Indian Journalists At The Wire Top One Free Press Coalition’s July Ranking Of “10 Most Urgent” Press Freedom Cases, Focused On Reporting On Covid-19
NEW YORK – July 1, 2021 – Indian journalists Rana Ayyub, Saba Nagyi and Mohammed Zubair, who authorities say shared an unverified video allegedly “spreading discord,” top the July ranking of the One Free Press Coalition’s “10 Most Urgent” list of press freedom cases. The “10 Most Urgent” list, issued today by a united group of pre-eminent editors and publishers, spotlights journalists whose press freedoms are being suppressed or whose cases are seeking justice.
The July list spotlights journalists who are covering the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, which has led to direct exposure of the virus in addition to inclination of authorities in some countries who use the contagion as a reason to attack the media. From February 2020 to June 22, 2021 alone, the Committee to Protect Journalists documented 221 press freedom violations related to the pandemic including journalists who are already facing the consequences.
Additionally, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) recently published a report commissioned by the Gates Foundation on COVID-19 and how it has impacted the voices of women and journalists of color. “The Missing Perspectives of Women in COVID-19 News” shows that too few women experts have been quoted on the pandemic in the media.
Published this morning at www.onefreepresscoalition.com and by all Coalition members, the 29th “10 Most Urgent” list includes the following journalists, ranked in order of urgency:
1. Rana Ayyub, Saba Naqvi and Mohammed Zubair (India)
Last year, police filed a criminal investigation of a journalist at independent news website The Wire for allegedly “spreading discord” related to the COVID-19 lockdown. Now authorities have launched a criminal investigation against The Wire and journalists Rana Ayyub, Saba Naqvi and Mohammed Zubair that alleges they shared unverified video that could cause social unrest.
2. Azimjon Askarov (Kyrgyzstan)
July 25 marks one year since journalist and human rights activist Azimjon Askarov died in a Kyrgyz prison. His family suspected that he had contracted COVID-19, but authorities refused to test him.
3. José Antônio Arantes (Brazil)
The founder and editor of Folha da Região has received threatening messages on social media in response to his coverage of the pandemic, and he was victim of an arson attack on the building housing both his home and newspaper headquarters.
4. Gamal al-Gamal (Egypt)
Egyptian freelance columnist contracted COVID-19 earlier this year while held in pretrial detention in Cairo’s notorious Tora Prison. While he was eventually transferred to a hospital, conditions behind bars remain unsafe for many inmates.
5. Rozina Islam (Bangladesh)
Rozina Islam was arrested in May for her reporting about large sums of money spent on medical equipment during COVID and government negotiations to buy vaccines. If convicted, she could face up to 14 years in prison and the death penalty.
6. Nurgeldi Halykov (Turkmenistan)
Freelance correspondent Nurgeldi Halykov has been behind bars since September 2020 on fraud charges, which colleagues believe are retaliation for his reporting, including coverage of the pandemic for independent Netherlands-based news website Turkmen.news.
7. Andrzej Poczobut (Belarus)
Political commentator and TV producer Andrzej Poczobut has been detained without charge since March. He has reportedly contracted COVID-19 while behind bars, with prisoners kept in crowded conditions, but has now been placed in quarantine.
8. Siddique Kappan (India)
Indian journalist behind bars recently contracted COVID-19. While one of his charges was recently dropped, authorities in Uttar Pradesh state continue to pursue and investigate additional retaliatory charges against him.
9. Shahram Safari (Iran)
Freelance Kurdish journalist, who also runs local news Telegram channel “Rawezh Press,” was sentenced to three months in prison over his COVID-19 reporting. While he is appealing the decision, he faces two additional cases against him.
10. Oratile Dikologang (Botswana)
Oratile Dikologang, cofounder and digital editor of local website Botswana People’s Daily News, is due in court July 12 on charges relating to information shared to Facebook about COVID-19 and local politics. He denies publishing the posts.
The One Free Press Coalition is comprised of 32 prominent international members including: Agencia Efe; Al Jazeera Media Network, AméricaEconomía; The Associated Press; Bloomberg News; The Boston Globe; Corriere Della Sera; De Standaard; Deutsche Welle; Estadão; EURACTIV; The Financial Times; Forbes; Fortune; HuffPost; India Today; Insider Inc.; Le Temps; Middle East Broadcasting Networks; Office of Cuba Broadcasting; Quartz; Radio Free Asia; Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty; Republik; Reuters; The Straits Times; Süddeutsche Zeitung; TIME; TV Azteca; Voice of America; The Washington Post; and Yahoo News.
One Free Press Coalition partners with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) to identify the most-urgent cases for the list, which is updated and published on the first business day of every month.
The mission of the Coalition is to use the collective voices of its members – which reach more than 1 billion people worldwide – to “stand up for journalists under attack for pursuing the truth.” News organizations throughout the world can join the Coalition by emailing info@onefreepresscoalition.com. Members of the public are also encouraged to join the conversation using the hashtag #OneFreePress and following developments on Twitter @OneFreePress.
One Free Press Coalition
The One Free Press Coalition every month spotlights the “10 Most Urgent” journalists who press freedoms are under threat worldwide. The Coalition uses the collective voices of participating news organizations to spotlight brave journalists whose voices are being silenced or have been silenced by “standing up for journalists under attack for pursing the truth.” To see the “10 Most Urgent” list every month and to view a complete list of participating news organizations and supporting partners, please visit onefreepresscoalition.com or @OneFreePress on Twitter.
Contacts:
One Free Press Coalition PR: pr@onefreepresscoalition.com
Committee to Protect Journalists: Bebe Santa-Wood, press@cpj.com