(Globe International/IFEX) – On 6 July 2006, B. Tsevegmid, the editor-in-chief of Nomin television station, based in the northern province of Orkhon, was beaten at the entrance of her building and had to be hospitalised for treatment. Before being attacked she had received many threats by telephone concerning an investigative television programme, “Forbidden to watch,” […]
(Globe International/IFEX) – On 6 July 2006, B. Tsevegmid, the editor-in-chief of Nomin television station, based in the northern province of Orkhon, was beaten at the entrance of her building and had to be hospitalised for treatment. Before being attacked she had received many threats by telephone concerning an investigative television programme, “Forbidden to watch,” which covered the privatisation process of the Erdenet mining industry, especially the employees’ privatisation vouchers.
On 11 June, “Forbidden to watch” focused on the fate of privatisation vouchers for more than 9,000 employees of the Erdenet mining industry. Erdenet produces almost 20 million tons of ore per year. After the television programme, unidentified individuals threatened Tsevegmid, both over the phone and during the programme. The director of the Erdenet brokerage company, which held the vouchers, also warned the journalist, “It is a very complicated issue, you could be killed.”
On 8 July, local journalist A. Naranbold, who is actively working for the rights of his colleague, contacted his coworker by phone during her recovery. Tsevegmid told him, “The entrance was dark and I couldn’t recognize who the attackers were, nor how many people were there.”
Local police are investigating the incident.
Globe International issued a media release on the incident and informed the Mongolian United Journalists’ Association (MUJA). The local branch of the association also issued a press release on the incident and urged the head of MUJA to pay more attention to protecting the rights of journalists and supporting them. They stressed that, “several member journalists of MUJA have been attacked while exercising their professional duties and for revealing unlawful activities in our society.”
