Numerous incidents reveal the risks that journalists within the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) network face as they strive to do their jobs reporting on regions in conflict or transition. The BBG strongly condemns these actions, which violate international standards by suppressing independent media and targeting journalists who doing their jobs.
Most recent threats to BBG journalists:
Mam Sonando on the Khmer Service’s “Hello VOA,” answering questions from listeners.
Cambodian Activist Mam Sonando Tells VOA He Won’t Give in to Pressure
Cambodian activist and independent radio station owner Mam Sonando, who was recently released from jail, told VOA Monday that Beehive Radio will continue to air stories on sensitive subjects, despite pressure from authorities.
Speaking in Washington on the Cambodian language program, Hello VOA, Mam Sonando said, “We have a clear target, which is to protect the freedom of expression, making sure that people are able to have access to news on Beehive Radio, a station that is independent and promotes democracy in Cambodia.”
Read more on BBG.
Behzad Nabavi, a former parliament member and high-ranking member of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, a banned reformist party, photographed on August 25, 2009 in a Tehran courtroom. © 2009 Reuters
Iran: Threats to Free, Fair Elections
A journalist employed by Voice of America’s Persian language service told Human Rights Watch that authorities recently confiscated her father’s passport when he returned to Iran from a trip abroad. The authorities had previously searched his home and called him in for questioning about his daughter’s work at VOA Persian, warning him that she should stop working as a journalist there.Read more on Human Rights Watch.
Detained RFE/RL Turkmen Correspondent Released
A Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) correspondent based in Turkmenistan has been freed after being detained by police earlier this month.
Rovshen Yazmuhamedov told RFE/RL that he was released on May 22 after spending two weeks in custody.Read more on RFE/RL.
“Iran Must End Shameful Treatment of Journalists’ Families”, VOA Director David Ensor. Read more on Inside VOA.Being an exiled Iranian journalist can be tough and dangerous work. Imagine your parents or siblings being threatened by government intelligence agents because of your profession. Imagine not being able to go home because of the threat of imprisonment or worse.
That is the reality being playing out for Iranian-born journalists who work at VOA, Radio Free Europe, the BBC and other news agencies right now — and it needs to stop.
Bashar Fahmi Still Missing After Nine Months
The Broadcasting Board of Governors continues to call on any information regarding the disappearance of Alhurra Correspondent Bashar Fahmi, who went missing in Aleppo, Syria on Aug. 20, 2012, while reporting for the television network.
Fahmi was a part of a group of reporters that were fired upon in Aleppo, causing the death of one journalist and the capture and subsequent release of another.
“The last nine months have been incredibly difficult on the Bashar’s family and his colleagues. We implore anyone who has any information about Bashar to please come forward,” said Michael Meehan, a member of the BBG Board and Chairman of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.
Read more on BBG.
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