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Inside Expression

May 2024

This month: Israel must respect journalists’ right to report, threats to press freedom in Italy, and a historic win for the right to privacy in Europe

Dear John,

Israel: Protect evidence and allow media access to Gaza

The deadly airstrike on Rafah on 26 May, which killed dozens of Palestinians sheltering in a tent camp – including many children – shocked the world. The attack came only 2 days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah.

As the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate at an alarming speed, media access to Gaza remains vital to document it.

This is why, with the Committee to Protect Journalists and other partners, we issued a joint statement supporting South Africa’s urgent request for the ICJ to order Israel to enable journalists to access the conflict zone, so they can independently report on what’s happening on the ground.

Last week, we welcomed the ICJ ruling ordering Israel to allow UN fact-finding missions, and other bodies mandated to investigate allegations of genocide, unimpeded access to Gaza.

Yet Israel must do more.

In addition to implementing the ICJ’s orders, it must uphold its international obligations and protect journalists’ right to report by:

• Refraining from imposing further communication blackouts in Gaza. Without internet or mobile signal, it’s impossible for the media and people inside Gaza to document the daily realities of the conflict.

  
  

• Protecting journalists in Gaza, ensuring their safety, promptly investigating all attacks on them, and holding accountable those responsible.

  
  

• Granting international and local journalists independent access to Gaza.

  
  

• Ensuring that all international and domestic media outlets can operate freely, including in Gaza.

Italy: Silencing the media

Press freedom is in peril in Italy. The government is interfering with the independence of the public broadcaster. Journalists who expose the wrongdoings of those in power are facing an increasing number of lawsuits designed to silence them – including from the prime minister. And a member of parliament, who already controls several major newspapers, is attempting to acquire one of the country’s leading news agencies.

In light of these developments, ARTICLE 19 Europe recently joined our partners at the Media Freedom Rapid Response on an urgent mission to Rome.

Poland: Historic win in mass surveillance case

This week, a historic ruling by the European Court of Human Rights confirmed that secret mass surveillance violates the right to privacy.

The case was initiated by a group of Polish human rights activists and a criminal defence lawyer, who were subject to unauthorised surveillance by the Polish authorities. We intervened in the case in 2020, together with Privacy International and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The ruling delivers a strong statement in support of safeguards for better protection of the rights to freedom of expression and privacy, in line with ARTICLE 19 Europe’s priorities for the new Polish government.

‘Keeping mass surveillance measures in check is a necessary safeguard against abuse by police and intelligence agencies. … Today’s decision of the European Court solidifies protection against such intrusion.’

– Barbora Bukovská

(Senior Director for Law and Policy, ARTICLE 19)

New series of Silenced podcast: Stories of journalists risking it all

Press freedom around the world is under attack like never before. In the new season of Silenced, our host Nicola Kelly speaks to those who, despite adversity, continue to risk it all to report the truth.

In episode 1 – launching today – Nicola speaks to Youmna El-Sayed (Gaza correspondent for Al-Jazeera) about Hamas’s attack on 7 October and Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. She asks: how do you report on a war, when the war is at home?

‘I never questioned being a journalist, even though journalism in Gaza is just like playing with fire, literally … We speak, we show, we take footage, we send videos, we speak, we talk. We do everything that we can. But at the end, when this happens, it's not just your role as a journalist. You become a person with a moral duty of showing the world the reality and the fact of what is really happening.’

– Youmna El-Sayed

(Gaza correspondent, Al-Jazeera)

Later this season, we’ll hear from:

• Oren Ziv: Israeli journalist and photographer, and one of the first to report from the frontline following the 7 October attacks.

• Hiba Morgan: Al-Jazeera Sudan correspondent, and one of the last Sudanese journalists still reporting from the country.

• Ann Simmons: Wall Street Journal Moscow Bureau Chief, who will discuss the case of her colleague Evan Gershkovich, detained in Russia in 2023 on spurpious espionage charges.

Listen to Silenced wherever you get your podcasts:  

Our Global Expression Report attracts international attention

The Global Expression Report 2024, our annual look at the state of free expression worldwide, has attracted global attention since its launch last week:

• The Guardian covered India’s decline into the ‘crisis’ category;

  
  

• One of Brazil’s largest newspapers, Folha de S.Paulo, documented the country’s remarkable rise since Bolsonaro’s defeat in 2022; and

  
  

• In Bangladesh, the launch of the report was covered in over 60 media outlets, including major titles like The Daily Star and Prothom Alo.

Thanks for reading this month's issue of Inside Expression. If you'd like to get more involved with our work keep an eye out for ARTICLE 19's first-ever annual supporter survey, launching next month. This will be your chance to directly influence the future of free expression and  to make a real impact. Stay tuned!

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