Quick viewing(Text Mode)

250Th-Issue-Index-Ma

250Th-Issue-Index-Ma

Can I keep your secret? STEPHEN GREY Too dangerous to report from war zones? LINDSEY HILSUM Why reporters are too lazy JEAN-PAUL MARTHOZ Out of Africa: a previously untranslated play HENNING MANKELL THE VOICE OF FREE EXPRESSION | 45.02 | SUMMER 2016 | £7.99

Dear all,

We are delighted to share this special collection of articles drawn from our milestone 250th issue of Index on magazine.

The 250th issue was dedicated to exploring the increasing threats to reporters worldwide. This collection -- curated from our special report – Truth in Danger, Danger in Truth: Journalists Under Fire and Under Pressure – is packed with must-read features.

• Lindsey Hilsum asks if journalists should still cover war zones. • Laura Silvia Battaglia looks how Iraqi reporters train to safely cover their country’s ongoing conflict. • Hazza Al-Adnan explains the extreme dangers faced by ’s journalists. • Martin Rowson’s editorial cartoon includes a fat-cat politician that quashes inconvenient questions. • Plus, Sir Louis Blom-Cooper QC, an early Index supporter, reflects on the magazine’s 1972 launch.

The entire 250th issue of the magazine is available on Exact Editions for your mobile or tablet device or can be read on Kindle. Visit www.indexoncensorship.org/subscribe for more details.

In the full issue you’ll find: the late Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell exploring colonialism in Africa in an exclusive play extract; Irene Caselli writing about the controversies and censorship of Latin America's soap operas; and Norwegian musician Moddi telling how hate mail sparked an album of music that had been previously banned or silenced.

There are also cartoons and illustrations in the full issue by Ben Jennings, Brian John Spencer, Sam Darlow and China’s most famous political cartoonist, Rebel Pepper, who is a nominee for the 2017 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards.

Best wishes,

Rachael Jolley, editor Contents INDEX ON CENSORSHIP VOLUME 45 NUMBER 02 SUMMER 2016

Risky business RACHAEL JOLLEY 3 The life of a state journalist in Eritrea Why journalists around the world face increasing threats ABRAHAM T. ZERE 34 What it’s really like to work at a highly censored government newspaper

Truth in danger, danger in truth Smothering South African reporting Journalists under fire and under pressure CARIEN DU PLESSIS 36 Are racism accusations and mobs being used to stop truthful coverage at election time? Behind the lines LINDSEY HILSUM 8 Writing with a bodyguard Should reporters still be heading into warzones? CATALINA LOBO-GUERRERO 41 Colombia’s state protection unit has supported journalists We are journalists, not terrorists in danger for 16 years, but does it work? VALERIA COSTA-KOSTRITSKY 11 How reporters around Europe are being silenced by warning ramps up risk to accusations that their work threatens national security Kabul’s reporters CAROLINE LEES 44 A foreign correspondent recalls safer days in Afghanistan Code of silence and looks at journalists’ challenges today CRISTINA MARCONI 15 Why Italy’s press treads carefully between threats from Writers of wrongs STEVEN BOROWIEC 48 the mafia and defamation laws from fascist times Have Japan’s press clubs created overly cosy relationships between business leaders and the press? Facing the front line LAURA SILVIA BATTAGLIA 18 Iraqi journalists on safety training for reporting The Arab Spring snaps back ROHAN JAYASEKERA 51 Giving up on the graft and the grind The state of the media after the revolution JEAN-PAUL MARTHOZ 22 Why journalists are failing to cover difficult stories Shooting the messengers DUNCAN TUCKER 54 Women investigating sex-trafficking in Mexico Risking reputations FRED SEARLE 24 Young UK writers fear “churnalism” will cost their jobs Is your secret safe with me? STEPHEN GREY 58 Difficulties of protecting sources amid mass surveillance Inside Syria’s war HAZZA AL-ADNAN 28 The extreme dangers faced by local reporters Stripsearch cartoon MARTIN ROWSON 62 A fat-cat politician quashes questions Living in fear for reporting on terror ISMAIL EINASHE 31 Scoops and troops KAYA GENÇ 64 A Kenyan journalist speaks out after going into hiding Interviews with Turkey’s struggling investigative reporters

1 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 1 14/06/2016 17:28:38 In focus Culture

Rebel with a cause JEMIMAH STEINFELD 70 A world away from Wallander An interview with China’s most famous political cartoonist HENNING MANKELL 92 The late Swedish crime writer explores colonialism in Soap operas get whitewashed IRENE CASELLI 74 Africa in this exclusive play translation Censorship and controversy in Latin America’s telenovelas “I’m not prepared to give up my words” Are ad-blockers killing the media? 78 MATEI VISNIEC 100 Speigel Online’s Matthias Streitz in a head-to-head debate Norman Manea introduces a surreal Romanian play where with ’s Richard Tynan rats rule and humans are forced to relinquish language

Publishing protest, secrets and stories Posting into the future OLEH SHYNKARENKO 111 LOUIS BLOM-COOPER 82 How Facebook updates during the Maidan Square In the 250th issue of Index on Censorship magazine, an protests in Ukraine were turned into a futuristic novel early supporter remembers its launch

Songs that sting MODDI 86 A Norwegian musician on how hate mail about an Israeli Index around the world JOSIE TIMMS 119 concert sparked an album of censored music The What A ! youth project reaches its climax

The lost art of letters VICKY BAKER 122 Has the power of personal correspondence been diluted by email, and will historical archives ever be the same?

EDITOR EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Rachael Jolley Josie Timms DEPUTY EDITOR DESIGN Vicky Baker Matthew Hasteley SUB EDITORS COVER Charlotte Bailey, Alex Dudok de Wit, Ben Jennings Jan Fox, Sally Gimson THANKS TO: CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Jodie Ginsberg, Sean Gallagher, Kaya Genç (Turkey), Natasha Joseph Ryan McChrystal (South Africa), Jemimah Steinfeld, Magazine printed by Page Bros., Irene Caselli Norwich, UK

Index on Censorship, 292 Vauxhall Bridge Road, SW1V 1AE, +44 (0) 20 7963 7262

2 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 2 14/06/2016 17:28:38 INDEX

Risky business

EDITORIAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE Jodie Ginsberg EDITOR, MAGAZINE 45(02): 3/5 | DOI: 10.1177/0306422016657007 by Rachael Jolley Rachael Jolley EDITOR, ONLINE AND NEWS Sean Gallagher FINANCE DIRECTOR David Sewell HE TRUTH IS in danger. Working with Syria, Mexico, Colombia, Afghanistan DEPUTY EDITOR Vicky Baker reporters and writers around the world, and Iraq, all appear in the top 10 tables for T ASSISTANT EDITOR, ONLINE AND NEWS Index continually hears first-hand stories of danger to journalists. In just the last few Ryan McChrystal HEAD OF EVENTS the pressures of reporting, and of how jour- weeks National Public Radio’s photojournal- David Heinemann nalists are too afraid to write or broadcast ist David Gilkey and colleague Zabihullah ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Helen Galliano because of what might happen next. Tamanna were killed in Afghanistan as they SENIOR ADVOCACY OFFICER In 2016 journalists are high-profile tar- went about their work in collecting infor- Melody Patry PROJECT OFFICER gets. They are no longer the gatekeepers to mation, and researching stories to tell the Hannah Machlin media coverage, and the consequences have public what is happening in that war-blasted EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Josie Timms been terrible. Factions such as the Taliban nation. One of our writers for this issue was ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT and IS have found their own ways to push a foreign correspondent in Afghanistan in Susan Shanks out their news, creating and publishing their 1990s and remembers how different it was ARTS ASSOCIATE Julia Farrington own “stories” on blogs, YouTube and other then. Reporters could walk down the street social media. They no longer have to speak and meet with the Taliban without fearing DIRECTORS & TRUSTEES to journalists to tell their stories to a wider for their lives. Those days have gone. Chris- (Chair), Anthony Barling, Peta Buscombe, public. This has weakened journalists’ value, tina Lamb, from London’s Sunday Times, Kate Maltby, David McCune, Turi Munthe, and the need to protect them. tells Index, that it can even be difficult to be Sanjay Nazerali, Elaine Potter, David Schles- Around 2,130 journalists were killed be- seen in a public place in Afghanistan now. inger, Mark Stephens tween 1996 and 2014, according to statistics She was recently asked to move on from a PATRONS compiled by Cardiff University and the Inter- coffee shop because the owners were wor- Margaret Atwood, Simon Callow, Steve national News Safety Institute. And in 2015, ried she was drawing attention to the prem- Coogan, Brian Eno, Har- old Evans, Christopher in Colombia, 104 journalists were received ises just by being there. Hird, Lord Joel Joffe, some state protection, after receiving threats. Physical violence is not the only way the Jude Kelly, Michael Palin, Matthew Parris, In Yemen, considered by the Committee to news is being suppressed. In Eritrea, journal- Alexandra Pringle, Gabrielle Rifkind, Sir Protect Journalists to be one of the deadliest ists are being silenced by pressure from one , Lady Sue countries to report from, only the extremely of the most secretive governments in the Woodford Hollick brave dare to file a story. And that number is world. Those that work for state media do ADVISORY COMMITTEE Julian Baggini, dwindling fast. Our contacts tell us that the so with the knowledge that if they take a Clemency Burton-Hill, Ariel Dorfman, Michael pressure on local journalists not to do their step wrong, and write a story that the gov- Foley, Andrew Franklin, Conor Gearty, Andrew job is incredible. Journalists are kidnapped ernment doesn’t like, they could be arrested Graham-Yooll, AC and released at will. Reporters for independ- or tortured. Grayling, Lyndsay Grif- fiths, William Horsley, ent media are monitored. Printed publica- In many countries around the world, Anthony Hudson, Natalia Koliada, Jane tions have closed down. And most recently journalists have lost their status as observ- Kramer, Htein Lin, Jean- Paul Marthoz, Robert 10 journalists were arrested by Houthi mi- ers and now come under direct attack. In the McCrum, Rebecca MacKinnon, Beatrice litias. In that environment what price the not-too-distant past journalists would be on Mtetwa, Julian Petley, news? The price that many journalists pay is frontlines, able to report on what was hap- Michael Scammell, Kamila Shamsie, their lives or their freedom. And not just in pening, without being directly targeted. Michael Smyth, Tess Woodcraft, Christie Yemen. So despite what others have dubbed ➔ Watson

3 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 3 14/06/2016 17:28:38 45.02

➔ “the blizzard” of news media in the We are living in a historical moment world, it is becoming frighteningly dif- where leaders and their followers see the ficult to find out what is happening in freedom to report as something that should places where those in power would rather be smothered, and asphyxiated, held down you didn’t know. Governments and armed until it dies. groups are more sophisticated than ever at What we have seen in Syria is a deliberate manipulating public attitudes, using all the stiffling of news, making conditions impos-

modern conveniences of a connected world. sibly dangerous for international media to Credit: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters Governments not only try to control journal- cover, making local journalists fear for their ists, but can do everything to discredit them. lives if they cover stories that make some As George Orwell said: “In times of uni- powerful people uncomfortable. The bravest versal deceit, telling the truth is a revolu- of the brave carry on against all the odds. But tionary act.” Telling the truth is now being the forces against them are ruthless. viewed by the powerful as a form of protest As Simon Cottle, Richard Sambrook and and rebellion against their strength. Nick Mosdell write in their upcoming book,

4 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 4 14/06/2016 17:28:38 INDEX

LEFT: Journalist films the site of a Saudi-led air strike on a bridge in Yemen’s capital Sanaa in March 2016

Reporting Dangerously: Journalist Killings, Genç reports on page 64, many of Turkey’s Intimidation and Security: “The killing of most respected news outlets are closing or journalists is clearly not only to shock but being forced out of business. Secrets are no also to intimidate. As such it has become an longer being aired and criticism is out of effective way for groups and even govern- fashion. While mobs attacking newspaper ments to reduce scrutiny and accountability, buildings is not. Genç also see society shift- and establish the space to pursue non demo- ing as the public is being persuaded that they cratic means.” must pick sides, and that somehow media In Turkey we are seeing the systematic that publish stories they disagree with should crushing of the press by a government which not have a future. appears to hate anyone who says anything That is not a future we would wish upon it disagrees with, or reports on issues that it the world. would rather were ignored. Journalists are Rachael Jolley, under pressure, and so is the truth. Editor, As our Turkey contributing editor Kaya Index on Censorship

5 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 5 14/06/2016 17:28:39 CREDIT: Abbas Momani/AFP/Getty Images 14/06/2016 17:28:44 6 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG 45.02 00_index_45-02-syria.indb 6 SPECIAL REPORT

Truth in danger, danger in truth: journalists under fi re and under pressure

Behind the lines LINDSEY HILSUM 08 Reporting with a bodyguard CATALINA LOBO-GUERRERO 41 We are journalists, not terrorists VALERIA COSTA-KOSTRITSKY 11 Taliban warning ramps up risks to Kabul’s reporters Code of silence CAROLINE LEES 44 CRISTINA MARCONI 15 Writers of wrongs Facing the front line STEVEN BOROWIEC 48 LAURA SILVIA BATTAGLIA 18 The Arab Spring snaps back Giving up on the graft and ROHAN JAYASEKERA 51 the grind JEAN-PAUL MARTHOZ 22

Inside Syria’s war Shooting the messengers DUNCAN TUCKER HAZZA AL ADNAN 28 54

Living in fear for reporting on Is your secret safe with me? terror ISMAIL EINASHE 31 STEPHEN GREY 58

The life of a state journalist Stripsearch cartoon in Eritrea ABRAHAM T. ZERE 34 MARTIN ROWSON 62

Smothering South African Scoops and troops reporting CARIEN DU PLESSIS 36 KAYA GENÇ 64

PICTURED: Palestinian journalists run from tear-gas canisters fi red by Israeli forces during a demonstration in support of Palestinian reporters, held outside Israeli-run Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank, on World Press Freedom Day, 3 May 2016

7 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 7 14/06/2016 17:28:55 45.02

Behind the lines

45(02): 8/10 | DOI: 10.1177/0306422016657008

Marie Colvin’s outstanding career as a foreign correspondent ended when she was killed in Homs in 2012. Award-winning journalist Lindsey Hilsum asks if reporters should still be heading to warzones

HE SUNDAY TIMES war correspondent daring or foolish than ourselves. Yet we have TMarie Colvin used to say that she felt to acknowledge the power as well as the like the last reporter in the YouTube world. limitations of this new kind of reporting. I understand what she meant: old-fash- At News we employ a Leba- ioned journalists like us put a premium on nese journalist who is a specialist in sourcing being there, rather than sitting in a news- video. He knows who uploads the pictures room piecing together bits of footage up- of barrel bomb damage, who destroyed hos- loaded by activists and journalists more pitals in , who to Skype for a reliable

8 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 8 14/06/2016 17:28:55 SPECIAL REPORT

account. Marie might have sniffed, but it’s destruction that IS had wrought on the an- become an integral part of our coverage – in cient city, and the parallel devastation that early May the inmates of Hama prison were government and Russian forces had wrought filming with their mobile phones and send- on the adjacent, modern town of Tadmur. ing out pictures even as government forces We even managed to film government troops tear-gassed them. looting people’s houses. None of this could It was compelling television, yet left many we have seen or understood if we had re- questions unanswered. The Hama prisoners ported long-distance. showed the army about to attack, but not In a speech at London’s St Bride’s Church, the guards they had themselves taken hos- tage. We knew their demands, but little of the background – and we weren’t there to probe further. Whatever the risks, in the end As Western media organisations cut costs being an eyewitness will always be by slashing foreign bureaux, and succumb to pressure constantly to update online, the most honest form of journalism the temptation is to pull it all together in London or Paris or New York rather than venturing out. Danger forms another part often a hub for journalists, in 2010, Marie of the calculation. Kidnap and beheading said: “We always have to ask ourselves is the most extreme form of censorship. In whether the level of risk is worth the story. Syria, US photojournalist James Foley was What is bravery, and what is bravado?” murdered in 2014, several European journal- That is a difficult question. Few main- ists were later kidnapped and ransomed and stream news organisations are willing to let the British photographer John Cantlie is still their journalists cross the border from Tur- held by IS. key into Syria these days, because the risk of Yet, whatever the risks, in the end being kidnap is so great. Most editors now under- an eyewitness will always be the most hon- stand that they should not buy material from est form of journalism. It is still essential. In freelancers in places where they would not , in 1994, I watched as the genocide send their own staff because of the danger. unfolded around me. I reported what I saw: It’s progress – there was a time when the drunken red-eyed men with machetes broadcasters and newspapers routinely used at the roadblocks, the blood running in the freelancers without taking any responsibility gutters. And what I heard: Rwandans calling for their safety. But it means we are left with me up to describe how the murderous gangs the information from prisoners in Hama and were banging on their doors and breaking citizen journalist reports from Aleppo – bet- through their windows. There was no substi- ter than nothing, filmed by brave people, tute for being there. but frequently incomplete, often confusing, More recently, travelling on a Syrian gov- biased, not always easy to interpret. ernment visa, I was among the first journal- In February 2012, Marie and photogra- CREDIT: Hosam Katan/Reuters OPPOSITE: Men rescue ists to visit the ancient city of Palmyra after pher Paul Conroy crawled through a sewer a boy from under the regime forces took it back from IS. Beyond to get to Homs, as the Syrian regime’s bombs rubble after explosive barrels dropped by the normal journalistic enthusiasm to get turned the buildings of rebel-controlled forces believed to to where the story was happening, I feared Baba Amr to burnt-out carcasses and rub- be loyal to Syria’s being used for propaganda. But in fact we ble. In her dispatches, Marie described the President Bashar Al- Assad, in the Al-Shaar were able to move reasonably freely. I could makeshift beds on which children slept neighbourhood of see – and the cameraman could film – the underground to avoid the bombs, the ➔ Aleppo in 2014

9 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 9 14/06/2016 17:28:55 45.02

Weighing up What precautions do you take? These vary with the story, but include commu- reporting risks nication with the actors in the conflict (security forces, armed groups) and working with local Editor Nic Dawes shares the thought networks, training, limiting frontline exposure. process behind sending reporters We have recently ordered bulletproof gear, into conflict zones and how news which we did not previously have. outlets protect them How important is security training? What factors must the editor weigh up Training is critically important, and I am sorry when considering covering a danger zone? to say, all but absent outside of the rich world, How important is the story? Are we well placed as is good protective gear and first aid kits for to do a good job of covering it, or are others reporters. already doing it well, and in a way that is relevant to our journalistic mission? How im- Have you ever taken a decision not to send portant is the presence of our reporters on the out a reporter because you considered the frontline in order to get the story we want to situation too dangerous? Why? tell? Do the people we intend to send have the Yes. In cases where I thought the risk of serious skills, experience and equipment they need to injury or death could not be adequately miti- safely operate in the area in question? Do we gated by training, equipment, or other meas- have a clear risk mitigation framework? Do we ures we might be capable of providing, I have have resources in place to manage risk? Have elected to change the assignment. we provided adequate insurance cover? Where do you consider the most difficult What is the highest responsibility of the place/story to cover right now? paper? Syria, Yemen, Central African Republic. Our responsibility to cover dangerous places is in tension with our responsibility for the safety of our people. The only way we can manage that tension is with the help of a clear set of Nic Dawes is the chief editorial and content guidelines governing conflict coverage, backed officer at the Hindustan Times in India and the by adequate resources. former editor of South Africa’s Mail & Guardian

➔ operations without anaesthetic, the report; she refused to leave it to YouTube. despair of people who felt they had been Yet, on this occasion, the risk was too great. abandoned by the world. It was classic, old- Was she brave, or – in her own words – was fashioned eyewitness reporting. it bravado? Either way, we are all the poorer On 22 February, a government mortar because Marie Colvin is no longer reporting shell killed Marie and the French photogra- from Syria. pher, Rémi Ochlik. Conroy and the French reporter Edith Bouvier were seriously Lindsey Hilsum is international editor for Chan- injured. nel 4 News. She is currently writing a biography Marie felt she had a responsibility to of Marie Colvin

10 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 10 14/06/2016 17:28:55 45.02

Facing the front line

45(02): 18/21 | DOI: 10.1177/0306422016657012

Iraqi journalists are under attack from all sides. Now a series of safety programmes offers training for battlefield reporting, and to combat everyday threats and danger on city streets. Trainer and journalist Laura Silvia Battaglia reports

RAQI JOURNALIST AND television pre- aid on the battlefield. “Now I know how to Isenter Mahmood al-Hassnawi stands up in apply CPR and to stop bleeding in case IS the training room: “To be honest with you, launch a grenade at me and I am injured,” he it’s the first time I’ve understood the need for said. As a battle-ready journalist, his training security rules for journalists in the field. No could save his life. During protests or after one told me before. I was on the battlefield a suicide bomb it’s also really important against IS with the Iraqi army several times, for reporters to act safely, selecting the best but I had just a bulletproof vest and my angle to take pictures, but also avoiding ar- camera. If I die, no one cares.” Al-Hassnawi rest, teargas or a possible second explosion. is a young and talented Iraqi journalist from “Once I was in the area of a blast [and] I Karbala, one of the most important cities in was afraid to run immediately to the car that Iraq and the holy city for Iraqi Shia. He used had just exploded. That instinct was a good to work as a presenter for the Karbala televi- one because a second blast happened but no sion channel and in April 2014 he began to one explained to me before how to position think about reporting on the Iraqi army at myself properly at the scene of the attack,” the frontline against IS. A couple of months said al-Hassnawi. later, he covered the battle in Babel, before He was one of 75 Iraqi journalists (15 going to Ramadi. per group) on the course last October. In Al-Hassnawi was on a five-day training Karbala, the 13 men and two women who course, run by Media Cent- attended the course expressed a specific need er Kurdistan and one of a dozen courses run for the training to also cover psychological for Iraqi journalists in Erbil, Basra and Kar- disorders. And so the course looked at how bala. Skills covered included; learning how to minimise stress, post-traumatic stress dis- to scan the environment for danger, identify- order and vicarious trauma. At the end of the CREDIT: Bnar Sardar ing weapon types by the sound of ballistics, sessions the journalists called for a stronger using body armour, using the dark web for commitment by international organisations security, and basic hacking. to offer training in Iraq or countries includ- He also learnt how to administer first ing Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.

18 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 18 14/06/2016 17:28:58 SPECIAL REPORT

Safety training is even more vital now, as a I was on the battlefield against IS new home front with IS has seen unprepared local journalists become embedded with the with the Iraqi army but I had just a Iraqi army or with the peshmerga in Iraqi bulletproof vest and my camera. Kurdistan. Many of the journalists inter- viewed said their experiences of embedding If I die, no one cares have involved being taken to the front line by the Iraqi army without knowing exactly data encryption (see Stephen Grey on page ABOVE: Journalists where they are and for how long. They also 58), as well as some concern about using attend a workshop on conflict reporting in had never had any safety training, didn't un- them, for fear of being accused of terrorism Sulaymaniyah, Iraq derstanding the appropriate use of electronic by the army, the police or militias. devices in the battlefield, and had never The Women for Peace Organization, signed any agreement with the army. Most which is part of a larger group of local claim to have had only a fairly lightweight NGOs including the Iraqi women journal- bulletproof vest and, sometimes, a helmet ists' forum, requested two training courses issued to them. Few know how to save the in Baghdad, one for human-rights journalists life of a comrade in battle. Among journal- and activists under the age of 30; the second ists there is also an almost total ignorance of for female journalists. Many of those ➔

19 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 19 14/06/2016 17:28:59 45.02

ABOVE: Iraqi journal- ➔ who attended the sessions have now re- the British Army in the first Gulf war. Many ists practise first quested more intensive training. were later threatened with being labelled aid during a safety workshop Hala Almansour, a 40-year-old journalist “collaborators”. Most of the time, the threats from Basra, was among the attendees. She come from militias. was shy about telling her story at first but at Tariq Alturfi, 40, was another workshop the end of the course said: “I was a witness attendee. An experienced journalist with to murders and deaths in Basra at the time of Alamda Press in Karbala, he is married to a the war. I asked for psychological help and it colleague and has a young son. He was on was successful. Now I’m trying to help other the front line against IS only once: “I’ve been women in the same condition. The problem covering breaking news from Iraq and from the area of Karbala for 20 years. I attended this workshop because every day we have to I’m tired of all the corruption deal with militias. IS is not the main problem for us.” Alturfi is committed to non-partisan in society and threats against reporting in Iraq. “Journalists must stand up civilians and journalists. I want to for Iraqi people, not for thieves and criminals know how to defend myself who sit in the parliament,” he said. Alturfi said he kidnapped by local militias in 2010, because he “wrote an article about a local is that Iraq is entering into another bad time politician, underlining his irresponsibility in and I’m tired of all the corruption in society not securing the area of Karbala”. Alturfi and threats against civilians and journalists. I was abducted by a group of locals, detained want to know how to defend myself.” for one night in a secret place, hanged on the Almansour, like most of the journalists roof and tortured. Then he was released, on at the workshop, is employed in the local the promise of “better behaviour”. He is still CREDIT: Bnar Sardar media. The more experienced, older members smiling but traumatised underneath. of the group had worked as fixers for inter- There are very few freelance journal- national media during the US occupation, or ists in Iraq. It is hard to make a living as a served as translators for the US troops or for freelancer without working for pan-Arab or

20 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 20 14/06/2016 17:29:00 SPECIAL REPORT

international networks such as Al Jazeera or in their country, and to do that journalists Al Arabia, Vice or the BBC. Foreign jour- need to continue to protect themselves so nalists who work in Iraq are also at risk of they can do their jobs. threats, and sometimes detention, by police or the Iraqi army. Nadir Dendoune, a French- Australian journalist was arrested and de- tained for three weeks in 2013 for taking photographs in a restricted area of Baghdad. Reporting on topics such as corruption, pol- lution by depleted uranium, threats against local journalists or activists, is also strongly discouraged by the government. Freelance Iraqi journalists are experienc- ing a situation which is far worse than that of European and North American freelanc- ers, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. As the Rory Peck Trust, which supports freelance journalists, said that lo- cally based journalists were facing by far the largest number of threats and the vast majority of murders, imprisonments and ab- ductions. The organisation is calling on gov- ernments, combatants and groups worldwide to respect the neutrality of journalists and immediately end the cycle of impunity. International organisations surely have a duty to provide safety training to Iraqi journalists and activists in danger zones. The key to encouraging press freedom in one of the most corrupt states in the Middle East, according to Transparency International, is supporting activists and journalists who want to be independent from political par- ties or sectarian interests. Iraqi civil society has organised itself into small associations, such as women’s groups, trade unions, groups of cyber-activists, who all want to have an active role in the way the country works. They all need protection. Sometimes as a security trainer, I come Laura Silvia Battaglia reports from Iraq, Italy across Iraqi journalists who believe they and Yemen. She has reported from conflict zones don’t need training. A typical answer is: “We since 2007, including Lebanon, Israel and Pal- do not need it. We are Iraqis.” This quote estine, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Egypt, , shows the level of resilience of those who Libya, Iraq, Iran, Yemen and the Syrian border. remain in Iraq. She produced six video documentaries, the first But good local journalism is vital if the of which, Maria Grazia Cutuli Il Prezzo Della Iraqi people are to know what is happening Verità won the 2010 Premio Giancarlo Siani

21 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 21 14/06/2016 17:29:00 45.02

Inside Syria’s war

45(02): 28/30 | DOI: 10.1177/0306422016657747

Syrian citizen journalist Hazza al-Adnan on the realities of reporting in a country where a pseudonym and bulletproof vest offer little protection from constant danger

“ HE PSEUDONYM HELPS me to feel because they confuse intelligence work with Tsafe,” said Ali, a citizen journalist who journalism,” Abd Almajeed added. “We al- works under a false name in Syria’s govern- ways have to convince these factions that we ment-held regions. “I always pretend to be are journalists, and not agents of the intel- completely loyal to Bashar al-Assad’s regime ligence organisations of the US or Saudi Ara- while at the same time I am documenting bia or Qatar and so on.” the abuses perpetrated by his government Some armed opposition factions are ex- against the activists and civilians.” Because treme Islamists, some of them are moderate of fear, many of the journalists inside Syria Islamists and some of them belong to civilian work under pseudonyms, especially in the or secular groups, and there is a state of cold government-held areas and those controlled – and sometimes hot – war among them. by IS. Abd Almajeed thinks that even if a journalist Despite the dangers of working as a jour- can gain the trust of a particular faction, the nalist in Syria, there are still many who strive battle is not yet won, because he must now to report the truth, while trying to minimise convince the other factions that he has not the risks to themselves as much as possible. picked a side or become an agent. They receive some support and training from Abd Almajeed tries to minimise the risks Western institutions, from time to time. But of the work by wearing a helmet and bullet- most work with local or Middle Eastern proof jacket when going to areas where media agencies. clashes are taking place. He rarely works “If your aim is to report the truth, you at night for fear of being kidnapped, and cannot work in areas under government he doesn’t ever go to areas held by IS or the control, because it doesn’t want the truth to government. He believes these precautions come out. You can work in the opposition- have helped him to avoid many injuries, controlled areas, but you have to keep hid- especially around seven months ago, when den from the government forces’ aircraft, and he was covering one of the battles between the Russian aircraft, and the IS organisation’s government and opposition forces around intelligence apparatus,” said Mounaf Abd Aleppo, in northern Syria. When the trench Almajeed, 26, who works for Fresh Radio, a that he was hiding in was targeted in an air radio station in Idlib, northwest Syria. raid, which he believes was conducted by “The government accuses us of terrorism, Russian aircraft, four journalists were killed, and the majority of the armed opposition but Mounaf was only slightly injured. factions do not look upon us favourably, Abd Almajeed believes that Western media

28 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 28 14/06/2016 17:29:02 SPECIAL REPORT

NGOs could do more to help by offering the Jalal believes that IS’s pursuit of journal- ABOVE: The aftermath required support to journalists inside oppo- ists, and execution of some of them, forced of airstrikes in the rebel-held neighbour- sition areas, but rather have confined their Western agencies to withdraw their corre- hood of Bustan Al Qasr support to Syrian press organisations outside spondents, and then the opposition factions’ in Aleppo, Syria, April the country. media made repeated mistakes until the 2016 But Ahmed Jalal, 35, editor of the local world began to view the Syrian conflict as a magazine Al-Manatarah, does not agree. He “sectarian war between the Alawites and the thinks that the diminished support is due to concern for the safety of their employees, and Syrians working with them, after the He rarely works at night for country became so dangerous for journalists. fear of being kidnapped, and he As for the burden of responsibility laid on the journalists inside Syria, Jalal said: doesn’t ever go to areas held by “In the early stages of the revolution we did IS or the government not have a great responsibility to convey the truth to the international community be- cause the door was open to journalists from Shi’a on the one hand and the Sunnis on the all over the world, and many of them came other, or as a fundamentalist Islamic revolu- in and reported the truth to their communi- tion that crossed borders, and not a people’s ties. But after a year or two of the revolution revolution”. everything changed because Bashar al-Assad Jalal sighed, took a drag on his cigarette, succeeded in getting his propaganda message and continued: “Our responsibility has be- CREDIT: EPA across to the West that he was fighting ter- come great, it is now up to us to convince rorists and that the alternative to him was the international community that we are re- chaos and terrorism.” porting the truth, which can be expressed ➔

29 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 29 14/06/2016 17:29:03 SPECIAL REPORT 45.02

➔ as the aspirations for freedom and justice of a people that a criminal regime is killing – and this is what compels us to risk our lives.” Working under a pseudonym and wearing About the author bullet-proof jackets is all journalists inside Syria can do to minimise the risks, accord- The writer of this piece, Hazza al-Adnan, ing to Jalal, because nobody recognises the was introduced to Index on Censorship by immunity of journalists, and nobody respects our 2016 Freedom of Expression Award the international laws and conventions gov- winner Zaina ErhaIm. erning their work. He said: “We are in a jun- Erhaim won the journalism award for gle … all we can do is persevere, coping with using her own skills to train other Syrians the fear and the grief. However much we try to be able to tell their stories too. to minimise the risks; hardly a week goes Erhaim told Index: “Hazza attended the by without our losing a friend or colleague, first training I did in Idlib suburb. He is a lawyer and had no experience in journal- who has died covering some battle or other, ism at all. After the training, he started or in the bombing of civilians by government publishing on our website [the Institute forces or their allies, or in an execution by of War and Peace’s Damascus Bureau], Da’esh [IS].” and when their local radio station Fresh The editor said: “Hardly a day goes by was established, he started working as an without our seeing the dead body of a child editor with them. He writes for many Syr- torn apart by Bashar al-Assad’s aircraft.” In ian websites and has passed the training I the opposition-held areas, ordinary citizens gave to him to more than 30 others.” do not look upon journalists favourably. Jalal added: “Every time we go to take a photograph we encounter people who refuse and say ‘You media people take photos and would invite Western media organisations rake in the money and we get bombed by into their areas and provide them with pro- tection. And if that is impossible, then he asks “powerful news agencies like Reuters, However much we try to minimise Agence France-Presse and the Associated the risks; hardly a week goes Press, and powerful networks like the BBC and CNN” to put trust in local journalists or by without our losing a friend or citizen journalists in these areas. colleague Ahmed said: “We have now got good journalists inside the opposition-held areas who have received training from Western Bashar al-Assad’s planes because of you tak- institutions such as the Institute for War and ing pictures.’” Peace Reporting and Reporters Without Bor- Many journalists inside Syria want their ders and the CFI [run by the French Ministry output to reach the international commu- of Foreign Affairs], and we now have train- nity. “Unfortunately, it rarely gets through ing centres in these areas; all that we lack is because most of the journalists in these areas the trust of the powerful Western agencies do not possess English or the skills to com- and the networks in us.” municate with the outside world, so when talking to the world they rely on compassion Translated by Sue Copeland rather than understanding,” said Jalal. Hazza al-Adnan is a lawyer and writer based in Jalal wishes the armed opposition factions Idlib, Syria

30 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 30 14/06/2016 17:29:03 45.02

62 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 62 14/06/2016 17:29:16 SPECIAL REPORT

MARTIN ROWSON is a cartoonist for and the author of vari- ous books, includ- ing Coalition Book (2014), a collection of cartoons about the UK’s years under a coalition government

63 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 63 14/06/2016 17:29:17 45.02

Publishing protest, secrets and stories

45(02): 82/84 | DOI: 10.1177/0306422016657034

Louis Blom-Cooper was involved in the very fi rst days of Index on Censorship. Here, for its 250th issue, he talks about why it was created and why it is needed today

82 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 82 14/06/2016 17:29:40 IN FOCUS

T WAS A real sense of its international- Times and Le Monde from the Russian Iism that prompted me in 1972 to respond dissident protesting against eagerly to the invitation from , the trial and imprisonment of the writers still editing , to join Writers and and in Scholars International and its accompany- Moscow. Stephen Spender sent a telegram ing journal Index on Censorship. There was of support. Litvinov replied, suggesting that a close association between David and the Spender should set up an organisation to poet Stephen Spender, who were neighbours publish these developments in pursuance of in St John’s Wood and who had set up WSI the right of expression of opinion, a broader to publicise the fate of writers suffering cen- concept than censorship, although the call sorship and prosecution for their outspoken was for free speech. views. The membership of the new organisation It all began with an open letter in The was self-selecting from among the literati ➔

83 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 83 14/06/2016 17:29:44 IN FOCUS 45.02

➔ and prominent academicians of England, – notably of Arthur Koestler – gave a fl y- at the behest of David Astor personally. The ing start to Index, but its birth could not be chairmanship was inspirational. Not noted safely guaranteed. The search for a captive publicly for his interest, Lord Gardiner title was uneasy but like some labels it has brought to the institution in its early days a stuck fi rmly to its avowed aims. It was the calm solidity in its management that sought word “index” which troubled the gathered financial support, initially from abroad. cognoscenti who, instinctively progressive in Gerald Gardiner himself steered the circle of political thought, disliked the title’s nomen- eminent fi gures through the problems of in- clature to Rome. No doubt the geographical link with the signing of the European Con- vention on Human Rights saved the day. The additional marker “on Censorship” was the Throughout fi ve decades of rescuer of a diffi cult decision. uninterrupted publication, Index Throughout fi ve decades of uninterrupted publication, Index has maintained its distinc- has maintained its distinctive voice tive voice, with contributors displaying its reach well beyond these shores. Its character- istic is that it never lost its provocative pleas ternational membership, recently established as a supporter of its authors. Litvinov should in the International Commission of Jurists in be well satisfi ed with the product of protest. 1957 and Amnesty in 1961 (later to become But where next? ). As the Labour gov- If one views the current scene of censor- ernment’s Lord Chancellor from 1964-70, ship, whether it be self-censorship or state Gardiner had given the political push to both intervention on individual speech, one is organisations, a push that they needed for struck by its intrusion elsewhere – in univer- recognition. But, more signifi cantly, it was sities and other paragons of human knowl- Gardiner who in 1966 had prompted, and edge. There is much to be concerned about. indeed promoted, the right of the British citi- The ambit of , which may zen to obtain his or her individual petition to be qualifi ed by other public interests, needs the European Commission on Human Rights close examination and protection from other and its supporting Court of Human Rights interests that do not apply as qualifi cations at Strasbourg. of the proposed rights. It is a core function Around the time of Litvinov’s plea for of Index to scrutinise the scope of Article an international organisation to publish the 10 of the convention. At a time when the words of fellow dissidents, I had immersed convention is under threat of extinction (as myself as a legal practitioner in the declara- some ministers aver) or modifi cation by a tion of freedom of expression, espoused in domestic bill of rights (as other ministers Article 10 of the European Convention on might claim) vigilance is called for. The road Human Rights. That article has never been is clearly marked ahead, without any diver- more important than in today’s global world sionary infl uence that smacks of authoritari- of digitalisation. anism. While the WSI proclaimed its existence to the widest-possible audience and not just to Sir Louis Blom-Cooper QC is a lawyer, author the English-speaking audience, Index’s fi rst and former chair of the Press Council as well as editor was Michael Scammell, a graduate of a member of the fi rst council of Writers & Schol- Slavonic Studies at Nottingham University. ars International, the organisation which set up Scammell’s later activities as a biographer Index on Censorship magazine

84 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 84 14/06/2016 17:29:44 his page was put aside for a story from a local reporter in Yemen. Recent reports show that Houthi rebels have T carried out a wave of detentions of their opponents, including journalists, activists, academics and politicians.

Our piece was set to highlight how this danger is destroying the local media as well as driving almost all foreign correspondents out of the country.

The journalists we were speaking to dropped out of contact in recent weeks. This doesn’t necessarily mean the worst.

But when the worst-case scenario – that of a physical, life-threatening attack – is a distinct possibility, you realise you are dealing with one of the most difficult places in the world to operate as a journalist. The same can certainly be said for local reporters who are trying to work in Syria.

We are using this page to highlight how hard it is to get news out of certain countries, as a tribute to local reporters in warzones, and to show why Index on Censorship is still so active today.

www.indexoncensorship.org

00_index_45-02-syria.indb 85 14/06/2016 17:29:44 Subscribe

ANNUAL PRINT SINGLE PRINT SUBSCRIPTION* ISSUE** £34 / $42 £7.99 / $10

ANNUAL DIGITAL SINGLE DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION ISSUE £17.99 £5.99

INDEX ON CENSORSHIP IOS APP FREE – upgrade to a 30-day subscription for £1.49

“AN ARCHIVE OF PAST BATTLES WON, AND A BEACON FOR PRESENT AND FUTURE STRUGGLES.” TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

*Annual subscription includes 4 issues. **Single issues available on Amazon. For print subscriptions, email [email protected] or call: +44 (0)20 7342 8701. For digital subscriptions, visit: exacteditions.com/ indexoncensorship. Exact Editions app available on iPad, iPhone and Android and includes access to 38 archive issues

INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG Road, London EC1Y 1SP, UK, tel. +44 (0)20 COPYRIGHT view a full list of databases in which this journal 7324 8500, fax +44 (0)20 7324 8600 and in SAGE and Writers and Scholars International is indexed. North America, SAGE Publications Inc, PO Box require the author as the rights holder to sign a Index on Censorship is published quarterly in 5096, Thousand Oaks, CA 91359, USA. Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. In © Writers and Scholars International, 2016. March, June, September and December by SAGE this agreement the author will be requested to (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, SAGE is a member of CrossRef. grant Writers and Scholars International the sole Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of re- Washington DC and Melbourne). and exclusive right to publish for 90 days from search or private study, or criticism or review, and Annual subscription (2016) including postage: Periodicals postage paid at Rahway, NJ. POST- publication, followed by a non-exclusive licence to only as permitted under the Copyright, Designs institutional rate (combined print and electronic) MASTER, send address corrections to Index on publish and sub-license the work for the full legal and Patent Act 1988, this publication may only be £376/US$695; individual rate (print only) £33/ Censorship, c/o Mercury Airfreight International term of copyright. produced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by US$50. Electronic only and print only subscrip- Ltd, 365 Blair Road, Avenel, NJ 07001, USA. Disclaimer: To the extent permitted by law the any means, with the prior permission in writing of tions are available for institutions at a discounted authors, editors, publisher, and the Society (Writ- the Publisher, or in the case of reprographic repro- rate. Note VAT is applicable at the appropriate SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND ADVERTISING ers and Scholars International Ltd) will not accept duction, in accordance with the terms of licences local rate. If you are interested in submitting a pitch for an any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. US: article, please contact [email protected]. that may be made in this publication. The pub- Authorisation to photocopy journal material For the full range of institutional / individual sub- We look for timely and original work – either jour- lisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with must be obtained directly from SAGE or through scriptions, single issue and back issue purchasing nalistic features, or short stories, play extracts and respect to the material contained herein. a licence from the Copyright Clearance Center, options visit www.indexoncensorship.org/subscribe. poetry, with a strong link to our theme of freedom Inc. (www.copyright.com). Enquiries concerning To activate your subscription (institutions only) of expression. Please send a short synopsis of your ABSTRACTING AND INDEXING reproduction outside those terms should be sent visit http://online.sagepub.com. proposal and an author bio. Advertising queries Please visit http://ioc.sagepub.com and click on the to [email protected]. Printed on acid-free SAGE Publications Ltd, 1 Oliver’s Yard, 55 City can be sent to the same email address. Abstracting/Indexing link on the left hand side to paper by Page Bros, Norwich, UK. And IN HIDING AND IN FEAR: KENYAN JOURNALIST YASSIN JUMA FICTION FROM UKRAINIAN SURREALIST OLEH SHYNKARENKO

UP CLOSE AND WAY TOO COMFORTABLE: JAPAN’S NEWS CLUBS STEVEN BOROWIEC

SHUTTING UP SOAP OPERAS IRENE CASELLI HOW GOVERNMENTS ARE TAGGING JOURNALISTS AS TERRORISTS VALERIA COSTA-KOSTRITSKY

Volume 45 Number 02 | £7.99 ISBN 978-1-4739-95062

9 781473 995062

0306-4220 ( 201606 ) 45 : 2 ; 1 - B

Top View