Malta Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia Tops List of One Free Press Coalition’s January Ranking Of “10 Most Urgent” Press Freedom Cases
NEW YORK – January 6, 2020 – The One Free Press Coalition, a united group of pre-eminent editors and publishers using their global reach and social platforms to spotlight journalists under attack worldwide, today issued its monthly “10 Most Urgent” list of journalists whose press freedoms are being suppressed or whose cases are seeking justice. Topping the list was Malta journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was murdered in October 2017 after receiving numerous death threats regarding her controversial political reporting. Only recently has the Malta government acknowledged their mishandling of the murder case, with the country’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, announcing his forthcoming resignation on January 12th as a result.
Since its inception, the monthly “10 Most Urgent” list has brought attention to journalists throughout the world who may not have otherwise had a voice. Of the 56 journalists featured on this year’s monthly lists, at least 10 have been released from prison, including Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo in Myanmar, and Miguel Mora and Lucía Pineda Ubau in Nicaragua. In addition, the case of Turkish journalist Pelin Unker was recently dismissed by courts shortly after being featured in March, and Moroccan journalist Hajar Raissouni, featured on the October list, recently celebrated her wedding after her release from prison.
Published this morning by all Coalition members and at www.onefreepresscoalition.com, the 11th “10 Most Urgent” list includes the following journalists, ranked in order of urgency:
1. Daphne Caruana Galizia (Malta)
The Panama Papers investigative reporter was killed in an October 2017 car bomb blast. Two years later, a public inquiry was initiated, and three senior members of prime minister Joseph Muscat’s administration stepped down over allegations of involvement in the murder, while three men are currently in detention in relation to the events.
2. Esraa Abdel Fattah (Egypt)
Reports surfaced on December 16th that Esraa Abdel Fattah of banned website Tahrir News had been hospitalized in connection with her hunger strike following allegations of mistreatment and torture while in prison. The reporter and social media coordinator had been detained for two months at that point, charged with membership in a banned group, spreading false news and misusing social media platforms to disrupt national security.
3. Ilham Tohti (China)
Uighur scholar, writer and blogger Ilham Tohti is currently serving his sixth year of a life sentence. Uighurbiz, the Chinese- and Uighur-language website he founded in 2006 with a focus on social issues, was shuttered for its “separatist” ideas (a charge Tohti denied) after his arrest in 2014.
4. Agnès Ndirubusa and the team at Iwacu (Burundi)
Four journalists and their driver were arrested in Burundi in October while covering clashes in the country’s Bubanza Province. Senior political reporter Agnès Ndirubusa, broadcast reporter Christine Kamikazi, English-language reporter Egide Harerimana and photojournalist Térence Mpozenzi remain in detention though their driver, Adolphe Masabarikiza, was released in November. All face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the charges of undermining state security.
The Editor-in-Chief and founder of local news site BlogSochi was arrested January 19, 2018 and is currently serving a six-year sentence on trumped up extortion charges. Valov narrated a livestream video showing police beating him during the arrest, and since, his lawyer has not been able to contact or locate him.
6. Jesús Medina (Venezuela)
The trial of freelance photographer Jesús Medina has repeatedly been postponed, with the date currently set for January 30, 2020. The only Venezuelan journalist imprisoned, according to CPJ’s 2019 prison census, Medina has been held in pretrial detention at Ramo Verde military prison since August 2018, accused of criminal association and inciting hate.
7. Jamal Khashoggi (Saudi Arabia)
The new decade arrives without an independent criminal investigation into the 2018 high-profile, brazen killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside Istanbul’s Saudi consulate. Calls have gone unheeded for the U.S. and UN to probe the Saudi crown prince’s role in the “extrajudicial killing”—though in December a court delivered sentences to eight individuals in what CPJ called a “sham trial” and “mockery of justice.” Meanwhile, the Kingdom ended 2019 holding 26 journalists in prison.
8. Masoud Kazemi (Iran)
While Iran implemented an Internet ban in November in response to protests over rising gas prices, Masoud Kazemi sat in prison on charges stemming from 2018 Twitter posts about government corruption. Editor-in-chief of the monthly Sedaye Parsi political magazine, Kazemi was sentenced in June to four-plus years, found guilty of spreading misinformation and insulting the supreme leader and other Iranian officials. For an additional two years, he will be banned from working as a journalist.
9. Qazi Shibli (India)
Arrests in Kashmir constitute India’s only two cases of jailed journalists, according to CPJ tracking, and the region’s ongoing communications shutdown that started August 5 - the longest ever imposed in a democracy - has slowed trial hearings and updates to family members. Kin of Kashmiriyat news website editor Qazi Shibli didn’t know his whereabouts for more than a month after his July arrest for allegedly reporting on Twitter about troop movements.
10. Nariman Memedeminov (Russia)
In October, a military court in Russia’s southern city of Rostov-on-Don sentenced Nariman Memedeminov to two years and six months in prison, convicted of making public calls for terrorism online. This followed the 2018 raid of the freelance journalist’s home and his arrest. His coverage included livestreamed trials of Muslim minority Crimean Tatar activists and interviews with their family members and lawyers, since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
The One Free Press Coalition is comprised of 37 prominent international members including: Al Jazeera Media Network, AméricaEconomía; The Associated Press; Bloomberg News; The Boston Globe; BuzzFeed; CNN Money Switzerland; 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; NHK; 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; WIRED; 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 https://www.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
International Women’s Media Foundation: Charlotte Fox, cfox@iwmf.org