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30 NOVEMBER 2009
Press Freedom World Review - June - December 2009
More than 750 journalists have been murdered over the past decade and at least 88 have been killed since the beginning of 2009. Hundreds of media employees have been arrested this year and at least 170 remain in jail today, most often following sham trials or without charges against them.
In Latin America, governments and criminals ruthlessly attack journalists investigating high-level corruption and organised crime. Reporters are murdered in all impunity, while critical and opposition media are shut down arbitrarily.
Governments throughout the Middle East and North Africa continue to demonstrate their intolerance for truth, dissent and mockery. Journalists and freedom of expression advocates are continuously targeted by the authorities, while the severe crackdown on blogging region-wide reveals how much governments believe that the Internet can be a threat to their power.
Across Africa, Heads of State and their friends continue to abuse criminal defamation and sedition laws to sanction journalists who expose policy failures and corruption, and who report on conflicts and opposition views. Crackdowns on the independent press and the use of force are intensifying, inducing both self and government imposed censorship.
Prosecution and violence continue to be aimed at journalists in various parts of Europe and Central Asia, as they question government policies, use information deemed classified or unveil human rights abuses. Police raids, abductions and imprisonment remain common.
The hostility of many governments to any form of dissent continues to impede independent news reporting and opinions in Asia. Journalists reporting on corruption and conflict zones find themselves in the firing line of those directly or indirectly exposed by their reports. More than 30 journalists and their staff were killed in the southern Philippines on 23 November, as they were travelling with a group of politicians and political supporters planning to file nomination papers for Esmael Mangudadatu, an opposition gubernatorial candidate in Maguindanao province. Continued imprisonment of journalists in China, Burma’s mass censorship and repression of independent media, the consequences of a decades long civil war in Sri Lanka, and the resort to violence against the press in Nepal are only some of the key challenges facing press freedom in the region.
Note: the lists of journalists killed in the regional reports below are for the past six months. The list for the full year, and details of thee cases, can be found at here.
AMERICAS
Journalists killed: Mexico (4), Honduras (1), El Salvador (1), Colombia (1), Guatemala (1) TOTAL = 8
In Latin America, governments and criminals ruthlessly attack journalists investigating high-level corruption and organised crime. Reporters are murdered in all impunity, while critical and opposition media are shut down arbitrarily.
Since President Felipe Calderón of Mexico declared war on the powerful drug cartels in December 2006, killings of journalists have increased at an alarming rate, with four journalists killed over the last six months. In the latest incident, Bladimir Antuna García, a journalist with El Tiempo de Durango, was shot dead on 2 November and found with a threatening note: “This happened to me because I gave information (...) and wrote things that I shouldn’t have. Be careful when preparing stories. Bladimir”. The prevailing impunity and the brutal ways in which journalists are slaughtered and exposed, have forced many journalists into exile and self-censorship. The government’s November 2009 decision to disband a special committee looking into crimes against journalists, revealed both the government’s incapacity and unwillingness to tackle this issue.
The political turmoil triggered after the military coup headed by Roberto Micheletti against President Manuel Zelaya on 28 June has brought new obstacles to freedom of the press in Honduras. The de facto government suspended constitutional rights, among which freedom of expression, through an executive decree published on 28 September. Radio Globo, Radio La Catracha and Canal 36 were off the air for 22 days, after having their material seized by police forces and the National Telecommunications Commission. Harassment against media professionals continues, through a new decree allowing authorities to suspend any programme “fomenting social anarchy” and the use of grenades against media, both pro and anti-coup.
Like many of its Central American neighbours, El Salvador is home to a wave of violence, in part caused by the presence of rival criminal youth gangs, known as ‘Maras’. Investigative journalist Christian Poveda, who had recently released a documentary film on one of these groups, the ferocious ‘Mara 18’, was shot dead on 2 September. Officials managed to arrest five suspects, four gang members and one police official, who had accused Poveda of being a police informant.
In Argentina, a major media reform bill aiming to diversify content and prevent monopolistic ownership of the media was approved on 10 October. It also reduces the legal number of licenses that can be owned by one company from 24 to 10, forcing conglomerates to sell some of their holdings. Opposition leaders and many media professionals argue the bill will give the government a stronger grip on the media. Opponents believe the exceeding licenses given away by large media groups will be sold at lowered value, and fall into the hands of figures close to the government.
In August, the government of Venezuela passed a restrictive bill that stipulates jail terms of two to four years to “any person who releases false news (...) causing public disorder, fear and anxiety among the population or damages to state institutions”. The state continues to silence critical media sources by denying them license renewals on alleged technical and administrative grounds. Pro-government activists have attacked critical media journalists on repeated occasions during the past months. Journalist Gustavo Azócar, who was arrested on 29 July for violating his 2006 parole on charges of illegal acquisition of wealth and fraud by publicly commenting on his case, was held for two months in prison without being sentenced.
In Colombia, reporter Diego Rojas Velásquez was shot dead on 22 September after responding to a telephone call offering him a story. This killing is the second in Colombia this year. Although international media watchdogs agree the country has become safer during the past years, covering corruption, drug traffic, guerilla and paramilitary activities remains highly risky.
Covering politics and corruption has always been dangerous in Guatemala. Yet the growing presence of drug cartels has worsened the picture. Marco Antonio Estrada covered daily news but also organized crime and drug traffic. He was shot to death as he was stepping off his motorcycle on the night of 8 June. Recently, drug traffickers threatened news vendors, reporters and confiscated newspapers in order to prevent their distribution, after a report on drug related killings was published in “Prensa Libre” and “Nuestro Diario” newspapers.
In Cuba, a flourishing blogger movement has managed to develop in spite of the state’s iron-grip on all types of media. However, its most prominent representative, young Yoani Sánchez, was abducted along with bloggers Claudia Cadelo and Orlando Luís Pardo Lazo, on 6 November, on their way to an anti-violence protest. They were threatened and beaten, before being thrown to the street again. Raúl Castro’s repressive government continues its clampdown on journalists, and now bloggers, reinforcing Cuba’s record as the only country in the region to systematically oppress all voices coming from outside state-run media. With 27 journalists behind bars, Cuba remains one of the biggest journalist prisons on the planet.
Media professionals in Bolivia are constantly exposed to harassment through death threats, beatings and attacks. In one of the most recent cases, cameraman Marcelo Lobo working for La Paz-based Gigavisión TV station was savagely attacked. Press freedom in Bolivia has seriously suffered from the increasing political, economic and ethnic polarization of the country, one side supporting Aymara Indian President Evo Morales, and the other supporting the separatist opposition from Spanish descent. Media institutions and workers are attacked according to which side they’re allegedly attached too.
In Ecuador, private-owned Teleamazonas has been repeatedly fined and threatened of definitive closure in the past months. The TV station was the target of two home-made bombs at the end of May. President Fernando Correa’s administration is also planning to present three bills creating official agencies of media surveillance, imposing the respect of a ‘code of ethics’ and establishing a division in broadcasting licenses. In a separate case, Milton Chacaguasay Flores, director and editor of a weekly La Verdad, was sentenced on 9 July to four months in prison for slander, after having served six months on libel charges for report related to local corruption.
Corruption is the most sensitive issue when reporting news in Brazil. In one single month, three journalists were attacked for having reported on cases involving politicians. On 29 October, journalist Fábio Oliva, editor of the newspaper Folha do Norte, was physically assaulted by former treasury secretary of the city of Januária, who had recently come out of jail, in retaliation after Oliva revealed the secretary’s major role in a corruption scandal. On 5 October, journalist Wellington Raulino, owner of Integração TV, was chased and beaten by several men, one of them being the brother of the city of Uruçuí’s mayor, Valdir Soares da Costa, who Raulino accused of diverting public funds. In Recife, on 28 September, reporter Rafael Dias of Diário de Pernambuco, was hospitalized after having been punched several times by individuals who identified themselves as sons of deceased councilman Luiz Vidal. They considered a journalist’s report on Vidal’s death as “irresponsible.”
Ever since President Daniel Ortega’s rise to power in 2007 in Nicaragua, international media watchdogs have denounced his “war against the media”. His media policy is a unique mixture of neglect, by attributing interviews to handpicked media, and discredit, through smearing remarks against dissident voices, presented as enemies of the nation and allies of the CIA. On 19 June, thirty armed men confiscated broadcasting equipment from Radio La Ley and the state regulatory agency cancelled the radio’s broadcasting license. The owner of the radio, Santiago Aburto, is an outspoken critic of Daniel Ortega’s administration.
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
Journalists killed: 0
Governments throughout the Middle East and North Africa continue to demonstrate their intolerance for truth, dissent and mockery. Journalists and freedom of expression advocates are continuously targeted by the authorities, while the severe crackdown on blogging region-wide reveals how much governments believe that the Internet can be a threat to their power.
Security threats for journalists in Iraq have noticeably diminished compared to the past years. The new threat comes from the government’s harassment of media. An Iraqi court recently fined British newspaper The Guardian for defamation of Iraqi Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. In a separate development, freelance Reuteurs cameraman Ibrahim Jassam has been detained for more than a year by joint US-Iraqi forces, for alleged links with insurgents. However, neither evidence or charges have been brought against him to this day.
Press freedom has been deteriorating in Iraqi Kurdistan, as evidenced most recently by the assault of Iraqi Kurdish investigative journalist Nabaz Goran, the 32-year-old editor of the independent Kurdish-language bi-monthly Jihan. On 29 October, Goran was brutally battered by unknown assailants as he was leaving his office in the Iskan district of the Erbil. The assault on one of the most prominent investigative journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan underscores the heightened political tension in the region ahead of elections.
In Saudi Arabia, journalists, media and bloggers are under surveillance and are prosecuted, and harshly sentenced for addressing sensitive issues such as sexuality, religion and politics. On 9 August, two correspondent offices of Lebanese media were shut down after having aired a show with participants discussing their personal sex life. Culture and information ministry spokesman Abudl Rahman Al-Hazaa announced the closure of satellite TV station Lebanese Broadcast Corporation bureaux in Riyahd and Jeddah and condemned the participants, among which a woman journalist, Rozanna al-Yami. The latter was sentenced to 60 lashes for her association with the TV station but she was pardoned by King Abdallah on 26 October.
The government’s campaign against freedom of expression initiated earlier this year in Bahrain is reaching alarming levels. On 24 August, the government ordered the blocking of 1,040 websites, following a January 2009 decree regulating Internet access. This systematic campaign targets any website through which citizens can freely express themselves and which the government deems “pornographic” or subversive. Whenever treating sensitive issues or expressing slightly dissenting opinions, bloggers, Facebook and Youtube webpages, public forums, are all affected by this major crackdown. Journalists Myriam Al-Shoroogi and Husain Sabt were investigating corruption and malpractices of the government and as a result they were both brought to justice on charges of defamation and slander in September 2009.
Following the disputed presidential elections on 12 June, Iranian authorities instituted vast measures to suppress critical voices to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Authorities interrupted communications, censored the media, blocked websites and expelled foreign journalists. Dozens of journalists were arrested and at least 29 remain in jail. The government has come under fire yet again for its censorship policies with the launch of a new Web Crime Unit tasked with patrolling the web for cyber crimes that it will then report directly to the Office of the Chief Prosecutor. The new internet task force is yet another step in the aftermath of violent protests in which demonstrators used internet as an important tool for organizing, and disseminating information to the outside world.
In Yemen, media and journalists have come under increasing attacks by the government after clashes broke out between the military and armed protesters in southern parts of the country in late April 2009. Journalist and human right activist Salah Al Saqladi, detained since 18 June 2009 was reportedly subject to inhuman treatments in his prison cell, including beatings and being left hanging from the ceiling of his cell for four days. A new Press and Publications Court was established and on 2 November 2009, it sentenced Munir Mawari, a Yemeni journalist for the independent weekly Al-Masdar, to two years in prison on charges of defaming the president. In addition, the court also banned the newspaper’s editor Samir Jubran, from writing and running his newspaper for one year. Yemeni journalists have questioned the legitimacy of the press court, claiming the constitution makes no allowance for the creation of exceptional courts. In addition, they assert that the professional bans handed down by the court against the two journalists are not grounded in Yemeni law.
Over the past six months, journalists in Tunisia have faced a series of attacks and acts of repression from the government. On 28 October 2009, freelance journalist and correspondent of Al Arabya newspaper Slim Boukhdhir was assaulted and abducted by unidentified men. He was later found dumped near a park stripped of his clothes, having sustained serious injuries. A few days later his house was surrounded by security forces who denied access to all visitors for four days. On 29 October, in a separate incident, journalist Taoufik Ben Brik was arrested for an alleged assault on a woman, following the publication a series of critical articles on the recent re-election of President Ben Ali, which caused a strong reaction in State-run media.
The government of Syria has recently come under fire as local journalists are demanding the immediate and unconditional release of prominent lawyer and rights activist Haytham al-Maleh, 78, who disappeared on 14 October 2009. Although al-Maleh is not officially a journalist, Syrian human rights activists believe that he is being detained illegally by Political Security because of a phone interview that was aired two days prior to his disappearance on an opposition television station, in which he criticized the Syrian authorities for their ongoing repression of freedom of expression.
Conditions for the media in the Palestinian Territories have improved little since the Israeli-led offensive in Gaza last winter, as recent events have now pitted the Hamas interior ministry’s against Palestinian journalists with its decision to deny Palestinian and foreign journalists access to the southern city of Rafah and to all hospitals in the Gaza Strip. The ban was issued on 14 August 2009, after fighting broke out in Rafah between the Hamas government and a radical Islamist group.
In North Africa, hundreds of journalists in Algeria, Morocco and Egypt are giving voice to dissent and reporting on sensitive issues untouched by traditional media through blogging. The vicious crackdown in the region indicates the level to which independent bloggers are seen as a threat to the regimes in place.
In Algeria, a court decision on 3 November 2009 banned a supplement of Al Monaqsa newspaper on the grounds that it was unlicensed. According to the newspaper’s staff however, the decision is the result of the newspaper’s recent reporting on corruption and the embezzlement of public funds. The repression of free expression rights has been escalating over the last months in Morocco. For reporting on King Mohamed VI’s rule and health, or for printing a cartoon that was considered "disrespectful of a member of the royal family," leading independent newspapers were seized and journalists fined and sentenced to jail.
In Egypt, the government continues to punish journalists and individuals who express their opinions that appear to contradict the state’s agenda and imposed values on society. The government’s hardline view is underscored by its refusal to release imprisoned blogger Kareem Amer, denying his right to be released after having completed three quarters of his prison term, per legal stipulations for all prisoners. Amer was expected to be released on 5 November 2009, after spending three years in the Borg Al Arab prison, however officials at the Egyptian prisons department, which is affiliated with the Interior Ministry, announced that his release request would not be approved by the State Security Service, and that instead the release order would have to come from "high above," referencing the office of the president.
In Libya, the 40th anniversary of Kaddafi’s bloodless coup in 1969 marks also 40 years of repression against the media in the country. The most symbolic case of this dictatorship’s ruthless treatment of independent media workers remains the unsolved disappearance of journalist Abdullah Ali al-Sanussi al-Darrat. Systematic calls from international media watchdogs and human rights groups to elucidate the case were, are and most probably will be, simply ignored.
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Journalists killed: Nigeria (1), Somalia (2), DRC (1) TOTAL: 4
Across Africa, Heads of State and their friends continue to abuse criminal defamation and sedition laws to sanction journalists who expose policy failures and corruption, and who report on conflicts and opposition views. Crackdowns on the independent press and the use of force are intensifying, inducing both self and government imposed censorship.
Authorities in Senegal continue to turn a blind eye to violence against journalists and independent media. On 17 August, 10 men armed with knives and teargas grenades raided the premises of the privately owned daily newspapers L’As and 24 heures, destroying their equipment and printing supplies. The attack was an escalation of the conflict between Senegal’s handicraft and air transport minister, Farba Senghor and a number of newspapers, after the latter published information concerning his private life. In a separate incident, followers of religious leader Serigne Modou Kara Mbacke raided the premises of the media group Wal Fadjri on 25 September, damaging its offices and capturing Wal Fadjri’s CEO. The attack followed the publication of an article alleging that a religious leader was supporting the Senegalese President in return for donations. Earlier in August 2009, police raided and closed down the broadcast group Wal Fadjri, destroying and seizing its broadcast equipment in an unexpectedly brutal action.
In November 2009, Sierra Leone’s Supreme Court declined to repeal provisions of the 1965 Public Order Act stipulating prison terms for journalists found guilty of libel or defamation, ruling that the Law is in line with the country’s constitution and that "journalists are under no imminent threat." The decision was rendered despite claims by Sierra Leone Association of Journalists’ (SLAJ) that the 1965 text contradicted the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression. Earlier in August 2009, Sierra Leone’s Parliament passed a bill that will turn the state-run Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS) into a public service broadcaster, giving the country¹s president a stronger grip on management and content of the broadcaster. On 10 October, Gibril Gottor, a reporter for Radio Kolenten sustained multiple injuries after he was assaulted by a group of men for allegedly "sabotaging" the government.
In October 2009, Ivory Coast’s media regulatory body, the ‘Conseil National de la Presse’, levied heavy fines against the daily Le Nouveau Reveil for libel against the Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro. The daily was ordered to pay 5 million FCFA (approximately 7,500 Euros) after publishing an article entitled “Soro talking nonsense after jaunt to China”. The daily is closely linked to the Parti Démocratique, which currently supports an opposition leader for the next presidential elections.
The political situation in Guinea remains critical since security forces violently crushed an opposition rally in late September, killing at least 150 demonstrators. Officials are rarely sanctioned or challenged by their superiors for harassing and assaulting journalists, who are increasingly becoming targets of the military junta that came into power at the end of last year. In October 2009, six French journalists were denied entry to the country, and other international journalists were forced to leave Guinea due to repeated threats and harassment by government officials. Local journalists continue to receive death threats for "giving information to foreigners," and independent radio stations in Guinea have suspended all political programs in a form of self-censorship as a response to intimidation and threats for ‘supporting the opposition.’
In October 2009, the Parliament of Togo adopted a draft law that extended the powers of the regulatory body in charge of broadcasting and communications, and leaving independent media exposed to a wide scope of restrictions and regulations that could limit freedom of expression, and be abused for political purposes. The High Council for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC) has already banned several publications, and suspended interactive radio and TV programmes. The new law allows it to not only impose sanctions on media companies in Togo, but also the right to seize equipment, increase the durations of media bans, and withdraw journalists’ accreditations.
In Niger, press freedom continues to be hindered by the unmerited arrest and harassment of journalists. Journalists who cover conflicts, sensitive issues or government affairs are routinely summoned to court and put behind bars. Ibrahim Soumana Gaoh, the director of weekly Niger news magazine Le Témoin, was arrested in September 2009 on charges of defaming the communications minister, Mohamed Ben Omar, in an article on his involvement in a financial scandal. In a separate incident, Abdoulaye Tiémogo, editor of the independent weekly Le Canard Déchaîné, who had been arrested in the past on several occasions, was finally released in October 2009 after spending two months in prison on charges of discrediting a judicial decision. The poor conditions in which he had been kept caused his health to deteriorate, and he had suffered from several illnesses including malaria.
As Sudan prepares for the general elections scheduled to take place in April 2010, journalists and media are repeatedly targeted by Sudan’s authorities. Security services in charge of supervising the content of newspapers prevented the publication of daily Al-Sudani on 9 September, and daily Al-Midan on 10 September. In October 2009, Sudan’s President, Omar al-Bashir announced the lift of drastic measures of pre-publication censorship previously imposed on the written press, a move welcomed by media and press freedom advocates. However, the president also advised editor in chiefs to "avoid reporting that leads to exceeding the red lines and avoid mixing what is patriotic and what is destructive to the nation, sovereignty, security, values and its morality.“ Earlier in June 2009, the Sudanese parliament passed a new press law allowing the National Press and Publication Council to shut down any media outlet at its own discretion, for a period of three days.
Eight years after September 2001 round-ups and the government-imposed ban on the entire independent press, at least 30 journalists remain behind bars in Eritera, confirming the country’s reputation as one of the world’s biggest prison for journalists. Four journalists arrested in September 2001 have died in prison since as a consequence of very poor prison conditions. In the latest development in September 2009, dozens of civil servants working for the Eritrean administration and security services were forced by the authorities to surrender the passwords for their email accounts.
In July 2009, the Ethiopian parliament adopted new anti-terrorism legislation that could impose restrictions on freedom of speech and the press. The law envisages prison sentences of up to 20 years for anyone who writes, edits, prints, publishes, publicizes, and disseminates statements that encourage or support any terrorist act. Furthermore, the law grants the federal police and national security agencies the right to carry out warrantless wiretapping, and seize any material that they believe could be used to commit a terrorist act.
Somalia remains one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, as many are routinely threatened, kidnapped or murdered. In last six months, two journalists were killed in the line of duty. Mohamud Mohamed Yusuf was murdered on 4 July by a gunmen as he was on his way to report on fighting in the capital; Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe was deadly wounded in gunmen attack on staff members of Radio Shabelle on 8 June. The country continues to suffer from the long lasting consequences of armed conflicts, including repeated attacks on journalists and media professionals. The recent outbreak of violence in the country’s southern region in October 2009 created a new danger zone for journalists reporting on the conflict. Additionally, in August, Somali parliament approved martial law for a period of three months, including blanket restrictions to press freedom.
In Uganda, the government continues to use sedition, defamation and incitement laws to repress voices of dissent, and to curtail press freedom. At least 16 journalists are currently facing a variety of criminal charges. In September, an outbreak of violence shook the capital with at least 24 people killed by police and security forces during a public protest against the president of Uganda’s decision to refuse the land access to the king of one of Uganda’s four kingdoms, Buganda. Uganda’s Broadcasting Council ordered the shutdown of various radio stations, and prohibited all coverage related to the protests. Several journalists were arrested and charged with sedition in relation to the incident.
Continuous harassments and attacks on journalists over the past year in the Democratic Republic of Congo raised serious questions about the security and protection of journalists reporting around the country. In August 2009, Bruno Koko Chirambiza, a journalist for the privately owned radio station Radio Star was killed while on route to his home, and as of yet government authorities have taken no formal steps to resolve the case. Over the past years, Chirambiza continuously covered the conflicts in DRC between the armed forced and other armed groups from eastern regions.
In June, six journalists were arrested in Gambia on charges of sedition and defamation of President Yahya Jammeh after they supported a press union statement criticizing the president over public comments he made about Deyda Hydara, a journalist who was brutally murdered in 2004 by still unknown attackers. On 6 August, the Banjul High Court handed down a two-year sentence for each journalist and a total fine of 500,000 dalasis (approx. $18,000). All journalists were later released on 3 September after being granted a presidential pardon.
Reporting conditions have improved somewhat in Kenya since the post-election violence that rocked the country last year. However, highly restrictive media regulation is still in place allowing the government to ban publications, arrest vendors, search and seize broadcasting equipment and intercept communications. The government can also arrest and detain journalists on charges of "compromising public safety, public order, morality or internal defence." Impunity for those who murder journalists prevails. Attempts to resolve the murder of journalist Francis Nyaruri, who was killed in January 2009, were hindered as key witnesses in the case began receiving death threats. The family lawyer, Andrew Mandi and a police officer, Robert Natwoli have both gone into hiding after they were threatened with death.
In Nigeria, both government and criminal gangs intimidate and sanction journalists who report on corruption and criminal activities. Bayo Ohu, assistant news editor of the Nigerian daily The Guardian, was shot dead on 20 September by a group of up to five gunmen as he was preparing to attend a church service. In a separate incident, on 16 September, Wale Oluokun, a Radio Nigeria correspondent, was beaten and injured by four armed government security agents in the presence of the Imo State Chief Press Secretary. He had previously published a report on visually impaired youth from Imo State who had marched to Government House to protest their continued neglect by the State government.
EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA
Journalists killed: Russia (3) TOTAL = 3
Prosecution and violence continue to be aimed at journalists in various parts of Europe and Central Asia, as they question government policies, use information deemed classified or unveil human rights abuses. Police raids, abductions and imprisonment remain common.
The unprecedented attempt to prevent The Guardian newspaper from reporting the details of a parliamentary question related to an alleged dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory Coast, provoked a public debate and raised concerns over respect for press freedom in the United Kingdom. Under the terms of the injunction ruled by the High Court on 12 October, the paper could not report the question, the name of the MP who was asking it, or the name of the minister to which it was addressed. It also prohibited the paper to explain to its readers that it was prevented from reporting the question. Even though this so-called “super injunction” was subsequently lifted, it was revealed that the same measures are increasingly used by powerful companies and law firms to restrain the press when controversial issues arise. In a positive development on 12 November, Coroners and Justice Act (2009) came into power in the UK, decriminalising defamation, including repeal of the criminal offences of sedition and seditious libel, defamatory libel, and obscene libel.
In Spain, a Madrid prosecutor demanded in September 2009, a sentence of three years in prison and a ban on practicing journalism for Antonio Rubio, El Mundo Deputy-Editor. He is being accused of “discovering and revealing state secrets” in an article published in May 2005 were he exposed alleged previous knowledge of the Spanish secret services of the 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid.
In Italy, La Repubblica daily newspaper is being sued for defamation by Silvio Berlusconi for repeatedly publishing 10 questions asking the Prime Minister to explain his extra-marital relationships and behaviour, the subjects of widely reported scandals this year. Several other newspapers and journalists have also come under attack by Mr Berlusconi and his supporters. In October 2009, around 150,000 to 300,000 citizens gathered in the streets of Rome to protest the charges brought against La Repubblica and to assert their support for press freedom in Italy.
In August 2009, Slovenia has brought criminal charges for defamation against Finnish journalist Magnus Berglund because of the documentary he produced quoting unnamed sources as saying that members of the former Slovene government accepted bribes in arms deals with Finnish arms maker Patria. Berglund faces the sentence of up to six months in prison if found guilty of criminal defamation.
A year has passed since Ivo Pukanic, owner and editorial director of the Croatian political weekly Nacional, and Niko Franjic, the marketing director, were killed when a bomb planted next to Pukanic’s car exploded in downtown Zagreb. Eight men were charged in October 2009 with the bombing, but those who ‘ordered’ the killing are still at large.
Controversial amendments to the Public Information Law were adopted by the Serbian Parliament in September 2009 raising fears that it provides mechanisms to restrict press freedom. The law was passed through urgent procedure, and without public debate. It provides for fines of up to several hundred thousands of euros for libel and defamation, and it envisages to ban media outlets that fail to register.
Recent waves of threats against Jeta Xharra, head of the Kosovo office of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), came after the local newspaper Infopress linked the journalist to ‘Serbian spies’ and compared her work to ‘fascist propaganda’. The threats were received following the May edition of "Life in Kosovo," Xharra’s weekly television programme in Kosovo, that covered sensitive issues such as war crimes, human rights and press freedom.
In Albania, harassment and threats to journalists have increased over the past six months. On 2 November 2009, Mero Baze, chief editor of the independent Albanian daily Tema and host of the prime-time television show “Faktor Plus,” was reportedly beaten by four bodyguards of businessman Rezart Taci. Baze had recently published reports accusing Taci of tax evasion and criticizing authorities for not acting.
In July 2009 journalists in Moldova were prevented from entering a public meeting with Moldovan Prime Minister, Zinaida Greceanii in attendance. The bodyguards of the Prime Minister requested the police to expel the journalists from the premises. In a separate case, Moldovan authorities prevented Romanian journalist Gabriel Apetri from entering Moldova in a separate case in July, even though he held a valid visa.
Aleksey Malkov and Yuri Babenko, two journalists from the Russian television station NTV, were expelled from Belarus on 14 August for working without accreditation. They were investigating the disappearance of a journalist and two members of the opposition in 1999. The new restrictive media law, which came into force on 8 February 2009, requires foreign and domestic news media to obtain accreditation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Authorities reject or ignore many of these requests, causing foreign journalists to work clandestinely.
Journalists and editors in Ukraine are regularly targeted by politicians who aim to silence dissenting voices and criticism. Alexei Vasilevich, editor of the newspaper Skandalny Zhitomir, was assaulted in October 2009 by a member of parliament for publishing stories critical of the MP’s performance. In the same month, another journalist Ruslan Lubchenko, was beaten up by a group of people while reporting on a public event in Kiev. Police reportedly stood by and watched as Lubchenko was beaten and shot in the face with an airgun, then they detained the journalist, seized his camera and fined him.
Russia remains one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists and is among the worst at solving their murders. Five journalists were killed since the beginning of 2009. Those who investigate crimes and human rights violations, notably in the North Caucasus, are at great risk. Natalia Estemirova, a journalist and human rights activist, was abducted in Grozny in July and found dead, shot, in Ingushetia on 15 July. In August 2009, Malik Akhmedilov, deputy editor of the newspaper Hakika, was killed in Dagestan. Akhmedilov had repeatedly criticized the authorities for suppressing religious and political freedoms under the pretext of ‘anti-extremism’ campaign.
The Azerbaijani government has low tolerance for criticism and is using defamation suits and constant threat of fines for libel and defamation, unfair trials, and financial pressures to intimidate and harass the media and journalists. On 11 November Emin Milli, who runs the online video blog ANTV, was sentenced to two and a half years in jail, and Adnan Hajizade, a video blogger and coordinator of the Azerbaijani youth movement Ol!, was jailed for two years on trumped-up charges of “hooliganism” and “inflicting minor bodily harm”. Before their arrest in Baku on 8 July, Milli and Hajizade posted videos mocking the government. In August 2009, 68-year-old Novruzali Mammadov, former editor of Tolishi Daso and defender of human rights died in prison while serving a 10-year jail sentence.
The government of Georgia is using different means to pressure media to follow the official agenda and independent journalists, especially in regions and rural areas, are occasionally subject to pressure, attacks and harassment from local officials. In June 2009 the police attacked 10 journalists who were covering opposition protests, injuring them and taking away their equipment. In September, Georgian authorities investigated Besik Pipia, bureau chief of the Russian news agency, RIA Novosti, on suspicion of falsely altering his driving license. According to RIA Novosti, charges were politically motivated.
On 21 September, Anton Kriveniuk was sentenced by a court in Sukhumi, Abkhazia to three years in jail - suspended for two years - for libeling the President. The case followed the publication of an article entitled “Great Abkhazian Fraud: Railroad-Credit-Road Metal” that appeared on the Russian website Segodnia.ru. In the article, Kriveniuk criticised a proposed Russian-funded railway construction project and speculated about the transferral of certain railroad assets to Russian control.
Several journalists following Yerevan City Council elections in Armenia on 31 May 2009, have been subjected to violence and were prevented from reporting from the polling stations. In a separate development, Arman Babajanian, founder and editor of the Armenian daily Jamanak Erevan, was released in August 2009 after three years in prison to receive an adequate medical treatment for a brain tumor.
In Turkey, the government continued its campaign against the influential Dogan Group, which owns, among other media, the top-selling daily Hurriyet newspaper and CNN Turkey, with a massive new tax fine of 1.7 billion Euros in September for allegedly evading taxes, charges which experts say are groundless. In February, the group had already been fined 345 million Euros on similar grounds. Tensions with the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reached a new level in 2008, when the Dogan media began to cover a German criminal investigation into a Turkish Islamic charity linked to the government.
In July 2009, the President of Kazakhstan signed a restrictive Internet law which aims to regulate communication and information sharing on the internet. Many critics say that it is a stepping stone to control any opposition or disapproval of the government on the web. In August 2009, editor of the independent weekly Alma-Ata, Ramazan Yezergepov, was charged for allegedly publishing state secrets. Later in October, he was sentenced in the absence of a lawyer, his family or the press, to three years in prison. In September 2009, Kazakh court officers ordered the seizure of one of the few remaining Almaty-based independent newspapers Respublika-Delovoye Obozreniye. The weekly had been previously ordered to pay 60 million Kazakh Tenge (US$ 403,000) in damages to the state-owned BTA Bank.
Seven journalists have been brutally attacked in Kyrgyzstan in 2009 and there is no investigation initiated towards uncovering the perpetrators of these crimes. Most recently, Kubanychbek Joldoshev, a newspaper reporter based in the southern city of Osh was severely beaten in November 2009 by three unidentified attackers. He was previously threatened with regard to articles concerning protests over student tuition increases, the quality of education, and corruption scandals in the Osh State University.
In October 2009, the European Union decided to lift the arms embargo against Uzbekistan which had been established in 2005 after the government crackdown on opposition protesters, killing almost 200 civilians. The embargo was lifted in spite of the fact that human rights conditions have not improved and the government continues to suppress press freedom. In July 2009, Tailak District Court in Samarkand sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison an independent journalist Dilmurod Saidov, on charges of extortion and forgery in a close court and in the absence of a lawyer, family or the press. Saiid was covering cases of corruption in the regional government.
ASIA
Journalists killed: Afghanistan (1), Pakistan (2), Philippines (37), TOTAL: 40
The hostility of many governments to any form of dissent continues to impede independent news reporting and opinions in Asia. Journalists reporting on corruption and conflict zones find themselves in the firing line of those directly or indirectly exposed by their reports. Continued imprisonment of journalists in China, Burma’s mass censorship and repression of independent media, the consequences of a decades long civil war in Sri Lanka, and the resort to violence against the press in Nepal are only some of the key challenges facing press freedom in the region.
Journalists in Afghanistan face violence, kidnapping and threats in an unstable environment where it is increasingly difficult to report on the events on the ground. British reporter for The New York Times Stephen Farrell and journalist and interpreter Sultan Munadi were abducted by the Taliban forces in September 2009. Munadi was shot dead during an armed raid by British-led NATO forces to rescue him and Farrell. Security forces obstructed, assaulted and detained journalists during the presidential election in August 2009. Two days before the elections, the government issued a statement asking the media to suppress news of violent incidents in the polling stations. In a separate development Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, the young journalist who was sentenced to death and then to 20 years in prison for downloading an article about the rights of women in Islam, was pardoned and released after spending two years in jail.
Eight journalists have been killed in Pakistan since the beginning of the year, making it one of the most dangerous spots in the world for media workers. The recurrent incidents have fostered a climate of fear and self-censorship, as journalists are repeatedly targeted by both militant groups and security forces. TV journalist Siddique Bacha Khan was killed on 14 August 2009 in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, when unidentified gunmen ambushed and shot him at close range before fleeing the scene. Janullah Hashimzada, Peshawar bureau chief for Afghanistan’s Shamshad Television, known for his critical reporting on the Taliban was gunned down on 24 August 2009 in the Khyber tribal district.
The military junta in Burma continues to harass, arrest and keep under surveillance journalists and foe advocates. In October 2009 the authorities have conducted raids on the homes of journalists and human right activists, arresting at least 12 people, including eight journalists. In September, the Burmese regime granted amnesty to 7,114 prisoners, including 4 journalists. However, more than 2,200 political prisoners remain in prison. On 12 September 2009, 2001 Golden Pen of Freedom laureate U Win Tin was detained by the police and questioned for hours before being released. A few days before, The Washington Post had published a critical article written by Win Tin on the planned elections entitled "An election Burma’s people don’t need." U Win Tin’s was freed in 2008 after spending 19 years in prison. Politicians, human rights activists and journalists have called for media freedom before Burmese general elections announced for 2010.
China remains one of the world’s largest jailers of journalists, with at least 30 journalists and 58 bloggers currently behind bars for doing their job. Most of these journalists worked online, publishing independent news and opinion on local or overseas websites. Authorities in China have increased efforts to censor online publications namely targeting blogs and websites that report on human rights and democracy. A new accreditation system for journalists was introduced by the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) on 15 October, giving the authorities powers to control web and citizen journalism by denying accreditations to all journalists who work outside the editorial department of traditional media. Guo Quan, a writer and political activist, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on 16 October 2009 on charges of "subversion of state power"
On 8 September 2009, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) questioned for eight hours the executive officer, editors and staff of the country’s leading independent news site, Malaysiakini, in connection with news videos posted online of what has become known as the "cow’s head protest". The videos are related to a protest against the relocation of a temple in Shah Alam, close to the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The MCMC considered the videos offensive and had asked Malaysiakini on 3 September to take them down.
In Nepal, violence against media workers continues. On 11 June 2009 Dilliraj Pokhrel, a correspondent for Avenues Television, and camera operator Niran Raj Bana were attacked and severely injured while reporting on incidents in Casino Venus of Hotel Malla in Lazimpat. In a separate incident, Bimal Bista, a councilor and member of the Federation of Nepali Journalists’ (FNJ) and a correspondent for the "Nepal Samachar patra" newspaper, was brutally beaten and taken into custody by the Nepal police on 23 August 2009, while gathering information about the quarrels between local residents. Freedom of expression remains under serious threat in Nepal in spite of the hopes that the new government established in May 2009 would take steps to stop attacks on journalists, abolish criminal defamation establish a legal framework which fosters freedom of press.
North Korea remains among the world’s greatest violator of press freedom. There are no independent journalists and media outlets, and all radio and television receivers sold in the country are locked to government-specified frequencies. Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who were working for the U.S. independent cable television network Current TV, were sentenced in June to 12 years hard labor for "committing hostilities against the Korean nation and illegal entry." They were later pardoned on 5 August 2009 by the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Sri Lankan journalists remain under threat, despite the official ending of the decades-long civil conflict. Two editors from the Sri Lankan newspaper The Sunday Leader, Frederica Jansz and Munza Mushataq, are the latest to receive death threats after the paper published a report on video footage allegedly showing Sri Lankan government soldiers executing Tamil prisoners. In September 2009, J.S. Tissainayagam, editor of news web site OutreachSL and a columnist for the English-language Sri Lankan Sunday Times, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was charged with inciting “communal disharmony,” an offense under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Local journalists say Tissainayagam wrote political columns that were frequently critical of the government.
In Thailand authorities have intensified the campaign to monitor websites and identify content on Internet that violates Thailand’s draconian lese majeste law created by the monarchy as a political weapon against dissenting opinions. According to local sources, a political activist Daranee Chancheonsilapakul, a.k.a. "Da Torpedo", was convicted to a total 18 years imprisonment after the Thai Criminal Court found her guilty of lese majeste. Authorities have blocked You Tube excerpts of Darunee’s speech which had been the basis for the charges filed against her. Information and Communication Technology Minister Ranongrak Suwanchawee announced that the State plans to pursue legal action against all websites and their respective Internet service providers (ISPs) whom reported on the state of the King’s health, alleging that the disclosed information was responsible for the drop in Thailand’s main stock index in October 2009.
The Philippines remain one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. In the horrific attack on a convoy in the southern Philippines on 23 November, more than 30 journalists were killed. The journalists were travelling with a group of politicians and political supporters planning to file nomination papers for Esmael Mangudadatu, an opposition gubernatorial candidate in Maguindanao province. Those who attack and murder journalists in the Philippines continue to go unpunished. According to reports at least 24 journalist murders have gone unsolved in the Philippines over the last decade, and more than 100 journalists were killed since 1986.
The Fiji government cancelled all broadcasting licences in November 2009 and gave the Attorney General the absolute power to renew or redistribute them without any compensation to those whose licences were stripped. The move was carried out by decree, the chief tool of the government since the parliament was dissolved and the constitution suspended.
