About IFEX:

News by region:

IFEX Campaigns and Advocacy:

IFEX Email Products:

Opportunities and assistance:

FREE EXPRESSION GROUPS URGE GOVERNMENTS TO EASE PRESSURE ON REPORTERS COVERING AFGHAN WAR

"Journalists are being bullied and harassed by all sides in a conflict that calls for professionalism and independence from media ? not propaganda and censorship," declared the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) last week, following numerous reports of arrests and detentions of journalists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Calling for governments to lift pressure on journalists who are attempting to report on the conflicts in those countries, IFJ, Reporters sans frontières (RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) drew attention to the cases of six journalists who are currently being detained.

One incident involved the arrests of two journalists - Michel Peyrard, a reporter for the French magazine "Paris Match," and Mukkaram Khan, a correspondent for the Nawa-i-Waqt daily - and Mohammad Irfan, a school administrator from Peshawar who was working as Peyrard's guide, according to CPJ. The three men were arrested outside Jalalabad and formally charged on 10 October with spying. They will face a trial in a "special court," according to a Taliban spokesperson quoted by CPJ. Under Taliban laws, individuals convicted of spying are punishable by death.

CPJ notes that shortly after their arrest, they were reportedly paraded through the streets of the city and stoned by onlookers as they walked. The incident was confirmed by the French consulate in Pakistan, according to "Paris Match" sources. RSF reports that they have recently been moved to Kabul and are being detained in "humane conditions."

This is the second incident since 11 September in which the Taliban regime has accused foreign journalists of spying. [See IFEX Communiqué
#10-40].

In another case, RSF and CPJ report that "Figaro Magazine" reporter Aziz Zemouri was arrested on 9 October. Citing a report in Pakistani newspaper "Dawn," CPJ says Zemouri was arrested in Ghulam Khan in North Waziristan Agency. RSF says he has been transferred to Peshawar, where is being detained by the Pakistani Immigration Department. Expressing grave concern, CPJ says Zemouri is being held for interrogation, though no charges have been laid.

Meanwhile, IFJ calls for the release of three Pakistani journalists who have been detained in Peshawar since 5 October. Syed Karim, Rifatullah Orakzai and Muhammad Iqbal were arrested for illegally entering Tirah Valley, which is closed to foreign journalists. Pakistani authorities have accused them of being "American spies." According to RSF, the families of the three journalists fear that authorities may transfer them to a special detention centre where detainees are often mistreated.

In a separate incident, the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) reports that a mob in Islamabad attacked a group of foreign journalists on 8 October during demonstrations against the US-led bombing of Afghanistan. PPF adds that government authorities have banned foreign media representatives from religious institutions as a precautionary measure.

Also this week, IFJ added its voice to the International Press Institute (IPI) and CPJ's protests against the United States government for attempting to influence the news coverage of Qatar's "Al Jazeera" television channel [See IFEX "Communiqué"
#10-40]. ""Al Jazeera" is recognized throughout the Arab world and has contributed to creating new levels of professionalism in Arab media. It has given both the US and Afghanistan positions equal airtime," said IFJ.

Press freedom advocates recently expressed alarm after it was reported that US Secretary of State Colin Powell met with the emir of Qatar on 3 October in an attempt to persuade him to tone down "Al Jazeera's" coverage. The station had been airing videotaped statements by Bin Laden. Noting that suspected terrorist Osama Bin Laden and British prime minister Tony Blair had both been given air time to put across their respective points of view on the television station, IFJ said editorial freedom was the best antidote to propaganda, not government interference.

Meanwhile, the "Washington Post" reports that since 11 October, Bush administration officials, including national security advisor Condoleeza Rice, have begun to grant interviews with "Al Jazeera" in an effort to sell its policies in the Arab world, especially in the Middle East. Up until last week, the State Department had steadfastly refused to give interviews with the station's reporters.

For more information, see
www.ifj.org,
www.cpj.org,
www.wan-press.org,
www.rsf.fr and
www.oneworld.org/ppf.