SOCHUM Global Issue: Freedom of Press

Abstract

“A total of 50 journalists were killed worldwide in 2020, according to the second part of the annual round-up of abusive treatment and violence against journalists, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). While the number of journalists killed in countries at war continues to fall, more are being murdered in countries not at war.” 1

Freedom of press, media and journalism is a human right, as stipulated in the United Nations Charter; however, the rampant rise in the number of cases of journalists being arrested for exercising their duty of bringing information worldwide has many questions ‘how free can the press be?’. In their relentless fight for their freedom of expression, journalists from across the globe have engaged in a crusade against media censorship, striving to ensure that access to information will never be regulated and the rights of journalists will be protected.

The reality we are seeing nowadays is, nonetheless, far from ideal: with journalists jailed in Hong Kong, Myanmar, China, UAE and Saudi Arabia, let’s take a step back and analyze what creates the truly ideological divide between freedom and censorship of the press, and why developed nations - such as the UAE - find themselves at the bottom of the World Press Freedom Index.

Context

Journalists play a key role in society nowadays - from new bills and political statements to investigations, worldwide geopolitical strategies, conflicts, global crises, and infringements of basic human rights, journalists are responsible for bringing unbiased news to the people. Regardless of this, however, it should not be lost on us that journalists are individuals with the right to freedom of expression, under which journalism certainly falls. Therefore, while journalists have an exceptional role in how society functions, they too, as individuals, have a simply unalienable right to exercise reporting.

And yet, despite their critical role, journalists are facing an increasingly difficult and dire situation. Reporters Without Borders (also known as Reporters Sans Frontières or RSF) is one of the world’s foremost watchdogs on freedom of information worldwide. Their World Press Freedom Index measures and quantifies the qualitative national, regional, and global progress on journalistic freedoms, informed by experts and journalists on the ground. 2 Strangely enough, some developed nations - including the United Arab Emirates, a leading nation in terms of economic progress in the Middle East and a somewhat ‘stereotypical’ developed country in the sense that it is the most prominent economic hub in the entirety of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region - rank well below nations like Uganda, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, which are considered to be developing countries.

First and foremost, it is important to mention some statistics that RSF provided in the past year:

• 50 cases of journalists killed in connection with their work from 1 January to 15 December 2020 1

• 68% (more than two thirds) of the fatalities were in countries “at peace” 1

• 387 journalists are currently detained in connection with their work 1

• Seven journalists were killed while covering protests 1

• Over the past decade, 937 journalists were killed. 1

‘The Death of the World’s Largest Democracy’ - or Modi’s India

Ever since the general elections in the spring of 2019, won overwhelmingly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), pressure on the media to toe the Hindu nationalist government’s line has increased. With constant violations of the freedom of press, including but not limited to police violence, ambushes and reprisals instigated by criminal groups and corrupt officials against journalists. 3

The Hindutva ideology gave rise to Hindu nationalism, which continues to be exacerbated under Modi’s rule. Those who follow this ideology aim towards purging all manifestations of the so-called “anti-national” sentiment, as well as eliminating the thought from national debate. Hate campaigns on social networks make up an important aspect to take into consideration, as many journalists have concrete reasons to fear for their lives. Particularly waged against women, these campaigns have an innate tendency to become particularly virulent.

India scored 142 out of 180 countries in the World Freedom Index. Its score was heavily affected by two aspects: the situation in Kashmir and the Farmers’ Protests. In Kashmir, the federal government rescinded the state’s autonomy and shut down fixed line and mobile Internet connections completely for several months, thus making it virtually impossible for journalists to cover the area - which has quickly become largely an open prison for its population.3 In addition to the Kashmiri situation, the freedom of protest of the Indian farmers has been gravely affected by the rule of the BJP, as the last few months have seen the deaths of more than 120 farmers, killed by BJP-affiliated organised crime groups or whose deaths can be traced back to corrupt local officials. 4

‘The News Black Hole of the Caucasus’ - or Turkmenistan under Berdymukhammedov’s Rule

Turkmenistan is one of the world’s most closed countries, ranking 179 out of 180 in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, surpassed only by North Korea. The government controls all media outlets and the few Internet users are able to access only a highly-censored version of the Internet, often available only in Internet cafés, where they must show ID before being able to go online. There is only one Internet access provider. However, all this does not satisfy President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, who is also known as “Father Protector”.5 The harassment of the few journalists who work clandestinely for media outlets based abroad keeps growing at a terrifying rate. In recent years, several journalists have been arrested, tortured, physically attacked or otherwise forced to stop working in Turkmenistan, with the result that these media now tend to use the services of citizen-journalists. 5

‘The Emirati Take on Freedom’ - or The United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates has “become proficient” in the online surveillance of journalists, who often fall victim to its 2012 cyber-crime law. Even slightly criticising the regime can lead to serious charges of defamation, insulting the state or “posting false information with the aim of damaging the country’s reputation”, which can result in long prison sentences and, often, mistreatment. These are only some of the dangers that journalists and bloggers covering incidents in the UAE are victims of.

For instance, in 2017, the blogger Ahmed Mansoor was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison, along with a fine of 1 million dirhams (250,000 euros) on a charge of posting “false information, rumours and lies” liable to damage the UAE’s reputation.6 The constitution guarantees the right to free speech but, under the 1980 law on printed matter and publications, the authorities can censor local or foreign publications if they deem that they “criticize domestic policies, the economy, the ruling families, religion or the UAE’s relations with its allies”.7

‘Saudi Oppression of Basic Freedoms’ - or Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia allows no independent media. The authorities keep Saudi journalists under close surveillance, even when they are abroad, as Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in Istanbul in October 2018 illustrated.8 Despite promising a reform of the Saudi government and allowance of basic human freedoms, Mohammad bin Salman has intensified the suppression since his appointment as crown prince in June 2017. The number of journalists and citizen-journalists in detention has tripled since the start of 2017. Most are being held arbitrarily and are likely subjected to torture, which is almost systematic for prisoners of conscience.9 Journalists who voice any criticism or analyse political problems are liable to be fired or even detained under criminal code provisions or under the terrorism and cybercrime laws on charges including blasphemy, “insulting religion,” “inciting chaos,” “jeopardizing national unity,” or “harming the image and reputation of the king and the state.” 10,11

Conclusion

Freedom of speech is a right we most often take for granted — when was the last time you complained about corruption, went out to protest or even read a piece that was a blatant critique of the current government? However, tens of nations and millions — even billions — of people are deprived of this basic human right. Next time you open up your phone and read an article — maybe even this article — think about how different your life would be if you didn’t have access to this information and freedom, and think about the tens or hundreds of journalists risking their lives daily in order to provide the news we scroll past every day.

Sources:

1 “RSF’s 2020 Round-up: 50 journalists killed, two-thirds in countries ‘at peace’”. Reporters Sans Frontières. Published December 28, 2020. Updated on December 29, 2020. (https://rsf.org/en/news/rsfs-2020-round-50-journalists-killed-two-thirds-countries-peace).

2 2020 World Press Freedom Index: “Entering a decisive decade for journalism, exacerbated by coronavirus”. Reporters Without Borders. Accessed February 20, 2021. (https://rsf.org/en/2020-world-press-freedom-index-enteringdecisive-decade-journalism-exacerbated-coronavirus).

3 “India - Modi tightens his grip on the media”. Reporters Sans Frontières. (https://rsf.org/en/india).

4 “‘Does it not stir PM Modi's heart?’ 15 protestors, including two women, have lost their life since November 26”. National Herald. December, 2020.

5 “Turkmenistan - Ever-expanding news “black hole””. Reporters Sans Frontières. (https://rsf.org/en/turkmenistan).

6 “UAE - No independent media, dissidents persecuted”. Reporters Sans Frontières. (https://rsf.org/en/united-arab-emirates).

7 “Report on the situation of journalists in the UAE. Input for the Secretary General Report on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity.”, International Center for Justice and Human Rights. (https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Journalists/GA72/InternationalCentreJusticeHumanRights.pdf)

8 “Saudi Arabia - Cracking down harder”. Reporters Sans Frontières. (https://rsf.org/en/saudi-arabia).

9 Sollich, Rainer, “Freedom of expression ranks low in Saudi Arabia”. Deutsche Welle. 26 February, 2019. (https://www.dw.com/en/freedom-of-expression-ranks-low-in-saudi-arabia/a-47120447)

10 Amnesty International. “Saudi Arabia 2019”. (https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia/report-saudi-arabia/)

11 Human Rights Watch. “Saudi Arabia”. (https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/saudi-arabia#)