Al Jazeera condemns destruction of its offices in Gaza

15 May 2021

Al Jazeera condemns destruction of its offices in Gaza

Al Jazeera issued the following press release:

Al Jazeera condemns in the strongest terms bombing and destruction of its offices by the Israeli military in Gaza, and views this as a clear act to stop journalists from conducting their duty to inform the world and report events on the ground. Al Jazeera vows to pursue every available route to hold the Israeli government responsible for its actions.

Residents and occupants of Al Jalaa building, which houses Al Jazeera’s offices along with major international media outlets, such as AP, and Middle East Eye, were informed by the Israeli army via a phone call that they had less than one hour to vacate the building.

Al Jazeera calls on all media and human right institutions to join forces in denouncing this ruthless bombing and to hold the government of Israel accountable for deliberately targeting journalists and media institutions.

Commenting on the bombing of Al Jalaa building, Dr Mostefa Souag, Acting Director General of Al Jazeera Media Network said, “We call on the international community to condemn such barbaric actions and targeting of journalists and we demand an immediate international action to hold Israel accountable for its deliberate targeting of journalists and the media institutions.”

Dr Souag continued, “The aim of this heinous crime is to silence the media and to hide the untold carnage and suffering of the people of Gaza.”

“The destruction of Al Jazeera offices and that of other media organisations in Al Jalaa tower in Gaza is a blatant violation of human rights and is internationally considered a war crime. We call on all media and human rights institutions in denouncing this heinous crime, and to stand with Al Jazeera and other media organisations targeted by the Israeli army, despite knowing their use of the building as their headquarters for many years.”

Al Jazeera promises its audience to continue its coverage and to uncover the truth of what is happening in Gaza, the Palestinian Territories and in Israel, regardless of the attempts to suppress it. The assault on the building hosting international media institutions aims to silence the truth by killing the messenger.

Journalism is not a crime.

[Source: Al Jazeera press release]

[Photo by Nidal Alwaheidi / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via Alamy]

Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Hussein released from jail in Egypt

8 February 2021

Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Hussein released from jail in Egypt

After more than four years in detention without trial, Al Jazeera journalist Mahmoud Hussein has been released by Egypt.

According to Al Jazeera, Hussein, an Egyptian national held under preventive detention since December 2016, was released from jail on 6 February 2021.

In a statement, Mostefa Souag, acting director-general of the Al Jazeera Media Network, said the release of Hussein was “a moment of truth and an inspiring milestone towards press freedom”.

“Al Jazeera Media Network welcomes the news of Mahmoud’s freedom and believes that no journalist should ever be subjected to what Mahmoud has suffered for the past four years for merely carrying out his profession.

“Today, we are pleased he is finally reunited with his family, after being robbed four years from his life and deprived of his fundamental rights. We wish Mahmoud a speedy recovery and hope he will be able to overcome this past ordeal and start a new chapter in his distinguished career.”

The 54-year-old was arrested in Cairo on December 23, 2016, while visiting his family for a holiday. He was interrogated for more than 15 hours without a lawyer present, before being released and then arrested again days later.

Egypt’s Ministry of Interior publicly accused him of “disseminating false news and receiving monetary funds from foreign authorities in order to defame the state’s reputation”, but no charges were ever formally brought against him. Hussein and Al Jazeera consistently denied the allegations.

Shortly after his arrest, Al Jazeera launched a worldwide media campaign calling for Hussein’s release. The AIB supported this campaign.

Egyptian authorities, however, extended Hussein’s detention more than a dozen times, far surpassing the country’s maximum period for pre-trial detention in violation of both Egyptian and international law.

During his time in jail, Hussein suffered physically and psychologically. He was held for long periods in solitary confinement and denied proper medical treatment when he broke his arm in 2017.

In January 2018, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that the conditions of Hussein’s imprisonment amounted to “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment”.

Dozens of Al Jazeera journalists targeted in phone hacking

21 December 2020

Dozens of Al Jazeera journalists targeted in phone hacking

Dozens of journalists working for Al Jazeera are reported to have been targeted by spyware that appears to have been deployed by the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

A report published by the Citizen Lab of the University of Toronto on 20 December details how the mobile phones of 36 journalists, producers, presenters and executives at the Qatar-based broadcaster were infected by the Pegasus software developed by Israel’s NSO Group.

The attack – which also targeted the personal phone of a London-based Al Araby TV journalist – is now being investigated by Apple whose phones were affected by the hacking attack.

According to a report by Al Jazeera, investigative reporter Tamer Almisshal was one of those targeted with death threats received on a phone used to call UAE ministries during research for a story.

“They threatened to make me the new Jamal Khashoggi,” said Almisshal, referring to the death threats received. “Based on this, we handed the phone to Citizen Lab, who found that the phone was hacked by spyware called Pegasus, which is developed by NSO, an Israeli company.”

“This hacking was done by a so-called zero-click technique where they can access cameras and track the device. They also found that operators in the UAE and Saudi Arabia were behind this hacking.

“We tracked the spyware for six months and found that at least 36 Al Jazeera staffers were hacked. They have used some of the content they stole from the phones to blackmail journalists, by posting private photos on the internet,” he added.

In its report Citizen Lab says that NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware is a mobile phone surveillance solution that enables customers to remotely exploit and monitor devices. The company is a prolific seller of surveillance technology to governments around the world, and its products have been regularly linked to surveillance abuses.

“This attack on journalists and others working for Al Jazeera and Al Araby is insidious and worrying,” says AIB chief executive Simon Spanswick. “It appears that hacking software is becoming constantly more sophisticated through the development of so-called ‘zero-click’ attacks. It’s vital that all those using mobile devices for investigative research have the most up-to-date operating system installed. In many cases, it is preferable to have a separate phone and SIM card used exclusively for researching a story to mitigate the risks of infection of their everyday phone.”

The Pegasus software has been used by authoritarian governments to spy on lawyers, human rights activists, dissidents and journalists around the world.

“This latest incident is another way in which journalists are being intimidated as they work to hold power to account,” continues Spanswick. “It demonstrates that the need to promote and protect media freedom remains extraordinarily high as it seems that nation states are increasing their efforts to suppress journalism and journalists, in many cases using commercially-developed tools.”

As well as the use of separate ‘disposable’ phones, it is recommended that all iPhone users ensure that they have the latest iOS installed as it appears that the vulnerabilities exploited by the Pegasus software have been closed in iOS 14.

The AIB will raise this issue within the Advisory Network of the intergovernmental Media Freedom Coalition. It will also ensure that the AIB Member Cyber Security Working Group is fully briefed about this case.

Al Jazeera shocked by Malaysia authorities reaction to documentary

9 July 2020

Al Jazeera shocked by Malaysia authorities reaction to documentary

Al Jazeera shocked by the response from Malaysian authorities to its documentary ‘Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown’ and worried about the safety of its staff

Al Jazeera has serious concerns about developments that have occurred in Malaysia since the broadcast of its 101 East investigative documentary, “Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown” on 3 July 2020. The documentary looked at why Malaysia’s illegal foreign migrant workers are at risk in the time of COVID-19.

Malaysian officials have criticised the documentary as being inaccurate, misleading and unfair.

Al Jazeera strongly refutes these charges and stands by the professionalism, quality and impartiality of its journalism.

The 101 East documentary strand, a weekly programme from across the Asia Pacific region, has a reputation for producing in-depth journalism of the highest quality. Many of its programmes have been internationally recognised with prestigious awards from across the globe, including the AIBs.

The episode “Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown” contains the views and experiences of a wide range of people from different backgrounds, including a well-respected Malaysian doctor and Malaysian relief worker on the frontlines. As stated clearly in the film, Al Jazeera acknowledges that Malaysia’s Covid-19 response has successfully contained the spread of the virus. The programme also clearly shows the humanitarian efforts made by Malaysian organisations which provide direct assistance to migrants in need. The episode does not contain the personal opinions of any Al Jazeera staff.

Al Jazeera repeatedly sought to obtain the government’s view, by requesting interviews with a number of senior government ministers and officials. Repeated requests for interviews were not accepted. Al Jazeera also sought to attend the Defence Minister’s press conferences, but was told only state media could attend. Despite the government’s refusal to be interviewed, Al Jazeera still produced a balanced film by including comments made by the Defence Minister at two press conferences.

The documentary captured events, including immigration raids, as they unfolded in real-time in Malaysia. These events were also widely reported by many other media outlets, both domestically and internationally.

Al Jazeera is deeply concerned that its staff are now subject to a police investigation. Charging journalists for doing their jobs is not the action of a democracy that values free speech. Journalism is not a crime. Al Jazeera also has grave concerns about the sustained online harassment its staff are facing. Reporters have been targeted with abusive messages and death threats. The personal details of current and former staff have been published online, in a serious breach of privacy which could potentially expose them to great risk both now and in the future.

Al Jazeera is also concerned for the safety of those interviewed in the documentary who have also been subjected to abusive online harassment and hate speech. People should feel free to speak with the media and express their views without the fear that they could be targeted. In a world in which the media face increasing threats, Al Jazeera calls for media freedom and the right to report freely without intimidation.

Al Jazeera calls upon the Malaysian authorities to desist from initiating any criminal investigation into its professional, impartial journalism.

Al Jazeera English is prepared to host a representative of the Malaysian government to respond to the matters raised in the documentary.

Edit 15 July 2020

The AIB has written to the Malaysian High Commissioner in London to protest the investigation launched against the team of Al Jazeera journalists who compiled the documentary. You can read the letter here.

UN launches Pause campaign to halt disinformation

30 June 2020

UN launches Pause campaign to halt disinformation

The United Nations has launched a new initiative to foster behaviour change and counter the growing threat of misinformation online. The campaign, called Pause, asks digital users to take the time to think about what they share before posting it online.

“Misinformation is spreading faster than the virus itself, and is seriously disrupting public health efforts by dangerously distorting sound scientific guidance. It is designed to exploit our emotions and biases at a time of heightened fear,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “But there are ways users can learn to recognize bad information and slow the spread. We are aiming to have the phrase, ‘Pause, take care before you share,’ become a new public norm.”

A range of media companies around the world, including AIB Members Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle and France Médias Monde, are distributing Pause content on TV channels, online and via SMS.

Major social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Google (YouTube) and TikTok, have also committed to promoting Pause, while indicating a willingness to scale up their ongoing efforts to suppress the circulation of misinformation.

“It is encouraging to see steps already taken by social media platforms, such as swiftly removing misinformation surrounding COVID-19, flagging harmful content, questioning sharing intentions and also promoting sound health advice, including from the World Health Organization (WHO),” said Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications.

“Just as social distancing slows the spread of the virus, behaviour changes around sharing will go a long way to slow the spread of misinformation. But it can only be meaningfully halted if there is no place for misinformation on social media platforms.”

Pause draws on research from psychologists, neuroscientists and behavioural scientists whose studies indicate that pausing to reflect before sharing can significantly help reduce the spread of unverified and misleading information. The campaign will challenge people to break the habit of sharing shocking or emotive content impulsively and without questioning its accuracy.

The campaign, launched on World Social Media Day (30 June), is part of a larger UN initiative called Verified aimed at increasing the volume and reach of trusted, engaging and accurate information, including with the help of more than 10,000 information volunteers who have already signed on to the effort.

Following its launch in May, Verified has received strong support from governments. In mid-June, more than 130 UN Member States issued a statement on the need to address the “infodemic” related to COVID-19, while welcoming the UN’s pandemic response and the Verified initiative.

Verified is a collaboration between the UN Department of Global Communications and Purpose, one of the world’s leading social mobilisation organisations, in partnership with UN agencies and country teams as well as influencers, civil society and businesses.