More than 450 journalists gathered during the 11th annual Arab Reporters Forum on Investigative Journalism in Jordan earlier this month. The gathering came about two months after journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, while details of his killing continued to emerge. Countries in the region, including: Sudan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Arabia Saudi and Yemen are considered the most dangerous countries in the world for reporters, according to Reporters Without Borders.During the conference, the participants expressed their concern that the Arab press is facing severe and serious problems in the region, including: imprisonment, censorship, and murders.
Khashoggi's editors, Fred Hiatt and Karen Attiah opened the session with a recorded message to honor the slain journalist. "He was extremely warm, kind and generous," Attiah told the conference via video from the United States. "If this happened to Khashoggi, then it can happen to all of us." "If a journalist is killed, this is a threat to anyone," added Haitti. Before the speech, participants observed a minute of silence to remember Khashoggi. .
"But the concerns for the world of journalism in the region go beyond the murder of Khashoggi," he said Rana Sabbagh, the executive director of ARIJ.
"This is happening almost daily in all parts of the Arab world. We live daily between repression and threats of job loss but also between the fact that we can be killed every time we try to reveal the truth."
"The freedom of the press in Tunisia is good in Tunisia, but there are many pressures. My Tunisian colleague, sitting by my side, whispered in my ear: We are better off than many other Arab countries, but we are facing increasing legal challenges, every day. Public relations campaigns make Tunisia look like a haven for press freedom and this threatens our work especially when international human rights organizations are ignoring us because we are better than others in their eyes. "
Sabbagh continued her list of concerns by addressing Jordan when she spoke about new legislation on so-called crimes of censorship. A cybercrime bill is being drafted that could punish anyone who posts something on Facebook or Twitter that authorities could misinterpret. 95% of Jordanian journalists accept self-censorship.
In Yemen, 26 local journalists have been killed and 13 imprisoned since the war began in 2015, according to Khaled Al Haroji, deputy chief of Al-Thaëra newspaper. "There were three daily newspapers in Yemen and 300 others (publications), all of which have detained due to murders, threats, torture and various other abuses," said Al Haroji.
Egypt and Syria
WHEREAS Lina Attalah , the editor-in-chief of Mada Masr, said that journalists in Egypt faced a difficult year, with legal attacks on press freedom, something that was also highlighted in the report of Reporters Without Borders. She also spoke about the recent cybercrime law in Egypt which is not limited to traditional media, but extends to any online social platform that exceeds 5000 followers. Beyond legal challenges Egypt continues to be one of the countries that has imprisoned the most journalists and commentators who expressed controversial views on social media.
Lina Chawaf, editor of Radio Rozana addressed the murders of 11 media workers killed in Syria in 2018. "After all the exercises for the physical and electronic security of journalists, are the efforts enough? Who supports the families of journalists after death? "Shawaf emphasized the importance of preventing the deaths of journalists and not supporting them after they happen.
"Life on the edge" - photos of journalists killed in the Middle East. Young, old. Women. men. Just trying to do their job. Sad but inspiring to start #BEAR18 Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism conference in Jordan. pic.twitter.com/9Vs9eMD67a
— Julian Sher (@juliansher) November 30, 2018
Lack of support
Hazem Al-Amin, a Lebanese journalist and co-founder of a non-profit media outlet , Here, said in an interview for GIJN (Global Investigative Journalism Network): "Due to the (strict) rules of Arab journalists within their countries, they find it very difficult to publish their investigations. Daraj is an open platform for them to publish their work, but we also need some kind of support. The main Arab institutions that have the opportunity to finance and support us, and other similar initiatives, generally have political agendas and it is difficult to cooperate with them. If you associate your name with them, it means you believe in their editorial standards."
The danger to journalists in this region was highlighted in the week following the conference. BASED on his Facebook page, Al-Amin, was detained by the police for an article published a few months ago in Daraj. He was released a short time later.
The challenge of finding media supporters in the Arab world was reflected in what happened to one of the the winners of ARIJ18.
Saleck Zeid a journalist who won the award for investigative journalism for a short article about the slavery problem in his state, he could find no local media to publicize his investigation. He ended up posting it on his Facebook page. Meanwhile Omar Ashikh, a Sudanese journalist who investigated senior figures in his country is still stuck in Jordan, where he was to attend the forum, because he is afraid to return to his country due to death threats received over the past month.
Ashikh was fired from the newspaper he worked for because in an article he published, he mentioned the name of one of the owners of the publication.
Award winners from Mauritania, Egypt, Yemen and the Gaza Strip exposed human rights abuses, slavery and corruption in the communities they live in, and were honored for their courageous and extraordinary work in the region, highlighting the importance of seeking of the truth, despite any challenge.
Source: Global Investigative Journalism Network
Adapted and translated by: Citizens Channel.
