(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an abridged translation of a 31 March 2006 IFJ media release: The FIJ condemns use of police pressure to force a journalist to reveal his sources Bussels, 31 March 2006 The IFJ condemns the arrest and the detention over several hours of Mourad Mahamed, a journalist with the daily “El […]
(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is an abridged translation of a 31 March 2006 IFJ media release:
The FIJ condemns use of police pressure to force a journalist to reveal his sources
Bussels, 31 March 2006
The IFJ condemns the arrest and the detention over several hours of Mourad Mahamed, a journalist with the daily “El Khabar” and a member of National Journalist’s Union (SNJ), by police on 29 March 2006.
“Mourad Mahamed has been subjected to a forceful interrogation to reveal his sources,” declared Kamel Amarni, SNJ’s secretary general. “Justice, as it applies in this case, has been grossly ignored.”
The IFJ firmly agrees with the SNJ’s stance and denounces the conditions of detention and the use of force against a fundamental component of journalism. “The protection of secret sources is a sacred responsibility for journalists,” declared IFJ Secretary General Aidan White.
The IFJ demands that the Algerian authorities respect the legal provisions under which a judge must require a journalist or media outlet to reveal their sources, only in exceptional cases where the need for such extreme recourse has been established.
The IFJ campaigns around the world for respect of journalists’ rights to protect their sources, without which freedom of expression cannot be guaranteed.
IFJ represents more than 500,000 journalists in more than 110 countries.
