(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has issued a protest following revelations by the managing editor of the Danish daily newspaper “Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten” on 28 August 2002 that one of his journalists, Stig Matthiesen, had his telephone tapped and was ordered by a court to reveal his sources among Islamic circles in Denmark. “We view this as one […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has issued a protest following revelations by the managing editor of the Danish daily newspaper “Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten” on 28 August 2002 that one of his journalists, Stig Matthiesen, had his telephone tapped and was ordered by a court to reveal his sources among Islamic circles in Denmark.
“We view this as one of the most serious threats to freedom of information to emerge in Europe in the past few months as part of the anti-terrorist campaign,” RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard wrote in a 28 August letter to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
“The significance of this development cannot be understated,” Ménard continued. “Denmark, which was formerly the most liberal European country in matters of the press, is now having recourse to the worst methods to force a journalist to reveal his sources: telephone tapping, intimidation and the threat of a prison sentence.” RSF urged the prime minister to intervene to stop such forms of pressure and restore respect for the confidentiality of journalistic sources, “the only guarantee of independent investigative journalism,” the organisation noted.
Several European Union countries, most recently the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and France, regularly defy European Court rulings on respect for journalistic sources, a pillar of press freedom. International bodies have also violated this basic principle, such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which on 9 June ordered former “Washington Post” reporter Jonathan Randal to testify against his will before the court (see IFEX alert of 12 June 2002).
