Stop Jailing Journalists

Stop Jailing Journalists!
Monday, 10 April 2006, 8:09 pm
Press Release: IFEX
Stop Jailing Journalists!

The numbers are staggering - more than 500 journalists were arrested
last year, simply for doing their jobs. Even more extraordinary are the
personal stories of endurance, pain and determination of the men and
women arrested and imprisoned.

Newspapers around the globe will be able to tell those stories on World
Press Freedom Day, 3 May. The World Association of Newspapers is once
again offering a package of interviews, articles, essays, infographics
and advertisements to publish on 3 May to commemorate the sacrifices
their colleagues make every day. The materials, some of which are now
available, can be downloaded, free of charge, at
http://www.worldpressfreedomday.org/ .

The theme of the 2006 campaign is "Don't Lock Up Information: Stop
Jailing Journalists".

Contributors include:

- Raul Rivero, who writes about his own Œhell¹ of spending two years
behind bars in Cuba, describing the cases of his colleagues who remain
in prison, and the current state of journalism in Cuba.

- Massoumeh Shafii , wife of jailed Iranian journalist Akbar Ganji, who
talks about the impact of imprisonment on the families of jailed
journalists. Akbar Ganji, the 2006 laureate of the WAN Golden Pen of
Freedom, was recently freed from to six years in prison.

- Burmese journalist San San Nwe, who writes a personal essay about her
jailed colleague, U Win Tin, and the impact that attention from the
international community had on their cases. San San Nwe, who was
released from prison after seven years , and U Win Tin, who has been
incarcerated 16 years, are co-laureates of the 2001 WAN Golden Pen of
Freedom.

- Pius Njawe, one of Africa's most prominent journalists, who has been
arrested 126 times, writes about his experience as a journalist in
Cameroon, the personal demons he fights for not having been able to
protect his family during his imprisonment, and his views on the
profession after more than three decades as an editor.

- Cary Hung, editor of the New York-based Chinese Democracy Forum, who
writes about jailed Chinese journalist Shi Tao and the dangers of
putting business interests ahead of freedom of _expression. Hung was the
recipient of the e-mail that Shi Tao sent about propaganda instructions
that the Chinese government imposed on newspapers on the anniversary of
the Tiananmen Square massacre. Shi Tao was arrested and jailed after
Yahoo passed on his account details to the Chinese authorities.

- Author Hamid Skif, who writes about what happens when the
international community turns its back on journalists who are suffering
extreme repression highlighting the case of Abdullah Ali al-Sanussi
al-Darrat, who was jailed in Libya in 1973. There has been no word on
his condition, where he is being held or whether he is still alive. No
other journalist has been imprisoned longer.

In addition, the package includes:

- Online protest letters and a list of the more than 500 journalists who
were arrested last year.

- Two videos created by the Swedish Beckmans School of Design, focusing
on jailed journalists. The videos are being offered to broadcasters and
newspapers, which are encouraged to use them on their web sites.

- Infographics on the number of journalists killed and jailed, and
editorial cartoons on press freedom themes.

- Public service advertisements, produced by leading agencies, to help
raise awareness about the importance of press freedom to society.

Most of the materials are now available in English and will be added in
French, Spanish and German in coming days; check back for updates. WAN
is encouraging newspapers and web sites to publish the materials on 3
Day -- go to http://www.worldpressfreedomday.org/.

The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry,
defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000
newspapers; its membership includes 73 national newspaper associations,
newspapers and newspaper executives in 102 countries, 11 news agencies
and nine regional and world-wide press groups.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0604/S00172.htm