IRAN VIOLATIONS
The current unrest in Iran following the contested presidential elections has led to gross human rights violations of the peoples of Iran.
However, a number of facts must remain clear. Observers beleive that the margin of 30 percent victory for the incumbent president is a difficult gap to bridge. But the people of Iran have the right to express their opposition peacefully to the results.
The current situation in Iran led to reports that more than 400 people were arrested among them journalists, thus breaching the fundemntal right of freedom of opinion and expression.
Unfortunately the crackdown in Iran, which has shown the power of the second generation of the revolution of the high tech technology, and through Facebook, Twitter and Utube, has turned the winner of the presidential election into a looser through the gross violations the world is watching on CNN.
Neda, slain in her blood, is the symbol of the subjugation of the peoples to gross human rights violations, naturally first and foremost the right to life.
Democray, human rights, freedom of opinion and expression are intertwined and hence the view that opponents to the elected President should have conceeded defeat and not spearheaded their country into this violent turbulence. On the other hand, the peoples any people have the right to assemble, peacefyully demonstarte and express their resentmnet peacefully.
Related to this issue is that the outside world should stand neutral when the result of any elections is not to their liking.
The elected Iranian President, no doubt, has an overwhelming base of support among the masses and the rural community, therefore partly the negative reaction of the international community to his election is in part a reason for encouraging the Iranian unrest.
The Inetrnational Community must accept the choice of the peoples of the world even if it is not to their liking.
23 June 2009
PEC AWARDS
The first ever awards for the Protection of Journalists were handed to their recipients the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) headquartered in Ramallah for its role in exposing media violations during the Gaza war 27 December 2008 -18 January 2009 by all sides.
The award was split with Mexican Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Luis Alfonso de Alba, first President of the Human Rights Council, for his efforts to highlight the issue on the level of the HRC and the diplomatic community in Geneva.
The event was sponsored by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, Kuwaiti magazine Al Yaqatha spearheaded by Ahmad Yusuf Behbehani, the Swiss ress Club and the PEC.
4 June 2009
ARAB MEDIA AWARDS
During the month of May Dubai celebrated its annual prestiguous event the Arab Media Forum which concludes with handing out the Arab media awards.
 The whole event is a result of the egagemnet, support and encourgement of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, says the ICPJ.
 Magda Abu-Fadil, who brings years of experience as a foreign correspondent, currently director of the Journalism Training Program at the American University of Beirut (AUB) quoted Seymour Hersh who aaddressed the forum.
Hersh praised Dubai for being at the cutting edge and urged Arab journalists to push for good governance but said an investigative journalist was like a dead rat brought to a party.
"Nobody likes us, but if you don't do what you do, you can't change things," he said, adding that the Internet had changed the face of journalism.
The Web's increasing dominance and print media's accelerating demise in the West, don't seem to have adversely affected newspapers in the Arab World where growth is still key, experts said.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have seen more newspapers come onto the print scene in parallel with the rapid increase of online media and portals drawing ever more readers and advertisers in the region.
With the emergence of a knowledge society, new media and platforms are increasingly contributing to user-generated content and providing average citizens with vehicles to supplement traditional media reports.
Abu-Fadil added that Later a very heated discussion erupted between the news heads of Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera channels who argued over Israel's war on Gaza and their respective linguistic differences over coverage of that conflict.
"Martyr is a religious term, I cannot issue a judgment on the dead person because I am not God," said Al Arabiya's Nabil Khatib during the Gaza session, to the dismay of Ahmad Al Sheikh of Al Jazeera who said his station's hyped coverage aimed to halt conflicts and victims' suffering.
Khatib said he must consider his audience despite the old adage that what bleeds leads, and that a lot of news reaching newsrooms during conflicts was misleading.
Other sessions dealt with the worldwide financial crisis and the media's handling, or mishandling, thereof.
The harsh reality of online media taking over worldwide means funders' mentality has to change and advertisers will seek "fast fooders," participants heard experts say.
A key question raised at the forum was whether industry was willing to invest in new content and delivery systems. Conferees agreed on the need for extensive training to upgrade and update journalists' skills.
The two-day forum organized by the Dubai Press Club (www.dpc.org.ae) drew over 600 people from the Arab world and beyond.
The full report could be viewed on
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/magda-abufadil/tv-fatwas-sy-hersh-and-ne_b_204277.html
 photos used in this report are a copyright of Magda Abu-Fadil
The Internationall Covenenat for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) believes that the Arab Media Forum, organized by the Dubai Press Club, is a vivid example of modernity and enlightment.
By hosting the Forum and the Awards the DPC is playing a vital role in moving ahead into a new age of Arab media renaissance, says the ICPJ.
In addition it is a meeting point for many outstanding Arab media players who spend 2-days in an atmosphere of free exchange and open debates.
The whole event is a result of the egagemnet, support and encourgement of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, says the ICPJ.
May 2009
The ICPJ supports the PEC for Remembrance Day
The International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) joins the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) in honoring the victims of violence, wars, civil unrest among journalists who were killed during those events only because they are journalists.
The ICPJ expresses hope that all Press Associations around the world, and NGOs defending media freedoms will join the two organizations on that day to honor our colleagues, who have fell in the line of duty.
US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton onWorld Press Freedom Day
The United States is proud to join the international community incelebrating World Press Freedom Day and the contributions that journalists maketo advancing human dignity, liberty, and prosperity. We live in a world wherethe free flow of information and ideas is a powerful force for progress.
Independent print, broadcast, and online media outlets are more than sources ofnews and opinion. They also expose abuses of power, fight corruption,challenge assumptions, and provide constructive outlets for new ideas anddissent. Freedom of the press isprotected by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is ahallmark of every free society.
Wherever media freedom is in jeopardy,all other human rights are also under threat. A free media is essentialto democracy and it fosters transparency and accountability, both of which areprerequisites for sustained economic development.
Those who seek to abusepower and spread corruption view media freedom as a threat. Instead ofsupporting an open press, they attempt to control or silence independentvoices.
The methods they use against news organizations and journalists rangefrom restrictive laws and regulations to censorship, violence, imprisonment,and even murder.
Such tactics are not new, and cannot gounanswered. We are especiallyconcerned about the citizens from our own country currently under detentionabroad: individuals such as Roxana Saberi in Iran, and Euna Lee and Laura Ling in North Korea.
On behalf of PresidentObama, I want to affirm the United States’ strong commitment to media freedomworldwide. We will champion this cause through our diplomatic efforts andthrough our exchange and assistance programs.
We will work in partnershipwith non-governmental organizations and directly with members of themedia. And we will stand with those courageous men and women who facepersecution for exercising and defending the right of media freedom.
3 May 2009
 Norwegian Ambassador says her country sponsors a conference for media work in Somalia
Norwegian Ambassador Bente Angel Hansen announced that Norway has decided to sponsor a conference in the Horn of Africa region on "Media Ethics and Journalism in Somalia".
The Norwegian Ambassador explained that this three-day conference is organized by the National Union of Somali Journalists, in which both representatives of the Somali media, as well as of the government will participate.
She added that freedom of expression is essential in a country like Somalia.
"Media has a very important role to play to protect human rights. But Somali journalists are working under immense difficulties," she added.
The Norwegian Ambassador expressed hope that the forthcoming conference may lead to a better working climate and possibly also to the reconstitution of the National Media council in Somalia.
Somali casualties among the media make it one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. The Ambassador of Norway made this intervention during the interactive dialogue on the situation of human rights in Somalia in the Human Rights Council. 25 March 2009
Columbia read to the Human Rights Council by Fawzia Assaad,
PEN International Representative at the UN in Geneva
 International PEN, the world association of writers, and the World Press Freedom Committee, an umbrella organization of 45 press freedom organizations on five continents, welcome the commitments the Colombian State has made in relation to journalists. These include: improving guarantees of their rights; encouraging investigations of crimes against them; and fostering a culture in which it is easier for journalists to carry out their work. PEN and the WPFC also note with satisfaction that there were no deadly attacks on print journalists in Colombia in 2008, unlike the preceding two years.
However, we are alarmed by the high numbers of print journalists in Colombia who continue to be threatened and intimidated in relation to their work. In 2008, PEN recorded a total of 14 attacks against print journalists: five were threatened with death, four were otherwise threatened and harassed, three were on trial for criminal defamation, one was physically attacked and another kidnapped.
PEN and the WPFC ask that that Colombian State provide journalists who are threatened and attacked in this way with adequate guarantees of their safety. In particular we urge the government to take measures to ensure that such journalists are not further endangered by comments made by public officials that could exacerbate threats and violence against them.
In order to ensure that these crimes against journalists do not remain unpunished, PEN and the WPFC note that the Colombian State must not only encourage investigations but ensure that they take place, and that these investigations must be prompt, independent, thorough and impartial. We call on the pertinent institutions in Colombia to speed up outstanding investigations and thus bring to justice all those who have committed crimes against journalists. 20 March 2009
 OIPC Secretary-General supports call for Council panel discussion
Secretary-General of the International Civil Defense Organization (OIPC) Nawaf Al Sleibi announced that he supports the call for a panel discussion on the protection of journalists in the Human Rights Council.
He added that journalists pay the price while covering natural disasters and during conflict and hence the importance of standing by the call.
Al Sleibi stressed that journalists desreve the same protection like workers of the Red Cross and Crescents, Civil defense and others.
More than 60 countries are members of the OIPC.
 OIPC Secretary-General hands the Silver medal of his organization to Hedayat Abdel Nabi, PEC President and ICPJ coordinator for her dedication to human rights causes and her integrity as a journalist.
18 March 2009
Call for releasing journalists
16 March 2009 from the interactive debate in the Human Rights Council
 GEORGE GORDON LENNOX, of Reporters without Borders - called for the immediate release of Perwiz Kambakhsh, a young Afghan journalist who had been sentenced to 20 years in prison, his sole crime having been to download an article about women in Islam. that Reporters Without Borders requested the Council and the Special Rapporteurs to intervene in favour of Perwiz to obtain a presidential pardon from Hamid Karzai. Other calls for intervention were made on behalf of Tamil journalists Tissainayagam and Vithyatharan Tissainayagam from the Sunday Times, who were detained for writing about the war going in the country; and the case of journalists and bloggers detained in Iran, especially Mohammad Sadegh Kabovand, the editor of a Kurdish weekly, who was detained in prison despite his poor health.
IFJ condemns court decision against Muntadhar Al=Zeidi
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has protested over the disproportionate decision of an Iraqi court which sentenced television journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi to three years in jail for throwing his shoes at former American president George W. Bush in December last year.
"This sentence is hugely out of proportion," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "The journalist made a serious mistake, but it was something that should have been properly dealt with internally and not brought before the courts at all. The Iraqi response is regrettable and we urge that there is clemency and his sentence is reduced on appeal."
According to media reports from Baghdad, the judge ordered the jail sentence after finding the journalist guilty of assault on a foreign leader. The defence had argued that the charge was inadmissible since Bush was not on an official visit when the journalist hurled his shoes. Their application for reducing the charge to insult also failed.
Muntadhar al-Zeidi, aged 30, a correspondent for the Iraqi-owned al-Baghdadiya TV television station based in Cairo, Egypt, shot to fame in Iraq after he removed his shoes and threw them at President Bush during a press conference in Baghdad with the country's Prime Minister Al-Maliki on 14 December. He has been in detention since he was detained by American security staff and later handed over to Iraqi security services.
The IFJ has called for his release, saying his action was a desperate act to protest over injustice suffered by Iraqi citizens, including journalists, since the US-led invasion and subsequent occupation by the coalition forces. The Federation hopes al-Zeidi will be freed as soon as possible.
12 March 2009
UNGA President supports measures for journalist's security
The President of the UN General Assembly Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann supported the call for tackling the global protection problem confronting journalists in zones of conflict and elsewhere.
"Absolutely, I am also a journalist, I know the importance of the mission of journalists, and that measures must be taken to grant the security of journalists all over the world," he stressed.
The President of the General Assembly was responding to a question from Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on whether an in depth discussion should take place on the level of the GA and the Human Rights Council on the protection of journalists.
Source: press conference-UN Geneva-5 March 2009
Freedom of Speech and Press: Israel
“The government prohibited Israeli journalistsfrom entering the Gaza Strip, and those who did were subject to legal penaltiessuch as fines and restraining orders. In early November the government alsostarted preventing foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip. OnNovember 24, the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel filed a petition tothe High Court requesting that it overturn the ban on foreign journalistsentering the Gaza Strip. On December 31, the High Court ruled in favor of theFPA petition. The government had not complied at year's end.”
State Department Report on Human Rights-February 2009
Iraq:Testimony of an American journalist
Dahr Jamail is an American journalist who is best known as oneof the few unembedded journalists to report extensively from Iraq during theIraq war, and in an interview with DIVA International, a Geneva based publication, he said that there were security concerns in Iraq, which was and is achallenge, “but I decided that my best security was no security”.
What I mean by that isthat I felt it would draw attention to me if I went around with a securitycontingent. Thus, by doing what I could to blend in with Iraqis, I felt I wasbeing safer.
Q : You seem to have a disaffecton from themainstream media ? Why ?
As I mentioned above, rather than behaving as journalists andasking members of the Bush administration to prove their allegations aboutWMD’s in Iraq,in the U.S. weinstead had a press corps that were lapdogs of the state, cheerleaders for war.To me, that was simultaneously repulsive and sickening. This trend continuedinto the invasion, and then of course with the occupation.Let me give you an example. I was in Iraqin January 2004 when I came across the story of a man who was detained by the U.S.military, and held for one month. He was tortured horrifically by theAmericans-and I had photographs and video to prove it. They cleared showed theback of his had bashed in, electrical burn marks on the bottoms of his feet andgenitals, bruises and lash marks up and down his body. The Americans droppedhim off, comatose, in a hospital in Tikrit with a medical report by an Armydoctor stating the man had had a heart attack, which was their excuse for whyhe was comatose.I sent the story to 150 news outlets across the U.S.-includingevery major TV, radio, and print publication. Not one, not one foreign editoreven replied to the email, which was simply urging them to cover the torture,as it was that widespread. It wasn’t until the end of that April whenjournalist Seymor Hersh forced 60 minutes to run those pictures, otherwise hewould have scooped them.That’s but one example. The embedded corporate media are useless,beyond furthering the agenda of the state. That they call themselvesjournalists is laughable.
Between 2003 and 2005 Dahr Jamail spent eight months inIraq and presented his stories on his website, entitled Dahr Jamail’s Mid-EastDispatches (www.dahrjamailiraq.com).
In 2008 he was the recipient of The Martha Gellhorn Prizefor Journalism and has won many other international prizes.
http://www.divainternational.ch/spip.php?article410
12 February 2009
First journalist killed in February from Somalia
For the second month in a row, a Somali journalist SaidTahlil Ahmed, Director of
HornAfrik Radio in Mogadishu,becomes the first journalist assassinated worldwide in February following thekilling of Hassan Mayow Hassan of Radio Shabelle, who was the first journalist tobe killed on one January 2009.
4 February 2009
UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS NAVY PILLAY
The killing of the prominent newspaper editor Lasantha Wickrematunge earlier this month was the latest blow to the freeexpression of dissent in Sri Lanka.
NAVY PILLAY
 Lasantha Wickrematunge
"The searing article hewrote prophesying his own murder is an extraordinary indictment of asystem corrupted by more than two decades of bloody internal conflict," said Navy Pillay.
29 January 2009
ARTICLE 19
calls on the BBC to reconsider its decision and to broadcast the DEC appeal
The Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal conforms to the humanitarian principles that reliefshould be distributed to civilians in need without partiality, asenshrined in Geneva Conventions common Article 3; Additional Protocol I Article 70; Additional Protocol II Article18(2); as well as the Statutes of the International Red Cross and RedCrescent Movement, the Guiding Principles on the Right to HumanitarianAssistance of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law andothers. Furthermore DEC members have confirmed they are able to workwithout hindrance from the Hamas controlled authorities both toidentify who are most in need of assistance and to channel assistanceto them directly, either through their own staff or well establishedlocal non governmental partners. The DEC appeal is solely concernedwith alleviating the suffering of the inhabitants of Gaza.
For more info go to ARTICLE 19
Article 19
ARTICLE 19 believes that attacks against journalists and media are far more commonin Brazil than is commonly thought and many cases, particularly thosefrom smaller towns and cities, are not widely reported.
For more info go to ARTICLE 19
 OPEN LETTER
TO THE 44TH
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
ICPJ STATEMENT ON THE INUGURATION OF BARACK OBAMA
GENEVE, ICPJ, JANUARY 26, The International Covenant for the Protection of journalists (ICPJ) congratulates the American people for the very welcome change in America.
The ICPJ would add that this occasion cannot be missed without congratulating the majority of the world who voted with their loud voices for Barack Obama, and though their vote do not count, but they represent the moral force and conscience of the world, which gives added importance to 20 January 2009.
Those committed to the rule of law, human rights and humanitarian and international law believe that President Obama s inauguration yesterday could represent a new dawn for the 21st century and a turning point in the relations of the United States with the peoples of the world, a very welcome development.
As the beacon of democracy,
free speech and free press,
the United States,
in the coming months
will take charge of many priorities across the globe.
It is the hope of the ICPJ, an NGO dedicated to the defence of media and based in Geneva, that the new administration spearheaded by the 44th President, and his new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will give attention to the global problem of the protection of journalists worldwide.
So far from one January 2009 till 26 January 14 journaists have been killed while carrying their work, among them four during the Gaza war.
Gaza, Georgia, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries, are vivid examples of targeting journalists only because they are journalists, uncovering the truth as long as they are not shot at, witness and register, in their reporting, the most gross violations of human rights across the world, including their basic human right which is the right to life.
President Obama
described,
in his book:
"The Audacity of Hope"
the media as the third force.
Therefore, the ICPJ expresses its profound hope today that in the coming months a new chapter will open with the new America towards cementing the ideas of putting into place measures and legal provisions that would assist journalists in their important mission and to protect them in zones of conflict and other dangerous situations.
 The United States, remains the glowing example of freedom of the press, and remains the country that has led media technology development among other matters, and in this context it is the hope of the ICPJ that the US would also lead when it concerns the global problem of the protection of journalists, who represent as President Obama mentioned THE THIRD FORCE.
PEC ICPJ condemn strongly shelling a building hosting media offices
GENEVA, January 16 (PEC-ICPJ) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) condemned today strongly the shelling of a building in Gaza hosting several media offices which resulted in the injury of two media workers.The two Geneva based organizations call upon the international community to act and to put an end to such military actions which are clear violations of international humanitarian law. Calls upon the Human Rights Council to quickly move to the stage of implementation of resolution (A/HRC/S-9/L.2) adopted last Monday, which, among other matters calls for safe corridors for media workers in Gaza and a free acces to do their work.
OPEN LETTER TO THE EGYPTIAN AND PALESTINIAN AMBASSADORS IN GENEVA FOR THEIR CONSTRUCTIVE AND POSITIVE ROLE IN INSERTING SAFE ACCESS TO MEDIA AND MEDIA CORRIDORS WITHIN THE RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE SPECIAL SESSION OF TH HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL 12 January 2009 on the war in GAZA
GENEVA, January 14, 2009
His Excellency Hisham Badr,Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Dear Ambassador Badr,
On behalf of the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ), two based Geneva NGOs for the protection of journalists, I would like to extend the gratitude and thanks of the two campaigns representing more than 50,000 journalists, and the Palestinian and foreign journalists in particular covering the Gaza war for operative OP 6 included in resolution A/HRCS/S-9/L.1/REV.2.
Without your conviction of the importance of media work and your personal dedication to include safe access for media in Gaza and within media corridors this para would never have been realized.
Mr. Ambassador, your efforts will always be an important cornerstone in the cooperation of both organizations with Egypt towards working on further steps in the Human Rights Council for the protection of journalists in conflict zones.
In this respect, the two organizations hope that Egypt will participate with a strong presence in the next round of informal consultations on the issue with UN member states.
Excellency, please find attached reactions that were received by the two organizations following the adoption of the resolution and the release of the PEC-ICPJ statement welcoming the resolution.
Hedayat Abdel Nabi
PEC President
ICPJ Coordinator
GENEVA, January 14, 2009
His Excellency Ibrahim Khrichi, Ambassador of Palestine
Dear Ambassador Khrichi,
On behalf of the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ), two based Geneva NGOs for the protection of journalists, I would like to extend the gratitude and thanks of the two campaigns representing more than 50,000 journalists, and the Palestinian and foreign journalists in particular covering the Gaza war for operative OP 6 included in resolution A/HRCS/S-9/L.1/REV.2.
Without your conviction of the importance of media work and your personal dedication to include safe access for media in Gaza and within media corridors this Para would never have been realized.
In your speech to the Special Session on Friday 9 January 2009 you even specifically mentioned the tragedy of a Palestinian journalist who was killed due to the shelling he and his family.
Mr. Ambassador, your efforts will always be an important cornerstone in the cooperation of both organizations with Palestine towards working on further steps in the Human Rights Council for the protection of journalists in conflict zones.
In this respect, the two organizations hope that Palestine will participate with a strong presence in the next round of informal consultations on the issue with UN member states.
Hedayat Abdel Nabi PEC President ICPJ coordinator
PEC-ICPJ welcomes Human Rights Council's call for free access to media through media corridors
GENEVA, January 12 (PEC-ICPJ) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) welcome the Human Rights Council's (HRC) resolution (A/HRC/S-9/L.1) adopted Monday, which, among other matters calls for safe corridors for media workers in Gaza. Operative paragraph (OP) 6 calls for "including the immediate establishment of Humanitarian corridors and insuring free access of media to areas of conflict through Media corridors."
OP six is a historic turning point in the attention of the Human Rights Council to journalists and their work and should be highly commended for attending to the plight of media workers clearly flagged in Gaza", said PEC president and ICPJ coordinator Hedayat Abdel Nabi.
The situation in Gaza speaks for itself, bombardment and destruction of Al Aqsa TV, bombardment of Al Resala newspaper, shelling a building where journalists operate from, killing and wounding journalists as well as denying access to non-resident journalists to cover the war, another sort of blockade surrounding media work denying free access.
The PEC and the ICPJ commend the sponsors of the resolution for tabling OP 6 and its endorsement. The two organizations also thank other HRC member states who have voted for the resolution.
They also commend the High Commissioner for Human Rights for her speech to the special session of HRC. "The press and nongovernmental organizations should be allowed access into the affected areas in order to inform and assist the public (...) Indeed, it is in times of conflict that rights and freedoms must be kept in sharp focus", said the High Commissioner Navi Pillay on Friday.
OP 6 is an important reference for media organizations to build on towards development of legally binding guidelines.
The PEC and the ICPJ believe also that the adoption pf the resolution including OP 6 will be a good basis for fruitful results on the level of the informal consultations underway between UN member states in Geneva and the two organizations towards ways and means of improving the conditions of media work and the protection of journalists.
PEC ICPJ report the first media causality in Somalia for 2009
Condemns strongly the killing of the Radio journalist
GENEVA, 1-1-2009 (PEC-ICPJ) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of journalists (ICPJ) condemns the ongoing casualties among media workers, the first to fall on the first day of 2009 is a Somali Radio journalist
Fire was opened today on Hassan Mayow Hassan by a well known militiaman in Afgoye district who shot the journalist twice in the head.
Mayow worked for Radio Shabelle in Mogadishu as the Afgoye Correspondent.
Omar Faruk Osman, Secretary General of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) said that it is a depressing day for Somali journalists and the entire media
fraternity since a bold and experienced journalist was killed while carrying out his journalistic duty of seeking to report in the public interest from the country’s conflict.
“The New Year starts with a outrageous news for journalists and instils fear and discontent in the hearts and minds of Somali journalists that they would be killed for the blood-spattered violence in their country as today’s hostility has claimed a journalist’s life,” added Osman.
He added that the killing of Hassan Mayow Hassan calls national and international
attention to the dangers Somali journalists face in operating the country’s long-standing, bloodthirsty and brutal conflict, and the critical need to act swiftly to protect journalists.
The PEC and the ICPJ as they start a new year with good wishes to all, is again confronted with the rest of the media community with a new victim in conflict zones.
The media community closed the curtains of 2008 with ninety-eight killed in more than 30 countries. The 98 journalists paid with their lives for exercising their profession.
This latest figure has been updated since the PEC issued its annual report on 17 December 2008, with an increase of 3 more than the figure cited on 17 December which stood at 95.
The PEC and the ICPJ will continue in 2009 the process of consultations with UN member states started at the end of 2008 with the aim of reaching an agreement on a concerted effort to improve the conditions of work for media workers in conflict zones and other situations, and to reach legal guidelines as a first step in this regard along a long path towards the enforcement of existing legal instruments and work on filling the gaps in these instruments.
STATEMENT OF THE INTRENATIONAL COVENANT FOR THE PROTECTION OF JOURNALISTS TO THE SECOND INFORMAL CONSULTATION BETWEEN UN MEMBER STATES, THE PEC AND THE ICPJ
The International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) takes the opportunity of this important dialogue between UN member states, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) to put forthwith the call of the Iraqi Syndicate of journalists to convene a special event/session of the Human Rights Council to broaden the discussion of the protection of Journalists in zones of conflict.
President of the Iraqi Syndicate of Journalists and Vice President of the ICPJ Moaid AlLamy informs this important meeting that the number of journalists who were killed amidst the climate of conflict since March 2003 has reached the figure of 292 journalists, a record number in any one country.
AlLamy tells the meeting that as a result more than 2000 people, encompassing family of the diseased journalists and journalists who have suffered life-time injuries, are among the many victims of the conflict in Iraq.
The Iraqi Syndicate of journalists believes that 2009 cannot pass without action on the level of the Human Rights Council. The action should take the form of a resolution in the March session towards the Special event/session in June.
The ICPJ, while sees clearly that the right to freedom of opinion and expression entails the right of every person to hold opinions without interference, as well as to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his/her choice.
It also sees that the issue of press freedom is one of the pillars of a democratic society, and journalists are a fundamental element towards ensuring such freedom.
In addition, the ICPJ believes that Journalists and media professionals require special, appropriate legal protection and security measures in order to adequately perform their work.
The ICPJ notes that no doubt the situation of media work and media casualties has become a global problem that transcends the set principles in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
As we start the 61st year of the UDHR, the ICPJ expresses a firm belief that if existing international law and humanitarian law is to be revised in order to deal with the evolving rights’ violations of journalists, then the first revision or addition, must deal with the core item in the UDHR, that is article 19.
This revision, says the ICPJ can take the form of new guidelines are to be negotiated between concerned parties and UN member states.
Furthermore, the ICPJ believes that then there is only one way forward and that it to adapt article 19 to the new conditions of media work in the 21st century.
15 December 2008
Article 19:
Gaza: Blockade Continues as World Marks the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
In a week when the world marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Israel’s blockade on Gaza shows no sign of ending. The people of the Gaza strip continue to be deprived of basic human rights such as food and fuel, whilst restrictions on foreign media entering the strip reinforces their isolation
“This is an insidious abuse that seeks to suppress legitimate cries for help and depictions of suffering from reaching the rest of the world. The rights to information and expression are fundamental human rights. They underpin all human rights and are central to human development, peace and security. In the context of a conflict, fulfilling these rights takes on particular importance: information can not only ensure that assistance is effective and locally relevant, but it can also save lives and preserve human dignity,” says Dr Agnès Callamard, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19.
On 4 November 2008, the Israeli authorities extended their blockade of Gaza to prevent food, fuel and essential supplies from entering the territory. Furthermore, on 6 November, the authorities imposed a news blackout by preventing international media from accessing Gaza. The blockade was eased briefly on the 27 November to allow limited amount of essential supplies, including UN food aid for only the fourth time since the start of the blockade.
On 4 December, the Israeli government also lifted the ban on foreign media entering Gaza for the first time since the start of the month-long blockade. However the ban was reinstated the next day and remains in place.
An Israeli Defence Force spokesman stated that the opening of crossings into Gaza would be reviewed daily and would be subject to the cessation of rocket attacks against southern Israel.
However a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted that the intermittent opening of these crossings would “have little impact unless they remained open on a regular daily basis”.
Speaking from Gaza, Ewa Jasiewicz, a Free Gaza organizer, journalist, and solidarity worker told ARTICLE 19 that “Israel was trying to hide the inhumane effects of the siege on the people in Gaza from the world.” Jasiewicz arrived on the Free Gaza movement ship “Dignity” which successfully broke through the Israeli blockade, arriving in the port of Gaza at 2:45pm on Tuesday 9 December. The ship was carrying essential medical supplies, high-protein baby formula, in addition to a delegation of international academics and humanitarian workers.
“I am delighted to be here in Gaza,” Jasiewicz also told the Democracy Now news program. “I was banned from Palestine by the Israeli authorities and, as a journalist, I think it is important that journalists report independently from the ground, being here with people.”
A severe shortage in fuel has further entrenched the isolation of Gaza as limited electricity supplies restrict access to communication channels such as the internet and satellite television.
ARTICLE 19, together with the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), calls for the complete lifting on the ban on foreign media entering Gaza and not just an intermittent cessation of the ban. The people of Gaza deserve to be heard and, as nations celebrate the 60th anniversary of the UDHR, the world has a right to hear of their worsening plight.
On 8 December, Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories emphasised in a statement that the UN “must implement the agreed norm of a responsibility to protect a civilian population being collectively punished by policies that amount to a crime against humanity”.
The UN Human Rights Council also issued a statement on the same day recommending the implementation of 99 measures to improve Israel’s human rights record. These include the “immediate cessation of Israel’s military operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the lifting of the closure imposed on the Gaza strip, the reopening of the passage to and from the Gaza Strip and to fully respect its human rights obligations in the country, including in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
ARTICLE 19 and MADA join the UN Human Rights Council in urging Israel to fully respect its human rights obligations by lifting the blockade and reopening the passage to and from Gaza. We especially call for the ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza to be immediately lifted.
PEC-ICPJ call upon the international community to pay attention
to the global crisis of the Protection of Journalists as the world
enters the 61st year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
GENEVA, December 10 (PEC-ICPJ) -- The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) call upon the international community to pay attention to a serious neglected global crisis of the protection of journalists in conflict zones and elsewhere.
As the world celebrates the end of the 60th year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ 60th year and goes into the 61st, the two NGOs based in Geneva call upon the democracies of the world to attend to this escalating crisis with more than 500 journalists killed since the war in Iraq in 2003.
Never before in the history of the profession have media workers been shattered by the injuries of war, hostile governments, non-state actors and bandits.
From Nepal to the Philippines, from India to Sri-lanka, from Iraq to the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Somalia, from Mexico to Columbia, from the Caucus to Croatia and Russia, journalists have been a target by regular armies, non-state actors, cartels and governments.
The targeting of journalists because of their profession has added danger to the media work and turned it to one of the few professions that warrant international protection under international law and international humanitarian law. Unfortunately, this unabated call by media organizations has been neglected since the calls have intensified during the past five years.
A crackdown of media work has been a feature of the conduct of many governments who silence the truth through the physical liquidation of journalists be it in military conflicts or on the national level.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights have set the standard for the protection of freedom of opinion and expression expressed in article 19.
Today at 60 the conditions of media work have surpassed the threats to only freedom of opinion and expression and have gone a long way further to infringe and violate all human rights of journalists including the most sacred, the right to life.
The PEC and the ICPJ call today upon the international community to take action and build upon existing international and humanitarian law to better the protection of journalists as they exercise their profession in conflict and non-conflict zones.
International Media appealing for access to GAZA
International journalists based in Israel are appealing to the country's Supreme Court to overturn a government decision banning journalists from entering the Gaza Strip.
The Foreign Press Association filed the court petition after a letter signed by heads of the world's biggest news organizations and sent to Israel's premier failed to persuade the government to lift the ban.
Israel has long restricted movement across its border with Gaza, but after a recent upsurge in Palestinian rocket fire, it closed the strip off to all but the most vital supplies. The only people allowed in or out are urgent medical cases and a handful of humanitarian workers. Journalists have been barred since Nov. 5.
The court petition filed Monday asks for an urgent hearing over the case.
Source: Associated Press (AP) 24 November 2008
 BRAVO ANGELICA
Angelica Roget confronts some UN member states
During the first ICPJ/PEC consultation with UN member states on the way forward to protect journalists in conflict zones on Thursday 6 Noevmeber 2008, the courageous journalist Angelica Roget confronted member states who claim to be human rights defenders, as well as defenders of liberty, fraternity and equality and who say that the current existing laws are sufficient to protect journalists under the banner "Civilians", while journalists are being killed all over the globe in conflict zones and in other dangerous situations
VIDEO LINK
President of the PEC and ICPJ coordinator, Abdel Nabi calls for a Special Event of the Human Rights Council for visibility to highlight the important global issue of the Protection of Journalists in conflict Zones
On November 6th, 2008, an informal meeting organized by the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) took place at the Palais de Nations in order to discuss ways and means for concrete measures to reinforce the protection of the journalists in conflict zones and under other dangerous situations.
 Daniel Favre, the committed journalist, who brought with him the support of the Francophonie journlaists for the campain of the protection of journalists in congflict zones
Former President of the Human Rights Council, Mexican Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, lends his support for a fruitful dialogue for the protection of journalists
The meeting was attended by member States and some journalists who are PEC board members, UNOG-accredited journalists, was chaired by PEC President and ICPJ coordinator Hedayat Abdel Nabi, and by PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen.
In her opening statement, Abdel Nabi underlined the need for visibility of the situation faced by journalist and called attention to the advantage of being in Geneva where the Human Rights Council sits as an incentive to move forward the work of the UN related to the protection of journalists . Among other thoughts, she proposed the consideration of a new international instrument; suggested the establishment of a group to put together different ideas that could improve the human rights of journalists; recommended to value the work and input of the Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Expression, Mr. La Rue; and suggested the organization of an especial event within the framework of the Human Rights Council.
Lempen mentioned that the goal of the meeting was to enhance dialogue with the Governments since some countries have already expressed their interest on the subject. He expressed his desire for achieving a deeper respect and enforcement of the current international humanitarian law for those persons in charge of informing the public and thus, he asked if a new international instrument was required. He offered some facts about the present situation faced by journalists in different parts of the world and highlighted the need to developed concrete actions.
Several member States agreed that the existing international laws and norms address the protection of journalists and there was a need to improve their implementation and enforcement.
During the meeting it had been clearly stated that it was important to continue the dialogue for identifying concrete measures that could enhance a better application of the international humanitarian and human rights law for the protection of journalists. .
Another informal meeting will take place in December 2008, in a date and venue to be defined. Such meeting will be to discuss practical measures within the United Nations to make the issue of the protection of journalists more visible, as well as to discuss possible activities that will create greater awareness of this global problem among the international community.
It is the hope of the PEC and the ICPJ that the informal working group can meet on a regular basis.
 Seasoned former Egyptian diplomat Mounir Zahran lending his support to the campaign for the protection of journalists, stressing that there is a lacoon in international humanitarian law that should be fixed
Text of Abdel Nabi's* opening statement
The protection of journalists: the way forward
If I could decide alone I would urge you today to move a huge step forward and endorse the draft convention for the protection of journalists in zones of conflict and other dangerous situations which was presented on 7 December 2007 and sent out to UN member states by mail.
But this is a process where member states have to reflect liaise with their governments and probably take the step by step approach.
However, I do urge today member states who responded positively to the draft and who have no reservations on it to endorse it as soon as possible so we can have a meaningful start in 2009.
Given the realities of an all inclusive convention process build up I would understand that our process could take some months ahead, but in our case here in Geneva we are blessed to have the Human Rights Council and therefore the process can start inside or outside the Council or in parallel paths.
For this reason it is important today and before the end of the meeting to come out with volunteers who would form a working group to reach concrete goals and have regular meetings.
The first goal is to launch the process within the council by establishing an expert group to craft binding guidelines for member states to implement in their relations with the media work and journalists.
Here the role of the Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Opinion and Expression Mr. La Rue is of importance.
This needs a meeting parallel to the Council to adopt the guidelines.
There is also need for visibility for this global problem within the Council, in 2008 on average some 8 journalists were killed per month.
This visibility requires a special session/event which could be launched by UN member states in the working group; we only need 17 signatures to hold the Special Session.
Regular monthly meetings of the working group would be welcome to boost the steps forward in the right direction.
2009 must not pass without issuing a concrete resolution from the Human Rights Council first which shall adopt the guidelines and move one step the Human Rights Community closer to the Convention, or additional protocol, or a specialized convention.
The important issue is to reach to that point where there are legally binding clauses that shall pronounce the inadmissibility of crossing the Red line of abuse of journalists’ human rights including the right to life and all other rights that consequently are derived from the physical elimination of a journalist and the impact of this crime on his or her family.
The PEC has been struggling for the past four years to make this day happen, it was joined by the ICPJ in September 2007 whose sole reason for coming into existence is rallying UN member states and Media associations and the general public around a solid defense for journalists’ rights in the form of a Convention.
For those who have not followed closely our work, the PEC and the ICPJ reinforce each other’s activities.
Both NGOs have reached out to you, one since June 2004, and the other since September 2007; it is now the moment for you to join hands with them for a better world for journalists.
We meet today when a new dawn of history has started with the election of Barack Obama, our hope is that Obama will make a better world including that of journalists.
Those concrete results should have materialized this year, the year of the 10th anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration, but it’s always better to mark the second decade of the Declaration with a historic achievement, and in this respect you will be its makers.
Thursday 6 November 2008
* Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) President
International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) Coordinator
hedayatpec@gmail.com, hedayat.abdelnabi@gmail.com
Mobile: 00794143515145
http://www.pressemblem.ch (administered by the PEC Secretary-General)
http://www.mediacovenant.org (administered by the Campaign President)
OBAMA election: PEC and the ICPJ rejoice with the American people
looks forward to a more right and just world
GENEVA, November 5 (PEC-ICPJ) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) rejoice with the American people their choice of a new dynamic American President that will redirect America on a new path that will make right and justice a commitment of America.
The two Geneva based organizations express hope today that the words of the new American President will be soon a reality across the globe including a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq where more than 265 journalists were killed since March 2003.
This global problem has taken the lives of more than 500 journalists off their job across the world since March 2003.
The PEC and the ICPJ see in the new American President a more positive approach to multilateralism and hence their hopes that his administration will be more committed to the Human Rights Council, International Human Rights Law and International Law.
In this context the two organizations express hope that the benevolent son of America with his roots in the Afro-American community and Africa, and his rising from difficulty to presidency, will side with the aspirations of journalists and defend their human rights against impunity and abuse around the world.
The two organizations express hope that a draft convention for the protection of journalists shall be signed during the first term of the new American President by force of his energy and commitment to humanity and human values.
A hearty congratulation for democracy and to the American people and the world.
RSF report post 9/11 says US and Israel rankings in press freedom lower this year
Reporters without Borders (RWB-RSF) said that while parliamentary democracies not engaged in any war did well in terms of press freedoms, others - including the U.S. and Israel - ranked less well.
Although the U.S. rose from its 2007 position of 48th to 36th, it is 119th in the rankings of press freedom enjoyed outside its territory, a position blamed on the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Three weeks before the US presidential elections, RSF disclosed that it has written to U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain highlighting the need for more protection for reporters' confidential sources and better working conditions for reporters in areas under U.S. control in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Paris based world media organization said that peace, not economic prosperity, is the single biggest guarantee of press freedom worldwide in 2008.
Peaceful, democratic countries in Europe dominate the top 20 of the 173-nation index, which compiles data for the year ended 1 September.
The situation remained critical in the world's most repressive countries, including North Korea and Turkmenistan, which RSF described as "unchanging hells in which the population is cut off from the world and is subjected to propaganda worthy of a bygone age."
Eritrea, according to RSF, remained the country with the least press freedom in the world, with many journalists held incommunicado since 2001 by President Isaias
Afewerki.
Russia, where the trial of those accused of murdering investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya started last week, was 141st in the RSF index.
Source RSF (http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=29031) 22 October 2008
MEDIA/DANGERS/WORLD
Article 19 chief says the key problem is impunity for crimes against journalists
GENEVA, October 3 (KUNA) -- Executive Director of Article 19 Agnes Callamard said that the key problem is impunity for crimes committed against journalists.
She stressed that the global trends since the past seven years have been very negative as far as the media press freedom is concerned. .
Callamard, added in a press conference in Geneva, that freedom of the press is under attack, and that journalists are now individually targeted while in the past they maybe have been killed or wounded because they were at the wrong place at the wrong moment.
"They are individually and personally targeted, this takes place in conflict areas like Iraq which has suffered the highest casualties so far, and in places of low intensity conflict like the Philippines," she added.
Callamard said that journalists are also being targeted in places that are on their way to democracy and peace like Mexico.
She added that they are also targeted by non-state actors such as the Mafia, drug cartels or any other armed groups.
Callamard noted that the situation for the media is a difficult one, where they also face threats of defamation to silence them, so the current environment carried the old problems and the new problems and makes the work of the media in general particularly difficult.
In Mexico for example, she said, that Article 19, provides with an early warning to move a threatened journalist from where he or she is to safe houses, strengthen the capacity of community media, and most importantly the Article 19 works with the Mexican authorities to tackle the question of impunity.
"All crimes against journalists, at least in Mexico and also across the world, none of those crimes was brought to justice, so the key problem is impunity for crimes committed against journalists" she stressed.
Pillay says journalists are too often illegally detained
GENEVA, October 2 -- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay said that journalists, like human rights defenders and civil and political activists, are all too often illegally detained, simply for pursuing and inconvenient truth or following a frowned-upon political line.
For more info go to UN OHCHR
Hedayat Abdel Nabi:
On behalf of the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), www.pressemblem.ch, and as its President I believe that this is a very welcome statement that is saluted by the PEC and the 50,000 journalists members of the global campaign.
 Frank La Rue vows to pursue vigorously the human rights issue of the protection of journalists
The new Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression Frank La Rue vowed to pursue vigorously the human rights issue of the protection of journalists.
La Rue noted that his country Guatemala witnessed Genocide during the early 1980s, and that journalists were killed during that Genocide.
Source: from meeting with PEC-ICPJ representatives 1 October 2008
For more info go to Special Rapporteur
The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) welcome heartily the mandate holder and is encouraged, being a journalist himself, for his enthusiasm to move forward the issue of the protection of journalists in the Human Rights Council.
Iraqi Journalists call upon the UN to re-open Media Development Center
FOR MORE INFO GO TO IRAQI JOURNALISTS
 Head of Arab Bureau at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Adam Abdelmoula with Sultane, who requested the support of the OHCHR for the re-opening of the MDC.
 Delegation of Najaf journalists with Adam Abdelmoula
 Najaf Iraqi writer Kalthoum Amer ELHesinawi calls for support for women journalists and writers and respecting their human rights.
Source: ICPJ
23 September 2008
PEC-ICPJ:
Appalled at the attack against
the Iraqi Syndicate of Journalists and Moaid AL-Lamy
Photo: PEC consultation September 2004, Moaid was a founding member of the PEC in June 2004, and founded the ICPJ on 10 September 2007 with a group of journalists from across the Globe.
GENEVA, September 22 (PEC-ICPJ) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) condemned strongly the targeting of the President of the Iraqi Syndicate of Journalists (ISJ) Moaid AL-Lamy and the attack against the ISJ headquarters Saturday.
The PEC and the ICPJ were appalled and shocked at the heinous attack and wished well Mr. AL-Lamy who is currently in hospital.
In a phoner with PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi AL-Lamy called upon the international community to put an end to those attacks and to work on placing mechanisms for the protection of journalists and not rely on promises and words.
Facing death and escaping it by God’s will, AL-Lamy called upon all concerned parties to put an end to the massacre of Iraqi journalists and expressed hope that the international community acts in a manner that shows its credibility and translates its promises into action and moves ahead to protect the Iraqi journalists.
He stressed that the profession of journalism is an impartial profession based on narrating and uncovering the truth and therefore journalists deserve added protection faced in most conflicts with dangerous situations.
Mr. AL-Lamy is a founder of the PEC, he joined the movement on behalf of his Syndicate in June 2004. Mr. AL-Lamy founded, with a team of journalists from across the globe, in Geneva on 10 September 2007, the ICPJ. He is the ICPJ Vice President for Asia.
The PEC and the ICPJ join hands in stressing that targeting the President of the ISJ for the second time in several months, the first attacked was the former President Shihab Al Tamimi who was killed when his car was attacked in Baghdad last February, a few days after he was hospitalized from his serious wounds, opens and re-opens the file of the protection of journalists and warrants the serious attention of the international community.
The media activist organizations call upon the Iraqi government and Iraqi parliament to pass the Iraqi Law for the Protection and Journalists presented by the ISJ.
The two NGOs based in Geneva have requested time and again that action is needed and that the time is pressing and dangers engulf journalists.
They are urging member states to act, within the Human Rights Council (HRC), or outside it, to start discussions on a legal instrument that would protect the media work in conflict zones and in dangerous situations.
Whether member states start with a binding declaration or guidelines en route to start deliberations on a new convention, the important issue is to start this process and not sit idle watching media workers targeted day and night all over the globe.
Watching media workers fall one after the other by member states might give the wrong impression to the media community that others “don’t care”.
For more info please go to:
http://www.pressemblem.ch, http://www.mediacovenat.org
Email:
info@pressemblem.ch, press@mediacovenant.org
 Alexnadre Curchod from the Swiss Journalists (IMPRESSUM)and PEC Vice President moderates the press confeernce
Human Rights Council President:
targeting journalists is a crime against humanity
Zviad Pockhkhua:
Independent Association of Georgian Journalists supports and joins the PEC and the ICPJ
GENEVA, September 17 (PEC-ICPJ) President of the Human Rights Council Ambassador Martin Ihoeghian Uhomohbhi of Nigeria said Wednesday that it is appalling, condemnable and undeserving that journalists be targeted when covering conflict situations.
 He added, in a meeting on Wednesday 17 September 2008 with the President of the Independent Association of Georgian Journalists Zviad Pockhkhua, that this targeting is a crime against humanity, it is terrible and unacceptable. On his part Zviad Pockhkhua called upon the Council President to issue a presidential statement on the killing of journalists and requested a special event of the Council devoted to this tragedy.
Zviad Pockhkhua held two press conferences in Geneva in which he called upon the international community to exert pressure on Russia to issue special accreditation to Georgian journalists to enter the buffer zone. The buffer zone is bordering South Ossetia and controlled after the war by Russian forces. He noted that there is a need to ensure that journalists work freely in conflict zones and must be able to move across check points.
 Zviad Pockhkhua announced that the Independent Association of Georgian Journalists and each member of the association supports the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and requests that the UN member States discuss the needs for the legal protection of journalists in conflict zones.
Mr. Pockhkhua accepted to represent the PEC and the ICPJ in the Caucuses and East Europe and will be engaged in mobilizing support for the new draft convention presented by the two organizations to UN member states on 7 December 2007.
At the conclusion of the visit, the President of the Independent Association of Georgian Journalists, PEC President Hedayat Abdel Nabi and PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen met with a dozen representatives of UN member states and have agreed to meet informally at the end of October to discuss ways and means of moving forward on this important issue.
Zviad Pockhkhua was invited to Geneva following the killing of four journalists in the August/Russia/Georgian war by the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) and the Swiss journalists (IMPRESSUM).
 The aim of the visit was to mobilize all UN member States to pick up this important issue among their priorities. The Swiss Journalists (IMPRESSUM) represented by Curchod were instrumental in sponsoring the visit of Zviad Pockhukhua
http://www.pressemblem.ch, http://www.mediacovenant.org,
email info@pressemblem.ch, press@mediacovenant.org http://www.finchannel.com email: editor@finchannel.com
ICPJ and the PEC welcome announcement by Iraqi Foreign Minister for more protection for Journalists
 GENEVA, September 13- The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) welcomed today statements made by the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari that the Iraqi government will take steps to provide more protection for Iraqi journalists and correspondents reporting from the country.
The PEC and the ICPJ join Zebari's strong condemnation of the killing of four correspondents working with the Iraqi Al-Sharqiya channel, and those of Al-Arabiya and other newspapers and news networks.
Zebari said that terrorists were targeting journalists to "murder the truth."
Asked precisely whether he would support an International Convention for the Protection of Journalists in conflict zones and other dangerous situations, Zebari said he would support any measures that would help the protection of journalists and that would help them to perform their job in a better environment.
The PEC and the ICPJ also welcomed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki initiative to form a committee to investigate the murder of the four journalists working with the local Al-Sharqiya channel.
On Saturday gunmen abducted and killed in cold blood four journalists of the Iraqi Al-Sharqiya television station while they were shooting a Ramadan program in Mosul, the largest city in the northern province of Nineveh.
Up to date for this month 6 journalists were killed in situations where they were carrying their job.
From the beginning of the year 68 working journalists were killed.
For more info please consult www.pressemblem.ch
President of the Council says journalists are very important
GENEVA, September 5 (KUNA) – President of the Human Rights Council Nigerian Ambassador Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi acclaimed the role of journalists by saying that they are very important.
He told reporters today that much has been achieved by the Council and added that new Special Rapporteur for the Freedom of Opinion and Expression will deliver his first report to the Council in June 2009.
Asked whether that was too far taking into account that journalists and writers are being killed, harassed and intimidated, Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi said that this item falls under item 3 and could be discussed during the session that will start Monday for three weeks and is scheduled for discussion on 12 September. .
As a follow up question, the reporter said but many journalists would be killed from now up to June 2009, so do really journalists count? Ambassador Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi journalists are very important and people care about journalists.
"We need to involve all sides in the work we are doing, including especially journalists, in my country they are called the 5th estate, they have a very important role to play in the dissemination and defense of Human Rights," he stressed.
IFJ condemns Iran's forcing al-Arabiya TV Bureau chief from the country
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned on 5 September 2008 the Iranian government for forcing al-Arabiya TV bureau chief Hassan Fahs from the country because they were unhappy with his reporting."This is censorship of the worst kind," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "It shows that the government is trying to intimidate journalists and control the reporting that they carry out. It completely contravenes all principles of free expression and should be condemned by the international community."
An official at the Ministry of Culture and the Islamic Guidance on Wednesday told the Iranian government-financed news agency IRNA that Fahs' visa "had expired and was not extended due to his performance in Iran" and that Fahs had been told by Iranian officials that they did not like his work.
The Ministry official said that even though Fahs must leave the country it has not closed the bureau of the Saudi-owned television news channel.
The IFJ is asking the government to review its decision to expel Fahs and to allow the bureau to continue.
Despite Iran's appalling record on suppressing journalists' rights, the IFJ said, it will continue to support and give solidarity to the efforts of journalists inside Iran for media rights and demand a new approach from the country's leaders.
The ICPJ calls for special legal protection for journalists
in the wake of the Somalia abductions
GENEVA, August 24 (PEC-ICPJ) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) condemned today the abduction of Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout and Australian photojournalist Nigel Brenan at KM13, western suburb of Mogadishu between Afgoye district and the capital city on Saturday 23 August 2008.
A Somali photojournalist Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi, who was helping the Canadian and Australian journalists as their translator and to take photos from places where the two journalists cannot go for security reasons, was also abducted as well as their driver Mahad.
The two foreign journalists arrived in Mogadishu on Wednesday 20 August 2008. Amanda, who is Baghdad based journalist, is freelance journalist France 24 and a Canadian broadcaster Global National News.
The PEC and the ICPJ flag the need for a specialized convention for the protection of journalsists in war zones and dangerous situations and calls upon the member-states parties to the Geneva convention to respond to the PEC-ICPJ call that journalism is a dangerous profession that should be treated like the medical profession, that is ensuring for its members added legal protection.
For more info please go to www.pressemblem.ch and www.mediacovenant.org, email: info@pressemblem.ch and press@mediacovenant.org
Kellenberger and the protection of Journalists
The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Jacob Kellenberger was asked by a reporter on his comment on the killing of 5 journalists in the Georgia - Russia war and whether journalists needed added protection like medical doctors.
Mr. Kellenberger said he would answer the first part of the question and that is that the ICRC in talks with officilas in war ravaged zones do call for the respect of journalists in the context of International Humanitarian Law. (IHL).
ICPJ comment: untill when will the issue of a specialized convention or added protection for journalists be ignored, lets face reality, that is the media community: do we really count?
Article 19
Says at least 5 news staff have been killed
Populations from all sides in the conflict and refugees are experiencing many difficulties in accessing factual information about the events and the whereabouts of their loved ones. Truth and freedom of expression are some of the first and greatest casualties of war. The South Ossetian conflict has been no exception. The lack of verifiable information is fuelling mistrust, misrepresentation and disinformation, thus exacerbating tensions and fueling the conflict.
At least five local and international news staff have been killed and another ten wounded.
14 August 2008
PEC and the ICPJ strongly condemn the killing of journalists in the Georgia/Russia conflict
GENEVA, August 12 (PEC-ICPJ) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant of Journalists (ICPJ) condemn in the strongest possible manner the killing of journalists in the Caucasus conflict between Georgia and Russia.
According to reports circulating a Dutch cameraman has been killed in Georgia, Dutch news agency ANP reported Tuesday citing foreign media sources.
In addition the same reports indicate a total of four journalists that are confirmed as having been killed in South Ossetia since start of the conflict between Georgia and Russia last week.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said that there are also reports of two journalists killed and at least two others wounded in South Ossetia.
According to those reports Georgian Alexander Klimchuk, a photojournalist working for Russian news agency Itar-Tass, and Grigol Chikhladze, a reporter for Russian Newsweek, were reportedly killed while covering fighting between the Russian and Georgian forces in the separatist region.
Two other journalists travelling in the same car, Teymuraz Kikuradze and Winston Federly, were wounded. Other media reports have said that at least eight journalists have been injured while covering the conflict.
Thought the exact number of journalists killed and wounded is not yet clear, the PEC and the ICPJ join all media defending journalists to call upon Russian, Georgian and any other combat forces involved in the conflict in the region to respect the rights of media and protect their safety.
Though the PEC and the ICPJ believe that United Nations Security Council Resolution 1738 which says that media workers are classified as civilians in armed conflict and targeting journalists is considered a war crime, is an important stop forward, yet it is insufficient.
The current developments in the Caucuses call upon the International Community to look seriously into a new international convention to protect journalists in zones of conflict and elsewhere in dangerous situations.
This call has been flagged time and again by the PEC and the ICPJ and the current bloody conflict in the Caucuses is an important reminder of the urgency of the call.
12 August 2008
IFJ calls for speedy return of bodies of dead journalists to their families in Georgia
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today pressed Russia to facilitate the return of the bodies of two Georgian journalists killed at the weekend to their families in Georgia.
The IFJ supports the calls of the families and colleagues of the two victims, Alexander Klimchuk, a photojournalist working for Russian news agency Itar-Tass and the owner of independent photo agency Caucasus Press Images, and Grigol Chikhladze, a reporter for Russian Newsweek, that their bodies should be transferred for decent burial.
The IFJ says that its affiliate in Moscow, the Russian Union of Journalists, has taken up this case with the Russian government.
"This is a tragic and terrible event and it is only right that the families are able to have the bodies of their loved ones returned to them," said Paco Audije, IFJ Deputy General Secretary. "We will continue to press for Russia to respond urgently to this request."
14 August 2008
Israeli report could endanger all media professioanls, says IFJ
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today warned that the results of an Israeli Army investigation clearing a tank crew of any wrong-doing in the killing of Reuters' cameraman Fadel Shana in April in the Gaza Strip could endanger all media professionals working in the Palestinian Territories.
"This inquiry, which has been farcical in its nature, is likely to make life even more dangerous for journalists working in the field," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. "We have no confidence in an inquiry that has been used by the Israeli Army to avoid facing up to the consequences of its irresponsible actions. We share Reuters' concern that there has been a terrible injustice here and that the Israeli authorities have failed to take action."
Reuters said it was told by the Israeli Defence Forces' Military Advocate-General that "troops could not see whether Shana was operating a camera or a weapon but were nonetheless justified in firing a shell packed with darts that killed him and eight other Palestinians aged between 12 and 20."
"This report is untenable because it does not meet any test of what is necessary for a legitimate independent inquiry into these tragic killings," White said. "As usual we have an army investigating itself without proper independent review."
The IFJ is calling on the Israeli government and the international community to intervene in this case and ensure that a full, independent inquiry is carried out.
The IFJ fears that any media staff carrying bulky camera equipment or attempting to use such equipment will now become potential targets. The IFJ is further concerned that this case fails to meet the call from the United Nations Security Council in December 2006 for an end to impunity in the killing of journalists and proper investigation of deadly attacks against media.
President of the Iraqi Syndicate of Journalists
Moaid AlLamy, a founding member of the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) and ICPJ Vice President for Asia has been elected as President of the Iraqi Syndicate of Journalists on 19 July 2008.
 The ICPJ congratulates Iraqi journalists for their choice for a commited man to defend Iraqi journalists and journalists around the world from the dangers of their profession.
Moaid presents the Iraqi Golden Shield to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights-10 September 2007
Sami AlHai:
Guantanamo detainees made to feel like 'nomads'
By Frank Jordans
GENEVA (AP) — Detainees at Guantanamo Bay are turned into "nomads" to keep them agitated and to punish those who break rules, a Sudanese journalist recently released from the U.S. military prison said Friday.
Sami al-Haj said moving detainees between camps and from cell to cell appeared to be part of an official policy to destabilize them. "They were made into nomads," the Al-Jazeera journalist said.
Frequent cell transfers at the prison became an issue in May when a Pentagon-appointed defense attorney sought to have an Afghan detainee's charges dismissed citing abusive interrogation tactics. The lawyer alleged his client was subjected to "frequent flying," a sleep deprivation technique that involves round-the-clock cell transfers before questioning.
The Pentagon Friday denied that al-Haj was mistreated. Earlier this week, the current commander of the prison, Navy Rear Adm. David Thomas, said that "there is no unnecessary movement in and out of cells by detainees," but would not comment on allegations that detainees were subjected to sleep deprivation before he took command on May 27.
Al-Haj said he saw three reasons for detainees being moved around the prison at the U.S. Navy base on Cuba.
"There was a policy of the camp administration to stop the detainees from feeling they were in a stable state, and therefore they kept the detainees in movement all the time, moving them from one camp to the other every week, every two weeks," al-Haj told The Associated Press.
By moving detainees, variously isolating them and then putting them back within speaking distance of other inmates, authorities also tried to gather information from conversations between detainees, he said.
"In certain camps there was the possibility to speak to each other. It wasn't allowed, but it was possible. It was very much a police tactic to listen to us," al-Haj said. "They knew that when one is deprived of contact and then one has the possibility to speak to others, one might say things."
Al-Haj claimed that a second reason for moving detainees was to prepare them for interrogation. He said he was subjected to the so-called "frequent flyer" program and was rotated between cells every two hours for up to a month.
Finally, he said, detainees were moved to separate cells when they breached prison rules.
Al-Haj described a cellblock named Romeo where inmates were placed in a cold room and stripped of all clothes except a pair of shorts.
Guards would frequently check on the detainees, making them move their limbs "to know you are alive," al-Haj said. "They have the right to check you all the time. So they use this to disturb you, because they need all the people to follow the rules."
The Pentagon said Friday that there was nothing to support al-Haj's claims.
"We have no evidence to substantiate his claims that he was mistreated at Guantanamo. We investigate claims of abuse, and in those relatively rare instances where allegations are deemed credible and substantiated, we hold those responsible accountable," said Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman.
Al-Haj, 38, now works as a producer for Qatar-based Al-Jazeera. He was released from Guantanamo in May after more than six years in U.S. detention.
The military alleged he was a courier for a militant Muslim organization in the 1990s, a claim his lawyers have denied. Al-Haj was never prosecuted, and it is unclear how the allegation relates to his arrest on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in December 2001.
The only journalist from a major international news organization held at Guantanamo, he has said his arrested was because of U.S. hostility toward Al-Jazeera and because the media was reporting on U.S. rights violations in Afghanistan.
Al-Haj, who has used a walking stick since his detention, was in Geneva to meet with officials at the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
"Human rights and security are inseparable," al-Haj told a public event on Thursday.
Friday 27 June 2008
Spokesperson Elizabeth BYRS:
Somalia one of the deadliest countries for journalists
Spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) Elizabeth Byrs said that Somalia has become one of the deadliest countries for journalists.
Byrs added in the Tuesday bi-weekly briefing at the UN office in Geneva that the humanitarian situation in Somalia is severely deteriorating.
For more info go to UN REACTION to read the statement of the UN resident coorinator on journalists killed in Somalia
Source: Geneva UN bi-weekly briefing
10 June 2008
41 journalists killed so far in 2008, 216 since June 2006
This weekend’s casualties’ steps up the number of journalists killed since the beginning of 2008 to 41 and 216 since the creation of the Human Rights Council in June 2006.
Source: Press Emblem Campaign (PEC)
9 June 2008
Two correspondents killed in Somalia and Afghanistan
The two journalists assassinated this week: National Union of Somali Journalists' (NUSOJ) Vice President Nasteh Dahir Farah, and an Afghan journalist Abdul Samad Rohani. Both were correspondents for the BBC.
Source: news reports
8 June 2009
Vice President of the NUSOJ killed, ICPJ condemns strongly
The International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) condemns in the strongest possible manner the targeted assassination of the National Union of Somali Journalists’ (NUSOJ) Vice President Nasteh Dahir Farah, who was gunned down by gunmen southern town of Kismayu on Saturday 7 June 2008.
For more details go to Somalia-Source: NUSOJ
Newspaper El Correo attacked
The offices of Basque newspaper El Correo were bombed in an attack that police have attributed to Basque separatist group ETA.
According to reports, a bomb exploded behind El Correo's printing press in the town of Zamudio at 3 am local time. Fifty staff were in the building but no one was hurt.
ETA was responsible for a wave of attacks on journalists that appeared to reach a peak in 2000 and 2001. Before yesterday's bombing, ETA sent its last parcel bombs to journalists in January 2002. All of those were defused by security before they could explode.
Currently there are still dozens of journalists in the Basque region who are under police protection or who have been obliged to hire bodyguards.
Source: European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
8 June 2008
Attacks in Croatia
On June 2nd Dušan Miljuš, a crime reporter for daily newspaper Jutarnji list, was beaten outside his home by masked perpetrators with baseball bats and suffered head and arm injuries. Miljus told police earlier this year that he was receiving anonymous threats. An obituary with his name and photograph was published in another daily, Vecernji List. The daily apologised and said it had been a "procedural mistake."
The Croatian Association of Journalists called upon authorities to track down Miljuš's attackers. More than 200 Croatian journalists had gathered in the capital last Friday to protest his beating.
The attack on Miljuš follows the recent attacks in in Zadar of Danijela Banko, a journalist working for Narodni list, and Filip Brala, a photojournalist for Zadarski list.
Source: EFJ
2 June 2008
ICPJ condemns strongly the burning of Future TV in Beirut
The International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists condemns strongly the burning of the building of Future TV in Beirut during the internal fighting that took place last week.
For more info please go to Lebanon - Helpful links http://mena.ifj.org/ar/articles/test-5 and http://www.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj
9 May 2008
And is concerned over the decision by the Moroccan authorities to stop the broadcasting of a daily news program from the Rabat office of al-Jazeera
For more info please go to Morocco Source: http://www.article19.org/ Helpful links: http://mena.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj
9 May 2008
And condemns arrest of Director of Somali Broadcasting Corporation
Mowlid Haji Abdi
9 May 2008
For more info please go to Somalia
ICPJ strongly condemns the killing of Sarwa Abdul-Wahab in Mosul
Two days after Sami Al-Haj was released from Guantanamo, gunmen ambushed and shot dead a woman Iraqi reporter Sarwa Abdul-Wahab.
Abdul-Wahab, a freelancer who contributed to the news website Muraslon.com, was allegedly walking home from a nearby market when two unidentified gunmen pulled up in a car and tried to force her into their vehicle.
Her mother witnessed her being shot in the head as she resisted.
A colleague told Reuters that Abdul-Wahab had received a text message on
her phone three weeks earlier warning her to stop reporting or she would be
killed.
Abdul-Wahab was a known defender of journalists' rights in Iraq. She is the third woman journalist killed this year. The killing of Abdel Wahab and the relase of Sami Al-Haj with a time difference of 48 hours marks the third such an event this year when one journalist is released and another is killed.
SOURCE: IFEX 7 May 2008
RELEASE OF SAMI AL-HAJ
The ICPJ congratulates Sami, his family,
Al-Jazeera and the Sudanese Syndicate of Journalists
Sudanese-born Sami al-Haj, who has been suffering from health problems
after a hunger strike that started in January 2007, arrived in the Sudanese
capital Khartoum on 2 May on a U.S. military aircraft along with two other
Sudanese prisoners at Guantanamo. He was immediately rushed to hospital.
"I'm very happy to be in Sudan, but I'm very sad because of the situation
of our brothers who remain in Guantanamo. Conditions in Guantanamo are
very, very bad and they get worse by the day," al-Haj told Al Jazeera from
his hospital bed.
"Our human condition, our human dignity was violated, and the American
administration went beyond all human values, all moral values, all
religious values. In Guantanamo ... rats are treated with more humanity."
Al-Haj was arrested by Pakistani security forces near the Afghan border in
December 2001 while covering the U.S.-led fight to oust the Taliban. He was
handed over to the U.S. military and then transferred to Guantanamo in June
2002. No charges were brought against him although he was accused of being an "enemy combatant", working as a money carrier for armed groups and assisting al-Qaeda.
Al-Haj was the only known journalist held at Guantanamo.
SOURCE: IFEX 7 May 2008
World Press Freedom Day 3 May 2008
Ambeyi Ligabo, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day:
Censorship of the media the most abominable violation to freedom of the press
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Ambeyi Ligabo said today that the occasion calls for the celebration of the virtues of a free press which is a fundamental human right enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The benefits of a free and independent press should be self-evident to everyone. However, this basic right unfortunately continues to be denied to the millions of people around the world living under oppressive regimes who stifle any sign of dissent.
Censorship of the media constitutes the most abominable violation to freedom of the press – and yet it is also the most frequent of all restrictions. In most cases, censorship is but a pretext to silence criticism, protecting those in power from popular scrutiny and public accountability, serving to conceal corruption, mismanagement and abuse of authority. Censorship contributes to the creation of a protective aura around those who due to the nature of their functions need to be held permanently accountable for their actions, placing them beyond public criticism.
For more info go to Under Attack
Louise Arbour:
Food crisis unrest could affect freedom of expression
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said stressed that addressing the plight of the socially excluded, and the causes of any such discrimination, will be essential to resolving the current food crisis. In this effort, all voices must be heard, whether directly or through representative organizations.
Arbour added that food-related social unrest could also result in other human rights risks - to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly – which must also be addressed.
PEC Monthly Report-World Press Freedom Day 2008
28 journalists killed since the beginning of the year
8 journalists killed in April alone
Mexico casualties overtook Iraq
GENEVA, May 3 (PEC) – Marking World Press Freedom Day on 4 May, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) deplores the current stand of the International Community for not taking measures that would protect journalists in conflict zones and elsewhere and re-enforce the access to information.
Four years following the launching of the PEC campaign, its President Hedayat Abdel Nabi said that the call of the Lebanese Photographers Association to the United Nations to enforce measures to protect photographers in zones of conflict, days after the killing of RUETRES photographer Fadl Shana in Gaza, is a clear and telling message.
Abdel Nabi added that though the appropriate mechanism to deal with such measures is the Human Rights Council, yet member states of the council are busy putting their act together, and ignoring repeated calls for convening a special session or sitting on this tragedy.
For more info please consult www.pressemblem.ch email info@pressemblem.ch
For more info go to Monthly Report
Media community bids farwell today to Shana
Slain journalist Fadal Shana will be laid to rest today during the family funderal set for today. Shana was killed 16 April 2008 in Gaza by tank firing from Israeli forces.
Please go to the following link to view the REUTERS film on the killing of Shana
http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=80475&newsChannel=topNews
Shana described by his colleagues at Reuters
By Nidal al-Mughrabi Reuetrs-GAZA
Shana, who was unmarried, was a gentle and popular figure among the 15-strong Reuters news team in the Gaza Strip. The bureau was honored by Britain’s Royal Television Society for its coverage of last year’s factional fighting in Gaza.
Hundreds of journalists and well-wishers flocked to the hospital where Shana’s body was taken. The family planned to hold a funeral on Thursday.
17 April 2008 for more details go to UNDER ATTACK and go to the following link http://blogs.reuters.com/photo/2008/04/17/reuters-cameraman-fadel-shana-killed-in-gaza/#comment-333821
Reuters cameraman killed after filming in Gaza, PEC and ICPJ condemn strongly
A specialized legal instrument could have helped Bilal Hussein during his two-year detention in Iraq by US forces
GENEVA, April 17 (PEC-ICPJ) – For the second consecutive time in less than 72 hours one journalist is released, the other killed, both in different countries.
The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the International Covenant for the Protection of Journalists (ICPJ) while welcoming the release of Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein (36 years old), more than two years after he was detained by U.S. Marines on suspicions of links to insurgents, condemns in the strongest possible manner the killing of Reuters cameraman during the Israeli attack against Gaza Wednesday.
The Reuters cameraman 24-year-old Fadal Shana was killed while filming the Israeli tank attack in central Gaza.
According to Al Jazeera Satellite channel Shana was killed when he finished filming and was taking his car to send his footage about the brutal attack.
Fadel Subhi Shana appeared, prior to his death, on the Arabic channel and said that he will never quit his job except if he dies or his legs are mputated.
For more info go to UNDER ATTACK
Reuters Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger sent this note to all Reuters journalists today after cameraman Fadel Shana was killed along with two civilians in the Gaza Strip
David Schlesinger calls for an immediate and complete investigation into the incident
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