now for 20 years.

    MEAA says political polarisation caused by the pandemic was behind much of the rising animosity towards journalists, particularly through social media.

    But the union also warns that law enforcement agencies have become more heavy-handed in their treatment of journalists.

    According to MEAA’s 2021 press freedom survey – the fourth year it has been conducted – Australian journalists are fearful of an increasingly hostile working environment where physical assaults, online abuse and harassment by law enforcement agencies are becoming common.

    Although most working journalists who completed the survey said they had not been physically attacked or harassed themselves, 88.8 percent said they were fearful that threats, harassment and intimidation was on the rise.

    Assaults on journalists
    A quarter of all journalists surveyed said they had been assaulted at least once during their career, and one-in-five said they had been harassed by police while reporting over the past 12 months.

    A larger number – 35 percent – have been subjected to threats to their safety online and 70 percent said they did not believe their employer provided sufficient training or support in situations where they faced threats or assaults.

    MEAA chief executive Paul Murphy said an MEAA media release that the survey results were unsettling.

    “Journalists know that their work will always be under scrutiny and expect it to be criticised, but they are entitled to a safe workplace like all other workers,” he said.

    “But in recent years, and encouraged by politicians, journalists are being exposed to much more than an acceptable critique of their work.

    “They are threatened and sometimes assaulted at public events, while social media has now evolved into a vehicle for abuse, harassment and threats against journalists. Sometimes these attacks are one-offs but increasingly they are part of a torrent of abuse, which is a weapon to hurt and to harm.

    “The polarisation of politics is a key feature in much of this abuse.

    Urgent action needed
    “Urgent action is needed to ensure journalists can carry on their duties to our communities free from abuse, harassment, arrests and violence.”

    Overall, MEAA says that there has been little improvement in press freedom in Australia over the past 12 months, although the union welcomed the decision by the Australian Federal Police not to prosecute three journalists on national security grounds following raids in 2019.

    MEAA is hopeful that reform is slowly approaching towards a national uniform defamation regime, and there are positive signs that the Queensland government will finally adopt journalist shield laws, bringing it into line with all other jurisdictions.

    MEAA will release its 2021 report into the state of press freedom in Australia, Unsafe at Work – Assaults on Journalists, on UNESCO World Press Freedom Day today – Monday, May 3.

    The annual report catalogues MEAA’s press freedom concerns in Australia, and the region.

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • World Press Freedom Day 2021: Hostility towards journalists on rise

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Journalists are fearful that increased harassment, abuse and violence directed towards them during the covid-19 pandemic could become the new normal, says the union for Australian media workers.

    Releasing its 2021 report into the state of press freedom in Australia, Unsafe at Work – Assaults on Journalists, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance says attacks on journalists increased both globally and and in Australia throughout 2020.

    MEAA has been cataloguing the decline of press freedom in Australia now for 20 years.

    MEAA says political polarisation caused by the pandemic was behind much of the rising animosity towards journalists, particularly through social media.

    But the union also warns that law enforcement agencies have become more heavy-handed in their treatment of journalists.

    According to MEAA’s 2021 press freedom survey – the fourth year it has been conducted – Australian journalists are fearful of an increasingly hostile working environment where physical assaults, online abuse and harassment by law enforcement agencies are becoming common.

    Although most working journalists who completed the survey said they had not been physically attacked or harassed themselves, 88.8 percent said they were fearful that threats, harassment and intimidation was on the rise.

    Assaults on journalists
    A quarter of all journalists surveyed said they had been assaulted at least once during their career, and one-in-five said they had been harassed by police while reporting over the past 12 months.

    A larger number – 35 percent – have been subjected to threats to their safety online and 70 percent said they did not believe their employer provided sufficient training or support in situations where they faced threats or assaults.

    MEAA chief executive Paul Murphy said an MEAA media release that the survey results were unsettling.

    “Journalists know that their work will always be under scrutiny and expect it to be criticised, but they are entitled to a safe workplace like all other workers,” he said.

    “But in recent years, and encouraged by politicians, journalists are being exposed to much more than an acceptable critique of their work.

    “They are threatened and sometimes assaulted at public events, while social media has now evolved into a vehicle for abuse, harassment and threats against journalists. Sometimes these attacks are one-offs but increasingly they are part of a torrent of abuse, which is a weapon to hurt and to harm.

    “The polarisation of politics is a key feature in much of this abuse.

    Urgent action needed
    “Urgent action is needed to ensure journalists can carry on their duties to our communities free from abuse, harassment, arrests and violence.”

    Overall, MEAA says that there has been little improvement in press freedom in Australia over the past 12 months, although the union welcomed the decision by the Australian Federal Police not to prosecute three journalists on national security grounds following raids in 2019.

    MEAA is hopeful that reform is slowly approaching towards a national uniform defamation regime, and there are positive signs that the Queensland government will finally adopt journalist shield laws, bringing it into line with all other jurisdictions.

    MEAA will release its 2021 report into the state of press freedom in Australia, Unsafe at Work – Assaults on Journalists, on UNESCO World Press Freedom Day today – Monday, May 3.

    The annual report catalogues MEAA’s press freedom concerns in Australia, and the region.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • World Press Freedom Day 2021: Hostility towards journalists on rise

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Journalists are fearful that increased harassment, abuse and violence directed towards them during the covid-19 pandemic could become the new normal, says the union for Australian media workers.

    Releasing its 2021 report into the state of press freedom in Australia, Unsafe at Work – Assaults on Journalists, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance says attacks on journalists increased both globally and and in Australia throughout 2020.

    MEAA has been cataloguing the decline of press freedom in Australia now for 20 years.

    MEAA says political polarisation caused by the pandemic was behind much of the rising animosity towards journalists, particularly through social media.

    But the union also warns that law enforcement agencies have become more heavy-handed in their treatment of journalists.

    According to MEAA’s 2021 press freedom survey – the fourth year it has been conducted – Australian journalists are fearful of an increasingly hostile working environment where physical assaults, online abuse and harassment by law enforcement agencies are becoming common.

    Although most working journalists who completed the survey said they had not been physically attacked or harassed themselves, 88.8 percent said they were fearful that threats, harassment and intimidation was on the rise.

    Assaults on journalists
    A quarter of all journalists surveyed said they had been assaulted at least once during their career, and one-in-five said they had been harassed by police while reporting over the past 12 months.

    A larger number – 35 percent – have been subjected to threats to their safety online and 70 percent said they did not believe their employer provided sufficient training or support in situations where they faced threats or assaults.

    MEAA chief executive Paul Murphy said an MEAA media release that the survey results were unsettling.

    “Journalists know that their work will always be under scrutiny and expect it to be criticised, but they are entitled to a safe workplace like all other workers,” he said.

    “But in recent years, and encouraged by politicians, journalists are being exposed to much more than an acceptable critique of their work.

    “They are threatened and sometimes assaulted at public events, while social media has now evolved into a vehicle for abuse, harassment and threats against journalists. Sometimes these attacks are one-offs but increasingly they are part of a torrent of abuse, which is a weapon to hurt and to harm.

    “The polarisation of politics is a key feature in much of this abuse.

    Urgent action needed
    “Urgent action is needed to ensure journalists can carry on their duties to our communities free from abuse, harassment, arrests and violence.”

    Overall, MEAA says that there has been little improvement in press freedom in Australia over the past 12 months, although the union welcomed the decision by the Australian Federal Police not to prosecute three journalists on national security grounds following raids in 2019.

    MEAA is hopeful that reform is slowly approaching towards a national uniform defamation regime, and there are positive signs that the Queensland government will finally adopt journalist shield laws, bringing it into line with all other jurisdictions.

    MEAA will release its 2021 report into the state of press freedom in Australia, Unsafe at Work – Assaults on Journalists, on UNESCO World Press Freedom Day today – Monday, May 3.

    The annual report catalogues MEAA’s press freedom concerns in Australia, and the region.

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Call for Actions: #SolidarityForMyanmar

    On 1 February 2021 the Myanmar military seized power in a coup, overthrowing the democratically-elected government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD). The coup has been met with nationwide peaceful protests and civil disobedience movements demanding the restoration of the elected civilian government, release of all those who are arbitrarily detained following the coup, including Aung San Suu Kyi and civilian leaders, and accountability for the military’s atrocities.

    Since the 1 February coup in Myanmar, the junta has responded to the ongoing peaceful demonstrations across Myanmar with lethal violence killing over 755 people and systematic crackdowns, including arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, and regular disruption of internet and phone lines. 

    On this page, you will have an overview about #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar, relevant responses from the international community and what actions you can take to support the peoples of Myanmar.

     

    Summary of Current Situation: #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar

    The protests over the February 1 coup have been the largest since the Saffron Revolution in 2007 when thousands of monks rose up against the military regime. Tens of thousands of protesters from all walks of life, led by a Civil Disobedience Movement initiated by medical workers continue to employ non-violent tactics including regular and countrywide peaceful demonstrations, acts of civil disobedience, labour strikes, military boycott campaigns, a pot-banging movement, red ribbon campaigns, continue to protest the military coup and demand the restoration of the elected civilian government.

    The junta has responded to the ongoing peaceful protests with systematic and violent crackdowns with shoot-to-kill orders. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar has described the junta’s crackdown on peaceful protestors as crimes against humanity. Since the coup, over 755 people, including at least 43 children, women and medical workers have been killed so far in the junta’s violence against peaceful demonstrators.

    More than 4496 people including human rights defenders, journalists and civilian political leaders have been arbitrarily arrested, detained, and raided their offices and homes. Whereabouts of many who have been arrested remain unknown while several others have reported torture, sexual violence and ill treatment in detention.

    Amid the growing opposition to the junta, the military has escalated its military offensives in ethnic areas displacing thousands of people and forcing many to seek refuge in neighbouring countries.

    The junta has resorted to regular internet shutdowns, social media and media blackouts, disinformation campaigns, and disingenuous political overtures to counter the growing protest movement.

    In response to the coup d’état, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) comprising members of the parliament elected in the November 2020 election was formed in February 2021. According to the CRPH, it performs necessary activities and duties entrusted upon elected lawmakers or the regular functions of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (both houses of the Assembly of the Union), as well as activities necessary to ensure the unconditional release of those detained including the President and the State Counsellor.

    On 16 April 2021, the CRPH announced the formation of a National Unity Government (NUG) led by elected civilian leaders. The NUG cabinet consists of lawmakers elected in the 2020 election, members of ethnic communities and key figures in the anti-coup protest movement, almost all of whom are in hiding or exile.

     

    Timeline: #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar

    Every three weeks, FORUM-ASIA produces a timeline of key events for you to catch up on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar.

    For a PDF version of this timeline please click here

    To learn about the latest development in Myanmar, please see:

    • Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) Daily Briefing in Relation to the Military Coup here

     

    Response from the International Community

    1) Summary of ASEAN Response

    • 24 April 2021: An ASEAN Leaders Meeting was held in Jakarta, followed by the Chairman’s statement with a Five-Point Consensus.
    • 19 March 2021: The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, supported by Malaysia and Singapore, issued a follow-up statement to condemn the utilisation of violence against protesters in Myanmar and conveyed his willingness to discuss with the current ASEAN Chair, Brunei Darussalam, the possibility of conducting a special ASEAN summit on Myanmar. 
    • 11 – 12 March 2021: At the United Nations Human Rights Council’s 46th session, ASEAN Member States made interventions during the interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar in which they highlighted the key message from the Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.
    • 2 March 2021: The Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting was convened, and the attendees included Myanmar’s military-appointed Foreign Minister. The ASEAN Chair released a statement urging ‘all parties’ to refrain from violence but stops short of taking any collective action.
    • 24 February 2021: Indonesia’s Foreign Minister met with her Myanmar military-appointed counterpart in Bangkok, pushing for an ASEAN-led resolution to the crisis in Myanmar.
    • 15 February 2021: Eight former AICHR representatives issued a statement that took a stronger position than the current representatives’ joint statement. They called on AICHR to demand that the military junta ‘immediately release all those currently arbitrarily detained [and] respect the human rights of the peoples of Myanmar and refrain from any use of violence against peaceful assemblies.
    • 6 February 2021: Four representatives from the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) – (Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand) – issued a joint statement that expressed grave concern over the current situation in Myanmar and urged the military to respect the principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter.
    • 1 February 2021: Brunei Darussalam, as the current Chair of ASEAN, released a ‘Statement on The Developments in The Republic of The Union of Myanmar‘. The statement highlighted the values in the ASEAN Charter and called for the return to normalcy under the will and interests of the peoples of Myanmar.

    2) Summary of UN Response 

    • 1 April 2021: The UN Security Council condemned Myanmar junta’s use of violence against peaceful protesters.
    • 12 March 2021: The UN Human Rights Council’s debate on Myanmar saw the unequivocal condemnation of the coup and the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar suggested the military’s violence against peaceful protestors could amount to crimes against humanity; called for coordinated international action on the military.
    • 10 March 2021: The UN Security Council unanimously called for a reversal of the military coup in Myanmar and condemned the military’s violence against peaceful protestors.
    • 12 February 2021: the UN Human Rights Council held a special session on the human rights implications of Myanmar’s crisis. 
    • 4 February 2021: The President of the UN Security Council issued a press statement expressing deep concern at the declaration of the state of emergency in Myanmar and calling for the immediate release of all those detained including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint.

     

    FORUM-ASIA’s public interventions

    Press Releases

    • [Media Lines] FORUM-ASIA’s response to today’s ASEAN Summit on Myanmar: Failure in addressing the Myanmar crisis is a failure to uphold human rights and democracy in the region – 24 April 2021
    • [Media Lines] Myanmar: The relentless and intensifying violence on peaceful protesters must stop now – 3 March 2021
    • [Media Lines] Myanmar: FORUM-ASIA’s response to Myanmar’s escalation of violence and internet shutdown – 15 February 2021

    Statements

    • [Joint Statement] Myanmar: Brutal crackdown and targeting of human rights defenders and civil society continue – 1 April 2021
    • [Joint Statement] International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and State Donors: Stop loans and fully reassess Myanmar policy in light of coup d’état Do not fund the military junta or its cronies – 25 March 2021
    • [UN Human Rights Council Statement] 46th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, Oral Statement on Item 4: General Debate on human rights situations that require the Council’s attention – 12 March 2021
    • [UN Human Rights Council Statement] 46th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, Oral Statement on Item 4: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar – 11 March 2021
    • [Statement] International Partners Must End all Cooperation with the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission – 11 March 2021
    • [Joint Statement] ASEAN: Regional process should be aligned with Myanmar peoples’ aspiration – 1 March 2021
    • [Joint Statement] Malaysia Defies Court Order, Putting Lives in Imminent Danger – 1 March 2021
    • [Statement] Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) Must Denounce the Military Coup and Uphold Fundamental Rights of Peoples – 16 February 2021
    • [UN Human Rights Council Statement] 29th Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council on the human rights implications of the crisis in Myanmar: Oral Statement – 12 February 2021
    • [Joint Statement] Myanmar military should end its use of violence and respect democracy – 1 February 2021
    Open Letters/Call
    • [Joint Open Letter] Call for a Global Arms Embargo on Myanmar: An Open Letter to the UN Security Council and Individual UN Member States – 25 February 2021
    • [Joint Open Letter] ASEAN’s Response to the Military Coup in Myanmar – 19 February 2021
    • [Joint Open Letter] Civil Society Organisations Call on the UN Human Rights Council’s Immediate Action to ensure the Protection of Demonstrators – 9 February 2021
    • [Joint Open Letter] Joint Call For Human Rights Council Special Session on Myanmar – 5 February 2021
    Publications:
    • [Brief] One Vision, Different Responses: An Analysis of ASEAN Member States’ Responses to the Myanmar Coup and Recommendations – 22 April 2021
    Events:
    • [Press Conference] Analysis of the Special ASEAN Summit on Myanmar and its impact on human rights and democracy – 26 April 2021
    • [Online Summit] Southeast Asia Peoples’ Summit on Myanmar – 22 April 2021
    • [Online Public Dialogue] One Vision, Different Responses: Public Dialogue on ASEAN Responses to Myanmar – 22 April 2021
    • [Webinar and HRC46 Side Event] Protection for Human Rights Defenders in Asia: At the frontlines of movements for human rights and democracy – 4 March 2021

     

    Call for Actions

    1. Write a Letter, Share It on Social Media, and Send It to ASEAN and UN Leaders!

    • Send a letter to ASEAN foreign ministers. You can find the letter template here (PDF). If you wish to publish your letter on social media, you can find the visual templates here (PNG). Share on social media, use the following hashtags #SolidarityForMyanmar / #StandWithMyanmar / #SupportMyanmar / #EndTheCoup, / #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar, and tag the ASEAN Foreign Ministers. You can find their emails and Twitter handles here
    • Send a letter to the UN Human Rights Council Member State’s foreign ministers and the country mission based in Geneva. You can find the template here (PDF). If you wish to publish your letter on social media, you can find the visual templates here (PNG). Share on social media, use the following hashtags #SolidarityForMyanmar / #StandWithMyanmar / #SupportMyanmar / #EndTheCoup / #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar, and tag them. You can find the emails and Twitter handles here

     

     

    2. Share this page to raise awareness

    3. Express your solidarity using #SolidarityForMyanmar / #StandWithMyanmar / #SupportMyanmar / #EndTheCoup / #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar. Take a picture showing your support or share a poster [please click here for Facebook, Twitter,  Instagram & and Stories].

    You can also use any of the following tweet templates:

     

    This post was originally published on FORUM-ASIA.

  • World Press Freedom Index 2021 is out

    The 2021 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) shows that journalism, the main vaccine against disinformation, is completely or partly blocked in 73% of the 180 countries ranked by the organisation.

    This year’s Index, which evaluates the press freedom situation in 180 countries and territories annually, shows that journalism, which is arguably the best vaccine against the virus of disinformation, is totally blocked or seriously impeded in 73 countries and constrained in 59 others, which together represent 73% of the countries evaluated. These countries are classified as having “very bad,” “bad” or “problematic” environments for press freedom, and are identified accordingly in black, red or orange on the World Press Freedom map. To compare with last year, see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2020/04/21/2020-world-press-freedom-index-is-out/

    The Index data reflect a dramatic deterioration in people’s access to information and an increase in obstacles to news coverage. The coronavirus pandemic has been used as grounds to block journalists’ access to information sources and reporting in the field. Will this access be restored when the pandemic is over? The data shows that journalists are finding it increasingly hard to investigate and report sensitive stories, especially in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

    The 2021 Edelman Trust barometer reveals a disturbing level of public mistrust of journalists, with 59% of respondents in 28 countries saying that journalists deliberately try to mislead the public by reporting information they know to be false. In reality, journalistic pluralism and rigorous reporting serve to combat disinformation and “infodemics”, including false and misleading information.

    “Journalism is the best vaccine against disinformation,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. “Unfortunately, its production and distribution are too often blocked by political, economic, technological and, sometimes, even cultural factors. In response to the virality of disinformation across borders, on digital platforms and via social media, journalism provides the most effective means of ensuring  that  public debate is based on a diverse range of established facts.”

    For example, President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil (down 4 at 111th) and President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela (down 1 at 148th) promoted medically unproven Covid-19 remedies. Their false claims were debunked by investigative journalists at media outlets such as Brazil’s Agência Pública and in-depth reporting by Venezuela’s few remaining independent publications. In Iran (down 1 at 174th), the authorities tightened their control over news coverage and stepped up trials of journalists in order to weaken the media’s ability to scrutinise the country’s Covid-19 death toll. In Egypt (166th), President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s government simply banned the publication of any pandemic statistics that didn’t come from the Ministry of Health. In Zimbabwe (down 4 at 130th), the investigative reporter Hopewell Chin’ono was arrested shortly after helping to expose the overbilling practices of a medical equipment supply company.

    Biggest movements in the Index

    Norway is ranked first in the Index for the fifth year running even though its media have complained of a lack of access to state-held information about the pandemic. Finland maintained its position in second place while Sweden (up 1 at 3rd) recovered its third place ranking, which it had yielded to Denmark (down 1 at 4th) last year. The 2021 Index demonstrates the success of these Nordic nations’ approach towards upholding press freedom.

    The World Press Freedom map has not had so few countries coloured white – indicating a country situation that is at least good if not optimal – since 2013, when the current evaluation method was adopted. This year, only 12 of the Index’s 180 countries (7%) can claim to offer a favourable environment for journalism, as opposed to 13 countries (8%) last year. The country to have been stripped of its “good” classification is Germany (down 2 at 13th). Dozens of its journalists were attacked by supporters of extremist and conspiracy theory believers  during protests against pandemic restriction….The country that fell the furthest in 2021 was Malaysia (down 18 at 119th), where the problems include a recent “anti-fake news” decree allowing the government to impose its own version of the truth. Big descents were also registered by Comoros (down 9 at 84th) and El Salvador (down 8 at 82nd), where journalists have struggled to obtain state-held information about the government’s handling of the pandemic.

    https://rsf.org/en/2021-world-press-freedom-index-journalism-vaccine-against-disinformation-blocked-more-130-countries

    This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.

  • Tabloid Jubi journalist Victor Mambor ‘terrorised’ over Papua reports

    By Reza Gunadha and Chyntia Sami Bhayangkara in Jayapura

    Victor Mambor, journalist and editor of the Papua-based Tabloid Jubi, has become the target of a terrorist act this week.

    A car that he owns which was parked on the road near his home in the Papuan capital of Jayapura was vandalised by unknown individuals between 12 midnight and 2am on Wednesday, April 21.

    The windscreen of Mambor’s Isuzu Double Cabin DMax was smashed by a blunt object. The rear and left-side windows were also damaged by a sharp instrument.

    Victor Mambor
    Journalist Victor Mambor on a visit to New Zealand’s Pacific Media Centre in 2014. Image: Del Abcede

    The left-side front and back doors were also spray painted with orange paint.

    The Jayapura branch of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) chairperson, Lucky Ireeuw, suspects that the vandalism act was committed over reporting by Tabloid Jubi which a “certain party” disliked.

    Tabloid Jubi and its website are known for consistently presenting the public with reports on human rights violations in Papua.

    “This act of terror and intimidation is clearly a form of violence against journalists and threatens press freedom in Papua and more broadly in Indonesia,” said Ireeuw in a press release on Thursday, April 22.

    ‘Terrorism suffered’
    “It is strongly suspected that the terrorism suffered by Victor is related to reporting by Tabloid Jubi which a certain party dislikes.”

    Prior to the vandalism of his car, Mambor has suffered a series of attacks.

    “Digital attacks, doxing, and disseminating a flyer on social media the content of which painted Tabloid Jubi and Victor Mambor in a bad light, playing people off against each other and threats of criminal attacks on the media and Victor personally,” Ireeuw said giving examples of the attacks.

    The incident has already been reported to the authorities and Ireeuw is calling on the police to immediately investigate and arrest the perpetrators.

    Ireeuw slammed the attack against Mambor and Tabloid Jubi and urged whoever committed it to stop such actions immediately.

    “We appeal to all parties to respect the work of journalists and respect press freedom in the land of Papua,” he said.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Victor Mambor, Jurnalis Tabloid Jubi Papua Jadi Korban Aksi Teror”.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.