34 rights groups demand independent investigation into the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

26 May 2022

34 rights groups demand independent investigation into the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

The AIB has joined a coalition of 34 press freedom and human rights groups calling for an immediate and independent investigation into the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11.

This is the full statement:

We, the undersigned organisations, call for an immediate, thorough, and independent investigation into the killing of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in an attack in the West Bank on May 11 that also left another journalist wounded. We demand that the government of Israel and all other states fulfil their responsibility to ensure that crimes against journalists are fully investigated and prosecuted.

The killing of Abu Akleh, one of Palestine’s most widely respected journalists who had reported from the West Bank for decades, has shocked many in the region and around the world. According to Al Jazeera, Abu Akleh and three other journalists came under fire from Israeli soldiers while reporting on an Israeli military raid of a refugee camp in the city of Jenin on the West Bank. The reporters were wearing vests and helmets, clearly marked as “press.” Abu Akleh was shot in the face and Al Jazeera producer Ali Al-Samoudi was shot in the back. Al-Samoudi was treated for gunshot wounds and released from the hospital.

Eyewitness accounts, video documentation and media reports indicating that these journalists may have been deliberately targeted by Israeli soldiers have made this case all the more alarming. An analysis by independent investigative teams with Bellingcat concluded that the gunfire came from Israeli soldiers and that the shots seem to have been “both aimed and deliberate.”

We call attention to this latest case as one of a wider pattern of violence against journalists and media workers in Palestine. At least 23 journalists in Palestine have been killed since 2002, according to UNESCO data, and hundreds have been injured by or targeted with violence.

In May 2021, Israeli forces bombed the media offices of the Associated Press and Al Jazeera in Gaza Strip. That same month, an Israeli airstrike killed Voice of Al-Aqsa reporter Yousef Abu Hussein in his home. In 2018, Palestinian journalists Yaser Murtaja and Ahmed Abu Hussein were also killed while covering the Gaza border protests. Advocacy groups, including the International Federation of Journalists, have cited these cases in a recent submission to the International Criminal Court on the “systematic targeting of journalists” in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The duty to investigate: Ending impunity for crimes against journalists

States have a duty to investigate attacks on journalists promptly, thoroughly, and independently, and to prosecute those responsible. This obligation is well established in international and regional human rights instruments, as well as in numerous UN protocols and resolutions, requiring states to provide effective remedy for human rights abuses.

Israel is among the many states around the world that are failing to meet this obligation. A vast majority of murders of journalists go unresolved, which has fueled a culture of rampant impunity for violence and crimes against the press on a global level.

The obligation to investigate crimes against journalists does not disappear in a conflict zone. On the contrary, authorities are legally bound under international law and international humanitarian law to ensure the safety of journalists and media workers in situations of conflict. Moreover, a deliberate attack on a journalist during a situation of armed conflict constitutes a war crime.

The killing of Shireen Abu Akleh represents a particularly egregious attack on the press, not least because of credible reports that Abu Akleh and other journalists were intentionally targeted by Israeli forces, but also in light of growing concerns over impunity for crimes against journalists and other grave human rights abuses by Israel in the occupied Palestine territory. The Israeli government’s recent announcement that it will not investigate this killing only adds to these concerns.

We, the undersigned organisations, demand concrete action by states and other duty bearers, including international governmental organisations (IGOs) with a specific mandate in this area, to fulfil their duty to protect the safety of journalists and to ensure that attacks against the press are not carried out with impunity.

We call for:

• The government of Israel to uphold its international obligations to conduct a thorough, transparent, and independent investigation into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh and to prosecute those responsible. This investigation must include the full involvement of independent international experts or observers and must follow UN protocols for conducting investigations into human rights abuses.

• In parallel, an international task force to investigate this attack and to ensure credibility and impartiality of procedures and outcomes. Ideally, such a task force would be led by UN special rapporteurs with mandates that include oversight over issues related to the safety of journalists or human rights abuses. This follows the precedent set by the investigation into the killing of Jamal Khashoggi initiated by Dr. Agnes Callamard, former UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions in 2019. This investigation must include the full involvement of independent international experts, as well as participation and input by journalists and civil society.

• In the absence of an independent and impartial investigation by the government of Israel, the International Criminal Court (ICC) to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of Abu Akleh’s killing and the attack on Abu Akleh and her colleagues to determine if this incident amounts to a war crime under the Rome Statute of the ICC.

• Governments, particularly allies of Israel, to hold Israel accountable to its international obligations to protect the safety of the press and for ending impunity for crimes against journalists in Palestine. Governments must also urge Israel to fully cooperate with any international inquiries into this crime as well as with other investigations into human rights abuses by Israeli forces in the occupied Palestinian territories.

• Governments to take clear measures to end impunity for crimes against journalists at the global and local levels, including through multilateral institutions and coalitions. This includes prioritising support for the creation of a standing, international multi-stakeholder task force to investigate threats and crimes against journalists, involving the participation of UN special rapporteurs, civil society, media and journalists worldwide.

Signatories:

Article 19
Association for International Broadcasting
7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media
Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC)
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI)
Cambodian Center for Human Rights
Center for Media Studies and Peacebuilding (CEMESP-Liberia)
Centre for Independent Journalism, Malaysia (CIJ)
Child Rights International Network (CRIN)
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI)
Globe International Center
Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
I’lam Media Centre
Independent Journalism Center Moldova (IJC)
Index on Censorship
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
International Press Institute (IPI)
Maharat Foundation – Lebanon
Media Action Nepal
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)
Media Watch Bangladesh
Mediacentar Sarajevo
Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)
PEN Canada
PEN International
PEN Norway
Public Media Alliance
SEENPM
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression- SCM
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)
World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)

Image: Palestinians walk in front of a mural for Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 16 May 2022. Abu Akleh was killed on May 11 2022 during a raid by Israeli forces in the West Bank town of Jenin. EPA-EFE/ABED AL HASHLAMOUN via IPI

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa to open DW Global Media Forum 2022

19 May 2022

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa to open DW Global Media Forum 2022

Philippine journalist and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa is set to open DW’s Global Media Forum (GMF) in Bonn, Germany on June 20 with the keynote speech, “What are you willing to sacrifice for the truth?”

Under the motto “Shaping tomorrow, now,” journalists, media professionals, politicians and scientists will meet for two days at the hybrid event held at the World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB).

For information on registration and conference program, please visit the GMF website.

Hundreds of media professionals, politicians, tech experts and activists from across the globe will once again convene in the former German Bundestag in Bonn to debate pressing media issues. Topics on the agenda include panels and workshops on press freedom, war reporting, constructive journalism and social resilience.

GMF 2022 participants

Among the guests are German Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth and her G7 counterparts, Taiwanese Digital Minister Audrey Tang, Ulrik Haagerup, founder and CEO of the Constructive Institute in Aarhus/Denmark, Gerrit Rabenstein, head of DACH News Partnerships Google, Brazilian investigative journalist Patricia Toledo de Campos Mello, Russian opposition politician and digital expert Leonid Volkov, Ukrainian journalist Angelina Kariakina, Minister President of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) Hendrik Wüst, and Jodie Ginsberg, president of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

For the expected 1,200 participants workshops will also be held by numerous DW partners, including media companies and universities from NRW. This year, the heads of Germany’s journalism schools have chosen the Global Media Forum (GMF) for their annual meeting.

For the virtual audience, the GMF offers exclusive online sessions by renowned experts who share their knowledge on topics such as censorship detection, fact-checking and storytelling. For this purpose, DW has collaborated with intermediary organizations such as the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Goethe Institute, as well as international institutions such as the Nas Academy or Teyit from Turkey.

Verica Spasovska, DW Head of Events: “With this year’s hybrid event format, we have created a forum that brings people together in person while allowing the global community to participate virtually.”

Award ceremonies

Another highlight will be the award ceremony for this year’s DW Freedom of Speech Award presented to Ukrainian journalists Mstyslav Chernov and Evgeniy Maloletka. To find out more, click here.

At the @GMF start-up competition, entrepreneurial minds present their business ideas to an international audience. The concepts focus on new technologies to promote resilient journalism and a stable civil society in times of rapid change. The application is open until May 15.

For the first time, the ARD and ZDF Media Academy’s “Women and Media Technology Award” will also be presented as part of the GMF. This award honors successful female graduates from German, Austrian and Swiss universities in the fields of technology and engineering, media studies and other subjects related to media technology. More information could be found at: www.ard-zdf-foerderpreis.de

The Global Media Forum is sponsored by the German Federal Foreign Office, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Stiftung Internationale Begegnung der Sparkasse in Bonn, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the City of Bonn.

[Source: DW press release]

Margaret Hoover and Kristin Lord join RFE/RL’s Board of Directors

19 May 2022

Margaret Hoover and Kristin Lord join RFE/RL’s Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) welcomes journalist and commentator Margaret Hoover and nonprofit executive Kristin Lord as new Board Members, effective April 26, 2022.

Amb. Karen Kornbluh, the Chair of the RFE/RL Board, said, “I am thrilled to welcome Margaret and Kristin to the Board at this pivotal moment for RFE/RL and the 23-country region we serve. They bring years of journalism, foreign policy, and regional expertise to the Board, and perfectly complement the exceptional breadth of talent already supporting and serving RFE/RL’s mission.”

Margaret Hoover is the host of the PBS program “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover,” a revival of the iconic television series hosted by William F. Buckley Jr. for 33 years. A CNN political commentator, Ms. Hoover served in The White House under President George W. Bush, in the Department of Homeland Security, on Capitol Hill, and on two presidential campaigns. She is the President of American Unity Fund, a political organization focused on achieving full freedom and equality for LGBT Americans, as well as the bestselling author of American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Daily News, The Daily Beast, CNN.com, and FoxNews.com. Ms. Hoover serves on the boards of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, the Hoover Presidential Foundation, and the Belgian American Educational Foundation.

Kristin Lord is the President and CEO of IREX, a global education and development non-profit organization that promotes more just, prosperous, and inclusive societies by investing in people and the conditions that help them to thrive. She brings more than 25 years of experience in the fields of education, foreign policy, global development, and security and peacebuilding to this role. Prior to joining IREX in 2014, Kristin served in leadership roles at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Center for a New American Security (CNAS), Brookings Institution, and George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She has also served in a senior advisory role at the U.S. Department of State and recently completed a term as a Trustee of the American University in Cairo. Kristin currently serves as a board member of the United States Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) and Interaction, an alliance of international NGOs and partners that serve the world’s poor and vulnerable.

Hoover and Lord join an RFE/RL Board that, in addition to Chairman Kornbluh, includes former U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, “American Purpose” editor in chief and former RFE/RL President Jeff Gedmin, public relations executive Michael Kempner, and current RFE/RL President Jamie Fly.

RFE/RL, Inc. is a private nonprofit corporation incorporated in the State of Delaware. Its Board of Directors makes all major policy determinations governing RFE/RL’s operations. Each member of the RFE/RL Board of Directors is required by federal law to have “requisite expertise in journalism, technology, broadcasting, or diplomacy, or appropriate language or cultural understanding” relevant to RFE/RL’s mission. Employees of U.S. government agencies are prohibited by law from serving on the RFE/RL Board.

[Source: RFE/RL press release]

Russia closes CBC bureau in Moscow

18 May 2022

Russia closes CBC bureau in Moscow

Russia cancelling visas of CBC journalists

The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry has announced that it is to close the Moscow bureau of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). It will also withdraw visas for CBC journalists. The move follows the banning of Russia’s international TV channels RT English and RT France in March from being distributed in Canada.

“With regret we continue to notice open attacks on the Russian media from the countries of the so-called collective West who call themselves civilised,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

“A decision has been taken to make retaliatory, I underscore retaliatory, measures in relation to the actions of Canada: the closure of the Moscow bureau of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, including the annulation of the accreditations and visas of their journalists.”

In April, Russia imposed sanctions against Catherine Tait, President of CBC and Michael Melling, VP News at CTV News, preventing them – and a range of politicians and business people – from visiting Russia.

Photo: CBC correspondent Briar Stewart on the rooftop of CBC’s Moscow bureau on Oct. 5, 2021. (CBC)

BBC Eye investigates China’s silenced journalist Sophia Huang Xueqin

18 May 2022

BBC Eye investigates China’s silenced journalist Sophia Huang Xueqin

The BBC’s investigation unit, BBC Eye, has examined the disappearance of Sophia Huang Xueqin, one of China’s most high-profile women’s rights journalists and a sexual-assault survivor who kick-started China’s #MeToo movement.

In June 2021, Sophia Huang Xueqin was awarded a prestigious Chevening scholarship and was meant to be starting her master’s degree on Gender Violence and Conflict at the University of Sussex in September that same year. However, on the way to the airport to catch her flight to the UK, Sophia and fellow labour activist Wang Jianbing “vanished”.

Seven months after Sophia’s disappearance, in the documentary, China’s silenced feminist, BBC Eye investigates what happened to Sophia, how her story is being erased by Chinese state censors, and how a disinformation campaign is being played out online against her. The BBC also asks why in the UK, where Sophia should be studying on a British government scholarship, there’s been silence.

In China, tens of thousands of individuals are being rounded up and questioned in a wider state crackdown on activists. Feminists who continue to speak out are forced to remain anonymous. Many like Sophia and Jianbing, who are advocating for gender rights and other social causes, have been framed as agents of “hostile western forces” and received attacks online by nationalist trolls.

The BBC gained exclusive access to other former female detainees who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity. “There’s no offline campaigns anymore … the political atmosphere has become very nervous.”

Former Weibo censor, Liu Lipeng, gave the BBC a rare interview where he breaks down the state’s censorship apparatus and reveals Beijing’s disinformation campaign against Sophia. “On the Chinese internet, it’s difficult to differentiate between a state internet commentator and an ordinary user,” Liu said. “It’s a scary phenomenon.” Weibo did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

The BBC also talks to Li Maizi, a prominent Chinese feminist, who was detained ahead of International Women’s Day in 2015 for attempting to hand out stickers protesting sexual harassment on public transport: “In the past [sexual harassment and violence] was covered. The #MeToo movement provided a venue for people to speak out.”

When Huang’s disappearance was first reported, the University of Sussex and Chevening released the following statement: “We are concerned about the safety and whereabouts of our student. Our staff are liaising with Chevening to seek further details.” But since then, neither have published further statements.

In an email leaked to the BBC, following the BBC’s requests for comment, students and staff at the University of Sussex were warned not to discuss Sophia’s situation. The university told the BBC that because this was a sensitive matter, media requests should be dealt with by the press office, citing data protection concerns. Supporters of Sophia and Jianbing accuse the university and Chevening of not speaking out for fear of antagonising the Chinese government. Students from China make up a fifth of international enrolment at the university, and their tuition fees – along with partnerships with Chinese institutions – provide an important revenue stream.

Responding to the BBC, a spokesperson said the university “remains deeply concerned about the safety and whereabouts of its prospective student” and has been in “regular contact” with Chevening and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The spokesperson added that the university has followed the advice of the FCDO – which told the BBC it was “following the matter closely.” Chevening did not respond to the BBC’s requests for comment.

The BBC reveals that Sophia and Jianbing were detained in secret locations known as “black jails” where they were held in solitary confinement without access to lawyers and outside world. At least 70 of their supporters were questioned and interrogated by the Guangzhou National Police. Now, Sophia and Jianbing are being held on charges of “inciting subversion of state power,” a serious charge which could see them facing years behind bars. Their cases have been handed over to prosecutors in China, and both are expected to face trial soon.

The documentary, China’s silenced feminist, is now available via BBC platforms: BBC iPlayer (available only in the UK), BBC News YouTube (worldwide, except the UK), the websites bbc.co.uk and bbc.com/news, and on BBC News Chinese. The documentary will air on the BBC’s international news channel, BBC World News, on 28 May.

Photo credit SCMP

[Source: BBC press release]

Another transmitter site damaged in Ukraine

13 May 2022

Another transmitter site damaged in Ukraine

In the continuing war in Ukraine, another TV transmission tower has been attacked.

On this occasion, it appears that Ukrainian forces targeted a TV mast in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, in a suburb of Donetsk called Petrovsky, about 14km to the south west of the city.

It is reported that a guy rope tethering what may be the tallest mast in Ukraine was damaged at around 0900 local time on Thursday 12 May. It is believed that the mast remains standing and broadcasts on TV and radio continue to be radiated from the site.

In April 2014, pro-Russian separatists seized control of Donetsk’s TV station, switching programming from Ukraine’s broadcasters to Russian channels.