Dr Sophie Gallop, Senior Lecturer NLS , https://www.ntu.ac.uk/staff-profiles/law/sophie-gallop
The right to Freedom of Expression has been recognised as a fundamental freedom in various international and regional human rights treaties, including (but in no way limited to) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the American Convention on Human Rights. This right has also received national recognition and is contained in the domestic Constitutions of countries around the world, perhaps most famously in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The exact limits of Freedom of Expression have been long debated, but the importance of the right has been accepted for centuries.
In fact, the right to Freedom of Expression has long been considered essential to the functioning of democracy. It allows citizens to hold the government to account by voicing criticisms and concerns. It also allows citizens to highlight instances of human rights violations and has been recognised as the only right capable of guaranteeing the protection of human rights.
The right to Freedom of Expression of journalists is considered especially important within the democratic model. The European Court of Human Rights has consistently asserted the fundamental role that journalists play as a ‘public watchdog’. The United Nations has noted that the journalism is integral to democratic consolidation and to the protection of human rights, and therefore that the Freedom of Expression journalists must be upheld by countries across the world.
The profession of journalism is, however, a dangerous one; whilst journalists should have the right to Freedom of Expression, exercising that right leaves them open to abuse, threats, and sometimes even violence. The UNESCO Observatory of Killed Journalists reports that since 1993, 1656 journalists have been victims of homicide across the globe, and 90% of those murders have gone unsolved. At the time of writing, and just over one month into the year, 6 journalists have been killed so far in 2024. Alongside threats to life, journalists also face other risks. The UN notes that the imprisonment of journalists is at an all-time high. Women journalists also face particular harassment from gendered online violence, which often intersects with other types of discrimination such as racism, homophobia, and religious bigotry.
Journalists face those threats from many different sources. Reprisals for reporting can come from governments, powerful political actors, powerful commercial entities or even private citizens (sometimes back by immense wealth and social influence). In addition, these threats to the press are experienced across the globe, with journalists throughout the world on the receiving end of terrifying consequences for exercising their freedom of expression and reporting on the realities around them.
In the last few weeks in Azerbaijan, a reported 13 independent journalists have been arrested in the lead up to a snap Presidential election in the country. They have been charged with crimes including: smuggling of foreign currency, illegal construction, and minor hooliganism. Such attacks are part of a broader campaign against press freedom in the country, and Azerbaijan ranks in the bottom 30 countries in terms of press freedom in Reporters Without Borders ongoing report. The Committee to Protect Journalists has concluded that the campaign against press freedom, culminating in these recent arrests, is retribution against journalists who have ‘dared’ to investigate official corruption, and represents part of a government crackdown on the independent media in the country.
Some journalists have even been killed by State officials for their reporting. Famously, Jamal Khashoggi, a fierce and prominent critic of the Saudi government and Royal Family, was murdered in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. The Saudi authorities have maintained that the killing was as a result of a ‘rogue’ operation that went awry, resulting in a fight in the embassy. However, various human rights organisations and other governments have alleged that the order to kill Mr Khashoggi came from ‘the highest levels of Saudi government’. The United Nations reached a similar conclusion, finding that Mr Khashoggi’s death ‘constituted an extrajudicial killing for which the state of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is responsible’, and noting that there was ‘credible evidence’ that should warrant an investigation into Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other high ranking Saudi officials.
For some journalists, threats do not come directly from the government, but from powerful political and social actors and other ordinary citizens.
In the United Kingdom journalist Carole Cadwalladr became a target of an online misogynistic campaign, including a barrage of misinformation and consistent threats of extreme violence. What was notable was that this onslaught was British politicians, fellow journalists, and other political actors contributed to it. Cadwalladr, an investigative journalist, exposed the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, which was associated with the Trump election campaign in 2016 and the Leave.EU campaign. UNESCO undertook a study into the online attacks on Cadwalladr, finding that 55% of the abuse was personal, designed to ridicule, humiliate, and discredit her. It also found that 21% of that abuse was sexist, misogynistic, or sexually explicit. The report highlighted the use of phrases such as ‘hysterical hag’, ‘stupid bitch’, and ‘crazy cat lady’, with hashtags such as ‘#presstitute’ and ‘#scummedia’. The attacks against Cadwalladr were not just online, and threats escalated to the point of instances of physical stalking and various SLAPP proceedings (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation).
The aim of the criminalisation, killing, or harassment of journalists, whether from the government, other powerful public figures, or private citizens, is to force the victim into silence. In Azerbaijan, affected news outlets such as Abzas, whose reporters have been arrested, have been unable to report as normal, given that their investigative journalists are behind bars. In Saudi Arabia, since the murder of Khashoggi, attacks on the Freedom of Expression of journalists have continued and escalated. In fact, the President of the Saudi Specialized Criminal Court, tasked with trying and sentencing journalists and other government critics in Saudi Arabia, is alleged to be one of the participants in the cover-up of the murder of Khashoggi in Istanbul. For Cadwalladr, the impact has been significant, and has ‘changed [her] life’. She has, however, kept reporting.
Unfortunately, there is no uplifting or pithy conclusion at this stage. This blog is just a reminder of the importance of Freedom of Expression, the value of journalism, and the fact that we cannot take either of these things for granted wherever we may be in the world. We need to ensure that Freedom of Expression is effectively protected across the globe, and that journalists are free to exercise that freedom so that they can report on current affairs, give opinions, and hold those in power to account. Sadly, history has clearly taught us that without Freedom of Expression, particularly for journalists, that our fundamental freedoms and democracy itself are at real risk.
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