View previous stories
	Civil Society Space declining around the world by FRA, Article 19, CIVICUS Monitor, agencies   Jan. 2018   Civil society under threat, says EU Fundamental Rights Agency   In many parts of the EU, civil society is under threat, finds a new report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). Given the vital role civil society plays in upholding democratic processes and in promoting human rights, decision makers need to ensure the important work of civil society is not undermined through policy and legal changes and funding cuts.   “A thriving democracy needs a healthy civil society. Unfortunately, the EU’s own civil society is facing a pattern of threats and pressures in many parts of the EU. Addressing this unacceptable situation should be a high priority for policy makers at EU and national levels,” says FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty.   The ‘Challenges facing civil society organisations working on human rights in the EU’ report explores how these challenges vary across the EU. It points to:   Threats, physical and verbal attacks against activists, as well as smear campaigns; Legal changes that negatively affect civil society, such as freedom of assembly restrictions, often a by-product of counter-terrorism laws; Shrinking budgets and increased difficulties in getting funding; Lack of appropriate involvement of civil society in law- and policy-making.   Member States should abide by the laws, including international standards that recommend civil society participation in policy cycles. Due attention must also be paid to ensure that new or redrafted laws and policies do not undermine the work of civil society. Civil society funding also needs to be protected. In addition, channels of dialogue between civil society and the EU need to be strengthened to ensure their concerns are heard and addressed. This includes finding ways to collect comparable and reliable data on the challenges civil society face, such as threats, intimidation and attacks. The report contains practices that are being used to address these challenges.   http://fra.europa.eu/en/press-release/2018/civil-society-under-threat-fundamental-rights-agency-finds   Jan. 2018   The EU has historically done a good job supporting and protecting rights advocates worldwide but the bloc''s authority is now being undermined from within, writes Umberto Bacchi.   The European Union is setting a bad example by allowing some of its members to stifle human rights groups, which is encouraging crackdowns elsewhere in the world, a top United Nations official charged with defending rights activists said.   Michel Forst said officials in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Israel and other countries pointed at recent laws in Hungary and Poland to justify their own regulations which may curb the independence of non-governmental organisations.   "There is a need for European countries to be more coherent.. not to teach human rights outside of Europe and then not respecting human rights inside Europe," said Forst, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders.   Charities in dozens of countries, from Angola to India and Tajikistan have faced restrictions targeting their funding and operations over the past two years, according to an EU report.   The trend is part of a global backlash on civil society that has seen rights activists in some parts of the world criminalised or branded as troublemakers, Forst told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview in London.   In 2017, thousands of activists were detained and at least 312 killed because of their work, up 11 percent on the previous year, according to Front Line Defenders, a watchdog group.   Forst said the EU has historically done a good job supporting and protecting rights advocates worldwide but the bloc''s authority is now being undermined from within.   Last year, Hungary introduced a measure requiring NGOs that get money from abroad to register with the state, a bill that NGOs say stigmatizes them and is intended to stifle independent voices. Poland instead introduced legislation to set up a centralised authority controlling charities funding.   As countermeasure, the EU should boost direct funding of rights groups operating within its borders, Forst said.   "What is absurd for me is that the EU is funding organisations in Latin America, in Africa - which is good - but there is no more funding for EU NGOs," he said.   Money should be allocated from a dedicated fund and not channelled through governments, he said.   The European Commission said last year it was taking Hungary to the EU''s top court over its NGO laws that the government says aim to protect the country from foreign influence.   Besides Europe, Forst also singled out Australia for its treatment of asylum seekers held in offshore camps, adding it was "not a safe place" for human rights defenders due to pressure from the government.   A December report by Pro Bono Australia and the Human Rights Law Centre, two rights groups, found Australian NGOs were often pressured into "self-silencing" their advocacy work fearing funding cuts and political retribution.   "Global civil society space is shrinking because it is shrinking in Europe, because it is shrinking in the Americas, in Australia," said Forst. http://tmsnrt.rs/2FhoRsb   Dec. 2017   Media freedom, Civil Society Space declining around the world. (ARTICLE 19)   New ARTICLE 19 metric measures global threats to freedom of expression and information   Freedom of expression organisation, ARTICLE 19 has joined with the social science database V-Dem to launch a unique, authoritative assessment of freedom of expression and information worldwide. The Expression Agenda (XpA) metric uses a range of indicators to measure freedom of expression in 172 countries. V-Dem have also used historic data to identify the major free speech trends of the last ten years.   Key findings   Global media freedom is at its lowest level for ten years. In 2016 alone, 259 journalists were imprisoned worldwide, and 79 were killed.   Internet censorship has become more pervasive since 2006. Algorithms are increasingly used to remove legal and illegal content with little transparency over the process or consideration of human rights.   Much of the world’s online content is now regulated by the community standards of a handful of internet companies, whose processes lack transparency and are not subject to the checks and balances of traditional governance.   Private communications are being surveilled as never before, as states, including the UK, pass legislation to enable extensive digital surveillance.   Governments are using unprecedented legal and other measures to silence dissenting voices and protest by individuals and civil society organisations. These tactics include labelling NGOs as ‘foreign agents’ and the illegal surveillance of NGOs and journalists.   The call for greater transparency is one of the most significant positive shifts over the past decades, with right to information laws now in 119 countries.   Executive Director Thomas Hughes said:   “For the first time, we have a comprehensive and holistic overview of the state of free of expression and information around the world. Unfortunately, our findings show that freedom of expression is under attack in democracies as well as authoritarian regimes.   “The XpA Metric is a tool for understanding where governments are succeeding and failing in their duty to promote and protect our rights. We hope that it will help journalists, activists and policymakers to monitor free speech, challenge the threats to it and hold governments and companies to account.   “But it also offers us a positive guide for how freedom of expression and information can be realised so that we can all participate in public life, enjoy a private life, and exercise our right to free speech.”   Global media freedom at lowest level for a decade 17 years   One of the most serious findings of the Expression Agenda (XpA) is that global media freedom is at its lowest level for a decade.   The rise of citizen journalists, bloggers and information activists has put more individuals and groups at risk than ever before. The threats they face include state repression, organised crime, business interests and religious fundamentalism. There has been an alarming rise in attacks on journalists, human rights defenders and activists who seek to expose corruption and abuse.   A decline of media pluralism has been accompanied by a parallel decline in democratic freedoms. Brazil, Turkey, Burundi, Egypt, Poland, Venezuela and Bangladesh have seen particularly disturbing drops in a diverse and independent media.   Shift in advertising revenues towards the internet has radically altered traditional media companies. Redundancies, cutbacks and the decline in salaried journalists are contributing to concerns about the future of accurate and reliable journalism in the 21st century. The control of information is increasingly in the hands of a few companies with search engines and algorithms now responsible for delivering news and information to digital audiences, and especially those using social media platforms.   http://bit.ly/2ni2DCd http://bit.ly/2i2T8Bm   Dec. 2017   Pakistan closes 27 NGOs in what activists see as widening crackdown. (Reuters)   Pakistan has ordered 27 international aid groups to shut down for ''purportedly'' working in unauthorised areas, spurring human rights campaigners to denounce swelling constraints on free speech and humanitarian work.   The Ministry of Interior gave the 27 NGOs 90 days to conclude operations, according to a list seen by Reuters. Among those being expelled are Action Aid, World Vision, Plan International, Trocaire, Pathfinder International, Danish Refugee Council, Open Society Foundations, Oxfam Novib, and Marie Stopes.   The Pakistan Humanitarian Forum (PHF), which represents 63 international aid groups, said the ministry had issued 11 of its members "letters of rejection". All of them said they will appeal. No reason for the rejections have been provided, the forum said.   Plan International, which has worked in Pakistan since 1997, said it is supporting over 1.6 million children across Pakistan. Plan said it was given no reason for the ministry''s decision and would appeal it.   "The organisation is hopeful that the appeals process will make it possible for its work with vulnerable and marginalised children, especially girls, to continue in Pakistan," it said in a statement.   All the other NGOs on the list who responded to queries from Reuters also said they had been given no reason for being forced to shut down.   Pakistan has hardened its stance towards domestic and international NGOs in recent years, requiring them to undertake a painstaking registration process and clear multiple bureaucratic hurdles to continue working in the country.   In January, the interior ministry ordered a dozen domestic groups working on women''s issues and human rights to halt operations, a move later overturned in courts.   Pakistan is not alone in cracking down on foreign charities.   Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s BJP nationalist government has since 2014 increased restrictions of non-profit groups, claiming their human rights and environmental work were acting against India''s economic interests. Thousands of foreign-funded charities licences have been cancelled.   In China, a law that went into effect on Jan. 1 this year grants broad powers to police to question NGO workers, monitor their finances, regulate their work and shut down offices.   The clampdown on NGOs has come after a number of activists disappeared this year, some of whom have not been heard from. Reuters estimates at least 14 people have been picked up and interrogated from major urban centres including journalists, political workers, and social media activists.   Three members of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) have also disappeared in the past year, chairperson Mehdi Hasan told Reuters.   Human rights campaigners say the crackdown on NGOs and disappearances of civil society activists are part of a wider campaign to quell free speech.   "They both signify the shrinking space for free expression and activism in Pakistan and the diminishing tolerance the Pakistan state has," Saroop Ijaz, a representative for the Pakistan chapter of Human Rights Watch, told Reuters.   Yusuf, who formerly served as HRCP chairperson, said Pakistan feels it has impunity in dealing with rights groups and activists.   "Its the repositioning of Pakistan as a security state and perceiving all forms of dissent as a security challenge," Yusuf said. "It''s creating a lot of fear in society."   Oct. 2017   People Power Under Attack. (CIVICUS)   CIVICUS Monitor Ratings Update October 2017   Updated ratings from the CIVICUS Monitor, provide further evidence that the space for civil society - civic space - continues to close around the world. The findings show that this phenomenon extends to a wide range of countries - from established democracies like Belgium and the Netherlands, to economic powerhouse China and conflict ridden Yemen.   The report outlines how civic space ratings worsened in eight countries, improved in two and remained unchanged in 185 countries. These changes are based on a review of quantitative and qualitative data on the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression undertaken between July and September 2017.   Key highlights:   108 countries are now in the CIVICUS Monitor’s ‘obstructed’, ‘repressed’ and ‘closed’ categories, an increase of two from April 2017, which indicate serious restrictions of civic space.   Just 22 countries now occupy the ‘open’ category, down from 26 in April. This means that just 2% of the world’s population live in a country with ‘open’ civic space. This analysis also shows that more than three billion people live in countries with serious to extreme restrictions on fundamental civic freedoms.   Only 13 of 28 European Union (EU) member states now have ‘open’ civic space, an uncomfortable statistic for the leaders of a union founded on the values of democracy and human rights.   Journalists are especially vulnerable to violations of their civic freedoms, between June 2016 and September 2017, the CIVICUS Monitor published a total of 184 reports involving attacks of one kind or another on journalists.   http://monitor.civicus.org/ http://monitor.civicus.org/globalfindings0417/ http://www.civicus.org/icsw/index.php/home   * June 2017 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association on the achievements of Civil Society: http://bit.ly/2BAgZQj   http://freeassembly.net/all-news/ http://concordeurope.org/what-we-do/promoting-civil-society-space/ http://www.solidar.org/en/pillars/organising-international-solidarity http://www.fidh.org/en/ http://www.forum-asia.org/ http://bit.ly/2FoGRko http://www.ituc-csi.org/ituc-global-rights-index-workers http://ecesr.org/en/2014/11/04/after-threats-egyptian-human-rights-organization-decide-not-to-participate-in-upr/ http://www.world-psi.org/en/brazilian-government-wants-googles-help-approve-pension-reform http://www.handsoffourcharities.org.au/ http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/trends-policy-issues/federal-tax-reform http://bit.ly/2BAjJ1L   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/SRHRDefendersIndex.aspx http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/AssemblyAssociation/Pages/SRFreedomAssemblyAssociationIndex.aspx http://www.protecting-defenders.org/en/content/declaration-human-rights-defenders http://bit.ly/2BAgZQj http://sur.conectas.org/en/global-challenges-local-responses/   http://www.openglobalrights.org/closing-space-for-civil-society/ http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/ http://www.omct.org/ http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sakharovprize/en/home/the-prize.html http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/five-steps-eu-must-take-protect-civil-society http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/ http://www.hrw.org/ http://bit.ly/2Ejwpvk http://bit.ly/2DQTuI3 http://bit.ly/2DK5jjL http://bit.ly/2rPna3q http://bit.ly/2noQ2K6 http://bit.ly/2x4mJRG http://bit.ly/2CHUuxu http://bit.ly/2Gs5eyO Visit the related web page
	Record number of journalists jailed in 2017 by RSF, Committee to Protect Journalists, agencies   For the second year in a row, the number of journalists imprisoned for their work hit a historical high, as the U.S. and other Western powers failed to pressure the world’s worst jailers--Turkey, China, and Egypt--into improving the bleak climate for press freedom. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser.   The number of journalists imprisoned worldwide hit another new record in 2017, and for the second consecutive year more than half of those jailed for their work are behind bars in Turkey, China, and Egypt. The pattern reflects a dismal failure by the international community to address a global crisis in freedom of the press.   Far from isolating repressive countries for their authoritarian behavior, the United States, in particular, has cozied up to strongmen such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chinese President Xi Jinping. At the same time, President Donald Trump’s nationalistic rhetoric, fixation on Islamic extremism, and insistence on labeling critical media “fake news” serves to reinforce the framework of accusations and legal charges that allow such leaders to preside over the jailing of journalists.   Globally, nearly three-quarters of journalists are jailed on anti-state charges, many under broad and vague terror laws, while the number imprisoned on a charge of “false news,” though modest, rose to a record 21.   In its annual prison census, CPJ found 262 journalists behind bars around the world in relation to their work, a new record after a historical high of 259 last year. The worst three jailers are responsible for jailing 134--or 51 percent--of the total. CPJ has been conducting an annual survey of journalists in jail since the early 1990s.   Despite releasing some journalists in 2017, Turkey remains the world’s worst jailer for the second consecutive year, with 73 journalists behind bars, compared with 81 last year. Dozens more still face trial, and fresh arrests take place regularly. In several other cases in Turkey, CPJ was unable to establish a link to journalism. Other press freedom groups using a different methodology have higher numbers. Every journalist CPJ found jailed for their work in Turkey is under investigation for, or charged with, anti-state crimes, as was true of last year’s census.   The crackdown on the Turkish press that began in early 2016 and accelerated after a failed coup attempt that July--which the government blamed on an alleged terrorist organization led by exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen--continued apace in 2017. Authorities accused some journalists of terrorist activity based solely on their alleged use of a messaging app, Bylock, or bank accounts at allegedly Gulenist institutions.   Because Erdogan’s ruling AKP party was until recent years aligned with Gulen’s movement, the crackdown sometimes led to patently absurd circumstances. For example, prominent journalist Ahmet Sik was acquitted of terrorism charges in April after a six-year trial in which the defendants said they were victims of police and judicial officials linked to Gulen. Sik remained in jail, however, on fresh terror charges for allegedly being linked to Gülen, and many of the police officers, prosecutors, and judges who brought the original case found themselves accused of terror activity. Sik pointed out the contradiction in a lengthy statement to the court in July, saying, “In Turkey, some members of the judiciary have become the gravediggers of justice.”   Other cases blatantly demonstrated Turkish authorities’ brutal censorship tactics. On March 31, an Istanbul court ordered the release pending trial of at least 19 journalists jailed in the aftermath of the coup attempt, but the prosecutor appealed and the journalists were re-arrested before they left the jail. The judges who ordered their release were suspended.   Erdogan’s government appeared to pay little price for its repressive tactics. In April, he narrowly won a referendum--amid procedural objections by the opposition that went unheeded--that will abolish the country’s parliamentary system and grant him sweeping powers. On the international stage, German officials including Chancellor Angela Merkel have repeatedly called for the release of Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yucel, who works for the German newspaper Die Welt and who has been held without charge since February 14. But the NATO allies are bound by Turkey’s role in harboring Syrian refugees and other cooperation agreements. Trump, meanwhile, hosted Erdogan at the White House in May and more recently praised him as a friend.   Also enjoying global standing is President Xi. In China, the number of journalists behind bars rose to 41 from 38 a year earlier. On a visit to Beijing in November, Trump made no public reference to human rights, despite an ongoing crackdown that has led to the arrests of Chinese journalists, activists, and lawyers.   With tensions high between the U.S. and China’s neighbor North Korea, and Trump keen to renegotiate the trade balance with Beijing, “Trump seemed to signal a reversal of roles: the United States may now need China’s help more than the other way around,” The New York Times wrote.   The visit came shortly after Xi tightened his grip on power at the Communist Party Congress, where his name was written into the Constitution and no successor was identified. According to news reports, analysts don’t expect improvement in human rights.   Meanwhile, Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo died of liver cancer in July in a Chinese hospital, after receiving medical parole from prison a month earlier, casting doubt on whether he received proper care in custody. China refused Liu’s request to go overseas for treatment once he was released.   The writer Yang Tongyan died in November under similar circumstances, shortly after release on medical parole with a serious brain tumor. Jailed in precarious health is Huang Qi, who has kidney disease and his lawyer told CPJ that authorities had halted his special diet and medical treatment.   More than half of the journalists imprisoned in Egypt, where the number in jail fell to 20 from 25 last year, are also in poor health. Among them is photographer Mahmoud Abou Zeid, known as Shawkan, who was arrested covering a violent dispersal of protesters by Egyptian security forces and has been in pretrial detention for more than four years. He and his 738 co-accused are charged with possessing weapons, illegal assembly, attempted murder, and murder, according to CPJ research.   Shawkan is anemic and needs blood transfusions, but has been denied hospital care, according to his family. Of the 20 journalists in Egyptian jails, 12 have not been convicted or sentenced for any crime.   The prolonged imprisonment of Egyptian journalists comes as President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi battles deadly extremism and high unemployment in the country, and as Cairo and Washington cooperate closely on security. Soon after el-Sisi met Trump at the White House in April, his government passed a draconian anti-terrorism law that furthered its crackdown on the press by, among other things, enabling authorities to put journalists acquitted of terrorism-related charges on a terror watch list that restricts their financial and other rights, according to news reports.   In Egypt and China, like Turkey, by far the most common type of charge against journalists is anti-state. Globally, 194 journalists, or 74 percent, are imprisoned on anti-state charges. Worldwide, CPJ has found that governments use broad and vaguely worded terror laws to intimidate critical journalists into silence. Legal provisions often conflate coverage of terrorist activity with condoning it.   Thirty-five journalists worldwide were jailed without any publicly disclosed charge. Lack of due process in some countries results in such a dearth of information that it’s nearly impossible for CPJ to determine what landed a journalist in jail, whether they have any health problems, and sometimes even whether they are alive.   In places such as Eritrea and Syria, journalists who were last known to be in government custody have not been seen or heard from in years. All seven journalists in Syrian government jails have been there for at least four years, amid unconfirmed rumors of torture or execution. CPJ continues to list the journalists on the census to hold the government accountable for their whereabouts and well-being.   A change of government, however, may lead CPJ to reclassify a journalist’s status. In Gambia, where long-serving leader Yahya Jammeh was ousted in December 2016, the government of President Adama Barrow has expressed interest in determining what happened to reporter Chief Ebrima Manneh, who was arrested in 2006 but had not been seen since at least 2008. Jammeh and officials in his government made vague and contradictory statements about the journalist’s status over the years. In keeping with the family’s expectations, CPJ this year moved Manneh off the imprisoned census and on to its list of journalists killed in relation to their work.   Other findings from CPJ’s prison census include:   Ninety-seven percent of jailed journalists are local. Of the total imprisoned worldwide, 22—or 8 percent—are female journalists. Freelancers account for 75 cases--or 29 percent. Politics is by far the most dangerous beat, covered by 87 percent of those jailed. Many journalists cover more than one beat.   Countries appearing on the census for the first time in at least 12 months are Algeria, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Iraq, Morocco, Niger, Pakistan, Republic of Congo, Somalia, Uganda, and Ukraine.   The prison census accounts only for journalists in government custody and does not include those who have disappeared or are held captive by non-state groups, such as several Yemeni journalists CPJ believes to be held by the Ansar Allah movement, known as the Houthis. These cases are classified as “missing” or “abducted.”   CPJ defines journalists as people who cover the news or comment on public affairs in media, including print, photographs, radio, television, and online. In its annual prison census, CPJ includes only those journalists who it has confirmed have been imprisoned in relation to their work.   CPJ believes that journalists should not be imprisoned for doing their jobs. In the past year, CPJ advocacy contributed to the early release of at least 67 imprisoned journalists worldwide.   CPJ’s list is a snapshot of those incarcerated on December 1, 2017. Journalists remain on CPJ’s list until the organization determines with reasonable certainty that they have been released or have died in custody. http://bit.ly/2BYV0TM http://rsf.org/en/reports/rsf-round-these-figures-are-alarming   * Elana Beiser is editorial director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.   Apr. 2018   Journalists and emergency responders arriving to help injured targeted in terror attack. (UN News)   According to reports, at least 14 civilians were killed and over 30 injured in two attacks that took place in a heavily populated neighbourhood in central Kabul. The second attack was timed 30 minutes later to target journalists arriving on the scene and emergency services personnel seeking to provide aid to victims of the first attack.   “The deliberate targeting of journalists in the attack highlights once again the risks media professionals face in carrying out their essential work,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “Those responsible for such crimes must be swiftly brought to justice,” he added.   In a third attack, at least 11 children were killed in a suicide bombing that reportedly targeted a military convoy in Kandahar province.   “These attacks cause untold human suffering to Afghan families,” Tadamichi Yamamoto, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and the head of the UN Assistance Mission in the country (UNAMA), said. He also condemned the attacks in Kabul, coming just ahead of World Press Freedom Day, as a “direct assault on freedom of expression.”   Mr. Yamamoto also reiterated the protections accorded to civilians under international humanitarian law and called on all parties to uphold their obligations, “at all times”.   “Yesterday’s attack, like all such attacks on journalists, is an attack on Afghanistan’s free press and the public’s right to know,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, who called on the Government to bring the perpetrators to justice.   “These attacks serve to remind those who glibly demonize the press that journalists serve a crucial function in societies: the illumination of all matters of public interest,” Mr. Kaye said. “The legacy of those killed is their reminder that serving the public’s right to know, can be dangerous and deserves all of our respect and support.”   Nine journalists killed in Kabul suicide attack. (International Federation of Journalists)   The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joined the Afghanistan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA) in strongly condemning the killing of nine journalists in the targeted attack; and demanded urgent action from the Afghan government to punish those responsible.   The two suicide attacks hit central Kabul, on 30th April. The first bomb was detonated by an assailant on a motorcycle and the second was detonated 20 minutes later among those who had come to rescue those targeted in the first attack, including a group of journalists.   Agence France-Presse (AFP) chief photographer in Kabul Shah Marai, Tolo News cameraman Yar Mohammad Tokhi, Radio Azadi correspondents Abadullah Hananzai, Moharram Durrani and Sabawoon Kakar, 1TV reporter Ghazi Rasooli and cameraman Nowroz Ali Rajabi, Mashal TV reporter Salim Talash and cameraman Ali Salimi were killed in the second blast when a suicide bomber disguised as a journalist detonated himself among the journalists who had gathered to cover the first attack.   At least 29 people were killed and dozens of others –including two journalists – were injured in the twin suicide blasts that took place in Shashdarak area. The Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack.   Anthony Bellanger, IFJ General Secretary, said: “This is a terrible day for journalists all over the world as we have lost at least seven of our colleagues in a targeted suicide bombing. The journalists were on duty to report about the earlier attack, simply informing the public. The IFJ strongly condemns the killing.   Apr. 2018   Afghan Media Condemns Attack on its Journalists. (Tolo News)   The Afghanistan Federation of Journalists (AFJ) and the country’s media has issued a joint statement condemning Monday’s explosions – stating the terrorist attack was a war crime.   “This terrorist attack is a war crime and an organized attack on the Afghan media,” the statement read. “Despite today''s attack and other threats against journalists, the Afghan media is committed to providing information.   “In a joint letter, the Afghan media has called on the International Court of Justice and the UN Security Council to investigate the incident.   “The media, which has lost colleagues and has colleagues that are wounded, is committed to supporting the families of those killed and wounded in the incident. We ask government to help the families of the victims.   April 30 will be remembered as the deadliest day in Afghan media history and the industry will mark the day in future in honor of its fallen colleagues.   http://bit.ly/2HLniZh http://bit.ly/2rit5Kz http://bit.ly/2IcAzcH http://bit.ly/2JHoyZR   http://rsf.org/en/news/mexican-authorities-failed-protect-journalist-murdered-today http://rsf.org/en/mexico http://www.dw.com/en/mexico-journalist-murdered-in-seaside-town-near-cancun/a-44812220 http://cpj.org/reports/2017/05/no-excuse-mexico-impunity-journalist-murder.php http://cpj.org/reports/2017/10/impunity-index-getting-away-with-murder-killed-justice.php http://cpj.org/news/ Visit the related web page
	View more stories