From Egypt to Iraq, crimes against journalists, without protection, go unpunished
Supporters of a Shiite militia wave flags after setting fire to the premises of Iraqi television station Dijlah, accused of broadcasting music during the Ashura, a Shia religious holiday, in Baghdad on August 31, 2020. AP Photo / Khalid Mohammed
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
This Monday, November 2 marks the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, created in 2013 by the UN.
From 1993 to today, 1,414 journalists have been killed, according to the United Nations.
And in nine out of ten cases, the murderers go unpunished.
Since the start of 2020, 32 journalists and media collaborators have been murdered, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
A figure down from 2019 due to the health crisis but which remains worrying, underlines the NGO.
Example in two countries in the Middle East, Egypt and Iraq, where journalism remains a high-risk profession.
Publicity
Read more
With our
correspondent in Cairo,
Alexandre Buccianti
and our correspondent in Baghdad,
Lucille Wassermann
At the root of impunity for crimes against journalists is the lack of legal protection, their vulnerability to the state.
According to various human rights organizations, around 40 journalists are currently in detention in Egypt.
The country occupies 166th place out of 180 countries according to Reporters Without Borders' press freedom ranking.
The main accusation against journalists opposed to Egyptian power is that of "
undermining the security of the state
".
According to defenders of freedom of expression, this is a generic accusation whose vagueness makes it a sword of Damocles.
Within the framework of the attack on the security of the State, one finds complicity with the terrorist organization of the Muslim Brotherhood, the threat against the national economy or even the moral and religious values of the company.
The other common charge is that of practicing the trade without certification.
This accreditation is difficult to obtain in a country where print journalists are practically the only ones to have an official press card.
Foreign media correspondents are no exception.
In March, the correspondent for the British daily
The Guardian
had her accreditation revoked for disputing official figures and writing that coronavirus cases had exploded in Egypt.
Year of horror for Iraqi television
In addition to the questionable convictions and accreditations given in a trickle, violence is the other scourge suffered by journalists in 2020. In Iraq, several press offices have been attacked and set on fire.
Their employees threatened, intimidated.
A year of horror for Iraqi television Dijlah.
On three occasions, the premises of this channel have been attacked.
First for their coverage of anti-power protests, then for playing music during the holy day of Ashura.
Saïf, one of the channel's journalists, was threatened, like other reporters, by armed groups at his home.
He had to resign, and go into hiding in the Iraqi countryside.
“
Today these armed groups and militias have more power than the government,
we
explains Saïf.
So the government is doing nothing.
Never.
He looks, that's all.
"
Three journalists have been murdered this year in Iraq, without the murderers being found.
Saïf does not hide his pessimism about the future: “
I am afraid that these attacks will happen again and again in the future.
Maybe it will reach the level of assassination.
"
International organizations regularly call on the Iraqi government to take action to protect journalists.
Without success for the moment.
►
To read also: Journalism: how to tell the world?
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