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Australian newspapers have made Unes filled with black ink to protest the attacks on press freedom in recent months, October 21, 2019. AFP Photos / Saeed KHAN

The Australians discovered, Monday, October 21, newspapers of newspapers redacted. The Australian press, usually very competitive, decided to unite after raids by the federal police a few months ago at a journalist and on the premises of ABC.

Large black ink trays cover an in-one document from a dozen regional and national newspapers. Only a few words remain visible, with this phrase: " When the government hides the truth from you, what does it hide ? ". This is also the slogan of the advertising campaign that started last night on television.

The Arsenal of Australian Law on Freedom of Expression

Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, successive majorities have provided Australia with an arsenal of law that prevents the media, explain the journalists, to access documents or to collect testimonies, even if they do not do not have much to do with national security. For example, a doctor risks prison if he speaks about the living conditions of migrants in offshore detention centers.

►To listen too: Chronicle of Human Rights - RSF: 100 photos for freedom of the press, with Véronique de Viguerie

Two raids by the police last June prompted the media to take action. A first search took place at the home of journalist Annika Smethurst, who had discovered that the government was planning to spy on Australians , and a second on ABC's premises, which had revealed possible Australian Special Forces war crimes in Afghanistan.

The front page of every day has been redacted in a united campaign for the #RightToKnow. Find out more: https://t.co/tv5cIcedle #pressfreedom pic.twitter.com/bIxzlP6Pq5

MEAA (@withMEAA) October 20, 2019

Journalists are demanding that they not be subject to some very strict national security laws, better protection of whistleblowers, or that a reform of the extremely strict defamation laws is not put in place. In Australia, freedom of expression is not protected by the Constitution, unlike most democracies.