From: the IFJ’s monthly media bulletin for South Asia’s Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN)
In Focus
Unchecked impunity for crimes against media workers in South Asia: Despite promises of reform, protection and justice, journalists and media workers in South Asia face increasing violence, harassment, legal threats and killings. The majority of cases do not reach South Asia’s legal systems, and even cases with a strong political will can languish behind systemic inadequacy, scapegoating or a failure to materialise rhetoric. In 2022, the IFJ documented the killings of eleven South Asian journalists for their work. Not a single case has been resolved. In a recent attack, former ARY News anchorperson and veteran Pakistani journalist, Arshad Sharif, was fatally wounded after suffering shots to his head and chest by General Service Unit in Nairobi, Kenya on October 24. Sharif, a supporter of former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Prime Minister Imran Khan, fled Pakistan after he and other ARY News journalists were charged with broadcasting anti-national sentiments in May. While police officials said the incident was the result of mistaken identity and is being investigated, reports indicate Kenyan police operate with a remarkably high rate of impunity in their operations. As the second Pakistani commission into the journalist’s killing is announced this week, time will tell if this high-profile case can see justice amid these challenges. Impunity is also present in cases of other crimes against journalists and media workers in South Asia. In Bangladesh, journalists and media workers are frequently assaulted by civilians for their reporting. In Afghanistan, members of the press suffer arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment and threats, often by Taliban militants. Journalists and media workers in Sri Lanka have suffered forced disappearances and killings, with cases going back decades. Given this culture of impunity in South Asia, the IFJ and its affiliates called on governments to adopt the UN Convention on the safety and independence of journalists and other media professionals ahead of International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists on November 2. Alongside a statement and campaign from the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN), IFJ affiliates in South Asia, including the National Union of Journalists-India (NUJ-I), the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA), and the Sri Lankan Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), launched advocacy efforts against impunity and urging governments to support the convention.
