14.10.2023. LEBANON. ONE JOURNALIST KILLED, SIX OTHER INJURED. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is shocked and deeply saddened by the killing of Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah (photo) in south Lebanon on Friday 13 October. An Israeli shell landed in a gathering of international journalists covering clashes on the border, killing the Reuters videographer and injuring six other journalists. Reuters said that two of its journalists, Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh, were wounded in the shelling in the border area. According to Al-Jazeera TV, two of its employees, Elie Brakhya and reporter Carmen Joukhadar, also were among the wounded and Agence France-Presse said two of its journalists also were injured. The shelling occurred during an exchange of fire along the Lebanon-Israel border between Israeli troops and members of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group. PEC calls for a transparent, rapid, complete and impartial investigation so that those responsible are identified and held accountable. The killings underscore the need for immediate action to protect journalists working in conflict zones.

12.10.2023. PALESTINE/ISRAEL. At least six journalists were killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian media. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the killings during military operations between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip and calls for an impartial investigation into their deaths. Other journalists are missing or injured. Israeli retaliatory airstrikes also completely or partially destroyed the headquarters of several media outlets, including the newsroom of Al-Ayyam newspaper, Gaza FM radio studio located in Palestine Tower, and headquarters of Shehab news agency, among others. The offices of Palestinian news agency Ma’an were severely damaged due to the flattening of Al-Watan Tower. The PEC reminds all belligerents that journalists are civilians protected by the international law and calls on all combatants in this conflict to do their utmost to safeguard media professionals (photo reuters: Colleagues of Palestinian journalists Mohammed Sobh and Saeed al-Taweel, who were killed when an Israeli missile hit a nearby building, stand next to their bodies at a hospital in Gaza City, October 10)

More info on: https://www.madacenter.org/en/article/1442/

05.10.2023. INDIA. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) expresses concern over the recent arrest as well as raids of a media office in India’s capital city New Delhi, asserting that scribes should not be harassed for their duties. The police not only raided the office of NewsClick, a 2009 founded news site, but also sealed it later. They also raised the residences of many journalists & writers associated with it. As many as 45 suspects were questioned and a large number of electronic devices from their custodies were also seized by the investigating police personnel.

28.09.2023. AFGHANISTAN. PEC CONDEMNS A SERIOUS SETBACK. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) shares the press release of the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) which announced, on the occasion of the International Day of Access to Information, that the Taliban has issued a series of at least 13 directives over the past two years, which have resulted in severe restrictions on media work and an unprecedented setback in access to information in Afghanistan.The AFJC, a PEC partner who received the award in 2019, published August 15 its report about the media freedoms in Afghanistan during two years of Taliban rule, noting a deterioration in press freedom, marked by censorship, detentions, assaults, and restrictions on media outlets, journalists, and in particular women journalists. The report, which covers two years of Taliban rule (August 15, 2021, to August 15, 2023), underlines a total of 366 incidents of violations against media freedom in Afghanistan (photo AFJC: A member of Taliban special forces pushes a journalist covering a demonstration by women protesters outside a school in Kabul)

25.09.2023. Le prix annuel pour la Protection des Journalistes de la PEC a été décerné lundi à l'ONG basée au Burkina Faso CENOZO lors d'une conférence au Club suisse de la presse (photo pec de gauche à droite Blaise Lempen, président PEC, Arnaud Ouédraogo, coordonnateur de la CENOZO, Luis Lema, membre du comité de la Fondation Jordi, journaliste au "Temps"). Fondée en 2015, la CENOZO a pour objectifs de contribuer au renforcement des capacités des journalistes d’investigation ouest-africains à travers des formations, du soutien financier et technique dans divers domaines tels que la corruption, le crime organisé, la mauvaise gouvernance, les violations des droits humains et l’environnement. Elle apporte un appui financier et éditorial, soutient les journalistes en danger et organise des rencontres.

22.08. 2023. RUSSIA. Two Russian journalists poisoned in exile ? Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is extemely alarmed by the investigation launched by the Berlin prosecutor. Journalists Elena Kostyuchenko (photo), a former reporter for the investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta, and Irina Babloyan, previously a journalist for the broadcaster Ekho Moskvy, believe they were poisoned in Germany and Georgia respectively in October 2022. In an article published in US media n+1 and the Russian-language Meduza on August 15, 2023, Kostyuchenko described experiencing severe head and stomach aches, weakness and shortness of breath. Kostyuchenko experienced the mentioned symptoms on a train journey from Munich to Berlin, where she travelled to apply for a visa to cover the war in Ukraine for the independent news outlet Meduza.

GUATEMALA. Two journalists killed. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is shocked by the killing of two Guatemalan journalists on Friday, August 11, and calls on the local authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice. The armed attack that resulted in the killing of Edin Alonso and Hugo Gutiérrez (photo) took place in the Caballo Blanco municipality in the province of Retalhuleu, in southwestern Guatemala. Alonso and Gutiérrez were administrators of the Noticias Caballo Blanco news page on Facebook, which reports on the events in the Caballo Blanco region. Journalists faced increasing attacks in Guatemala. Earlier this year Eduardo Fernando Mendizabal Galvez was shot to death in Guatemala City.

23.07.2023. UKRAINE: Russian journalist killed in shelling - RIA journalist Rostislav Zhuravlev (photo) was reportedly killed and three other journalists were injured during a Ukrainian attack in the Zaporizhzhia occupied region of Ukraine on 22 July. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns this killing and calls for a swift investigation into Zhuravlev's death. PEC calls for newsrooms of all countries to assess the risks of each assignment as rigorously as possible, respecting the rules of clear identification of reporters so that they are not confused with combatants.

09.07.2023. ONE MORE JOURNALIST KILLED IN MEXICO. The body of a correspondent for one of Mexico's leading newspapers has been found in the western state of Nayarit, days after he was reported missing. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the murder of Luis Martín Sánchez Íñiguez, (59, photo) who worked for La Jornada and had been missing since Wednesday. It is thought Mr Sánchez was killed between 24 and 48 hours before his body was found. The body shows signs of violence. He is the fifth journalist killed this year in Mexico, the most dangerous country for media workers. PEC calls for a thorough investigation to find the perpetrators.

27.06.2023. INDIA. Indian scribe found dead, PEC demands authentic probe.  Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) expresses concern over the mysterious death of a young Indian scribe and raises demand for an authentic probe to find reasons behind the untimely demise of Abdur Rauf Alamgir (32), who hailed from Assam province in northeast India.

16.06.2023. GENEVA, HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL – 53rd session. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the publication of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan (photo) on «Sustainable development and freedom of expression : why voice matters» (A/HRC/53/25). In her report, published on the occasion of the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council (19 Jume-14 July 2023) the Special Rapporteur explores the linkages between the right to freedom of expression, including the right to information, and sustainable development.The Special Rapporteur calls for renewed political commitment to uphold freedom of expression, an enabler of sustainable development. PEC stresses that there is a need to protect independent media, investigative journalists and human rights defenders working on development issues who face major obstacles in conducting their work safely. These include censorship, attacks ranging from threats, attempted or actual assaults, abduction, disappearances and killings and failure from authorities to effectively investigate them leading to widespread impunity. PEC calls upon all stakeholders to implement the conclusions and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur.

08.06.2023. PAKISTAN. Pak journalist traceless for weeks, PEC demands probe. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) expresses concern over the missing of Pakistan journalist and political commentator Imran Riaz Khan (photo) for weeks after his arrest at Sialkot international airport and urged the federal government in Islamabad to launch a probe to get his whereabouts at the earliest.

10.05.2023. UKRAINE. SECOND JOURNALIST KILLED IN UKRAINE THIS YEAR. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is sad to learn of the death of one more journalist in Ukraine. French international news agency Agence France-Presse says its Ukraine video coordinator was killed Tuesday during a rocket attack in Chasiv Yar near the city of Bakhmut. Born in Sarajevo, a French citizen, Arman Soldin, 32 (photo), was with a team of AFP journalists traveling with Ukrainian soldiers when the group came under fire with Grad rockets, the agency said. The rest of the AFP team was uninjured. His death is a terrible reminder of the dangers faced by journalists every day covering the conflict in Ukraine. PEC offers its condolences to his family and AFP colleagues. He joined the agency in Rome in 2015 before being hired in London. He arrived in Ukraine to cover the war the day after Russia began its invasion in February 2022. Soldin had travelled regularly to the front lines in recent months. He is the second journalist to be killed in Ukraine since January. Ukrainian producer Bohdan Bitik, who was working for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, was shot dead in a suspected Russian sniper attack near the southern city of Kherson last month. 

05.05.2023. Pakistan television scribe killed, PEC demands justice. Press Emblem Campaign expresses its concern over the killing of senior Pakistan television scribe Imtiaz Baig (photo) by unidentified gunmen in Jhelum locality of Punjab province. Baig, who worked for private news channel Samaa TV, faced the brutal attack on 4 May 2023 as he came out of a local mosque after the prayer.

10.03.2023. UKRAINE. Russian forces shell Radio Nostalgie office in Nikopol. On 9 March 2023, Russian forces shelled the office of Nostalgie, a radio station in Nikopol, a city in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, which remains under the Ukrainian government's control. According to Valery Tereshchenko, the radio's director, a missile hit a wall on the ground floor of the office building and completely destroyed it (photo facebook). The top floor of the building, where the radio's newsroom is located, was also seriously damaged, he said. Due to the missile strike, the radio station ceased broadcasting. According to the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, the radio was a key source of trustworthy information for inhabitants of Nikopol and the wider region. This included listeners located on the other bank of the Dnipro river, and which remains under Russian occupation. Valery Tereshchenko cannot say whether the Russian military targeted the building of the radio station deliberately. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns this strike and reminds all belligerents that media offices are civilian facilities that should never be attacked.

02.03.2023. INDIA. Another journalist attacked. Press Emblem Campaign condemns the recent physical attack on a journalist in Uttar Pradesh and demands stringent punishments to the perpetrators. Devendra Khare (photo), who is associated with the privately owned Hindi media outlet News1India, was shot at by miscreants in the evening hours of 26 February at Chandpur area of Jaunpur city. Injured Khare is now recovering from wounds in the hospital.

Read more on PRESS RELEASES

22.02.2023. GENEVA. PEC Meeting with the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva. On Wednesday 22 February 2023, Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) President Blaise Lempen, Vice-President Jean-Philippe Jutzi and PEC board member Luisa Ballin met the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Jürg Lauber and communication officer Paola Ceresetti to discuss the draft convention on the safety of journalists. «The war in Europe and the many victims among journalists in Ukraine made urgent the adoption of a convention to secure access to war zones and carry out independent investigations into war crimes” stressed PEC President Blaise Lempen (photo left to right: Jean-Philippe Jutzi, Amb. Jürg Lauber, Paola Ceresetti, Luisa Balin and Blaise Lempen)

17.02.2023. AFGHANISTAN. PEC joined other organizations and media to demand release of Afghan scribe Mortaza Behboudi

Press Emblem Campaign, the global media safety and rights body, demands an immediate release of Afghan journalist Mortaza Behboudi (photo), who was arrested on 7 January by the Taliban regime in Kabul. “Afghanistan continues to reflect the poor press freedom situation, where journalists are routinely facing threats, insults, detentions and
physical assaults. Over 600 active Afghan media outlets now cease to operate. Over one hundred Afghan journalists were temporarily detained by the authorities last year. The female journalists are facing the most challenging time there", said PEC President Blaise Lempen. Sign the petittion: https://rsf.org/en/FreeMortaza

14.02.2023. CAMBODIA. Press Emblem Campaign, the global media safety and rights body, expressed serious concern over the recent closure of a leading independent media outlet, available in Cambodia’s official language Khmer and English by the government and condemns all kinds of media restrictions in the south-east Asian country ahead of the scheduled national elections in July.

Read more on PRESS RELEASES

08.02.2023. CAMEROON. Second journalist killed in two weeks. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is deeply concerned about the safety of journalists in Cameroon following the killing of a second journalist in the country in two weeks. Jean-Jacques Ola Bebe (photo), a radio presenter, was found dead on 2 February near his home in the Mimboman district of the capital Yaoundé, apparently shot dead by unknown assailants. His killing came 11 days after Arsene Salomon Mbami Zogo, popularly known as Martinez Zogo, a prominent journalist and manager of privately-owned Amplitude FM, was found dead five days after he had been abducted outside a gendarmerie station in Yaoundé. Both Ola Bebe and Martinez Zogo were outspoken voices against corruption, using their platforms on radio to denounce cases of alleged misappropriation of public funds. Ola Bebe was at the forefront in calling for justice and accountability for the murder of Zogo, his close associate. A Cameroonian businessman was arrested on Monday in connection with the murder of Zogo. PEC calls on the authorities to ensure that Ola Bebe’s killing is independently and impartially investigated and that those found to be responsible for these killings, at all levels, are held to account.

23.01.2023. CAMEROUN. La PEC condamne l'assassinat odieux du journaliste camerounais Martinez Zogo (photo), directeur de la chaîne de radio Amplitude FM. La PEC demande que les responsables, exécutants et commanditaires, soient identifiés et traduits en justice le plus rapidement possible, afin que ce crime prémédité ne reste pas impuni. Les membres de la PEC présentent à la famille, aux collègues et médias camerounais leurs condoléances. Martinez Zongo a été retrouvé mort, le dimanche 22 janvier, dans la périphérie de Yaoundé, cinq jours après son enlèvement. Son corps portait des marques de tortures. Directeur de la radio privée Amplitude FM et animateur de l'émission "Embouteillages", Martinez Zogo traitait régulièrement d’affaires de corruption impliquant des personnalités au Cameroun. La PEC exige des autorités de Yaoundé qu'elles protègent les journalistes dans un climat de violences inquiétant.

13.01.2023. GENEVA. On the occasion of the Roundtable at the Swiss Press Club: "What press freedom in conflict zones?" Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) calls for the creation of a UN working group for the adoption of a Convention on the safety of journalists - A l'occasion de la Table ronde organisée au Club suisse de la presse: «Quelle liberté de la presse en zone de conflit ?» la PEC lance un appel à créer un groupe de travail au sein de l’ONU pour l’adoption d’une Convention sur la sécurité des journalistes (photo pec: from left to right: Anne-Cécile Robert, president Union de la presse francophone, Caroline Vuillemin, director Fondation Hirondelle, Sébastien Faure, journalist RTS, Blaise Lempen, PEC

06.01.2023. Genève. Invitation à un débat organisé par le Club suisse de la presse sur la protection des journalistes : «Quelle liberté de la presse en zone de conflit ?» Jeudi 12 janvier 2023 à 15h00 - Au Domaine de Penthes Chemin de l'impératrice 18 - 1292 Pregny-Chambésy. Avec la participation de:
Anne-Cécile Robert Présidente internationale l’Union de la Presse francophone, directrice des éditions et relations internationales du Monde diplomatique - Caroline Vuillemin Directrice générale de la Fondation Hirondelle - Sébastien Faure Envoyé spécial en Ukraine, producteur de “mise au point”, RTS - "Blaise Lempen Président de Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), ancien correspondant auprès de l’ONU. Modérateur :  Pierre Ruetschi Directeur exécutif du Club suisse de la presse.

01.01.2023. ONE MORE JOURNALIST KILLED IN 2022. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) mourns the death of journalist Rejean Hebert (photo), killed in Saint-Simon, New Brunswick (Canada) on Wednesday 28 December. A man was arrested by the police for the crime, according to local media. He is the 116th journalist killed in 2022, according to PEC figures. Hebert was the news director for CKRO, a radio station in Gloucester County, N.B., and produced daily news bulletins for 10 other French-language community radio stations in the province.

21.12.2022. BENIN. PEC Presse Emblème Campagne demande la libération immédiate sans condition du journaliste Virgile Ahouansé (photo) convoqué à la Brigade Criminelle le 20 décembre et placé en garde à vue. Le Directeur de l’information de la radio en ligne Cristal-News est accusé d’avoir publié de fausses informations reprises par les réseaux sociaux sur des exécutions sommaires.

Lire le communiqué de la PEC sur PRESS RELEASES

Ukraine and Mexico were the most dangerous countries for media work this year, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) said in its annual report published in Geneva on Wednesday. Since January, 115 media workers have been killed in 29 countries around the world. The number of journalists killed increased by 45% compared to last year (79 victims). It is the highest number of casualties since 2018 with a brutal deterioration in Europe due to the war in Ukraine, stressed PEC President Blaise Lempen.

Read the PEC statement on PRESS RELEASES, list of victims, graphs on CASUALTIES

30.11.2022. COLOMBIA. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condena el asesinato del periodista Wilder Alfredo Córdoba (photo) y exigimos a las autoridades investigar y judicializar a los responsables. Lamentablemente durante 2022, 4 periodistas han sido asesinados en Colombia. Córdoba era periodista, diseñador gráfico, director del canal privado Unión TV y líder social. Uno de los temas recurrentes sobre los que reportaba era la creciente inseguridad en el municipio de La Unión.

22.11.2022. MEXICO. Another Mexican Reporter Gunned Down in Deadly Year for Local Media. Pedro Pablo Kamul (photo) was shot dead in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, adding to the death toll for the bloodiest year to date for local media workers. He worked as a radio reporter at AX Noticias and Es Amor. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns this unabated violence and demands an official investigation for this cowardly act. Since January this year, 17 journalists were killed in Mexico, a record number.

Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) and the Geneva Press Club welcomed journalists, diplomats and the public at a press conference at the Geneva Press Club on Monday 14 November 2022, with Ekaterina Glikman and Blaise Lempen (photo).

Ekaterina Glikman received the annual PEC award for the protection of journalists for her ongoing and exemplary commitment to press freedom in Russia. The journalist is currently working from Switzerland in the direction of Novaya Gazeta Europe, founded in April 2022 by the former Novaya Gazeta journalists who had to flee Russia.

29.10.2022. UKRAINE/RUSSIA. ONE MORE PRO-RUSSIAN JOURNALIST KILLED. The Russian female journalist Svetlana Babayeva (photo) headed up the Russian state-owned Rossiya Segodnya media group’s bureau in Simferopol, the second-largest city on the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. RIA Novosti, a Russian news agency and subsidiary of Rossiya Segodnya, reported on Friday that Babayeva was killed by a stray bullet during shooting practice at a military training ground. Ukraine has sanctioned the Rossiya Segodnya media group, calling its CEO Dmitry Kiselyov “the central figure of government propaganda supporting the deployment of Russian troops in Ukraine”. Babayeva was previously bureau chief for RIA Novosti in the United Kingdom and United States, and editor of the Gazeta.Ru website. Gazeta.Ru paid tribute to their former editor-in-chief who they said was a “professional of the highest standard”. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) regrets this tragic accident which illustrates the risks linked to the conflict for all media workers.

25.10.2022. PAKISTAN/KENYA. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is sad to learn the death of Arshad Sharif (photo) and demanded an independent probe. He was killed Sunday night when the car he was in sped up and drove through a checkpoint outside the Kenyan capital Nairobi and police opened fire. Nairobi police expressed regret over the incident, saying it was a case of «mistaken identity». The 50-year-old journalist fled Pakistan in August amid threats to his life. Sharif was critical of Pakistan’s powerful military. He left his country after sedition charges were filed over an interview with an opposition politician during which comments deemed offensive to the military were made. The ARY news channel for which he worked as an anchor for eight years cut ties with Sharif after it was briefly taken off air in August following the controversial interview. The killing has stunned journalists in Pakistan, who have demanded a detailed probe into the incident.

12.10.2022. MYANMAR. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the continued arrest and imprisonment of journalists in Myanmar. It urges the military authority to release all media persons detained, arrested or imprisoned in fake cases across the southeast Asian nation. PEC also demanded the Burmese military rulers to withdraw the notorious electronic transactions law, under which a large number of scribes and human rights activists have been punished since the military coup in February 2021. Media reports from Yangon reveal that the military junta controlled judicial machinery imprisoned outspoken political columnist U Sithu Aung Myint (photo) for three years with hard labour on 5 October 2022. Ma Htet Htet Khine, another Burmese journalist arrested along with Sithu Aung Myint, was already sentenced to six years in prison on 15 September. Meanwhile, a Japanese video journalist Toru Kubota, who was arrested on 30 July from Yangon, faces a 10 years sentence term from the court on 6 October.

07.10.2022. UNITED NATIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the nomination by the HRC of a Special Rapporteur on Russia. The resolution presented by the European Union has been adopted today in Geneva by 17 votes in favour, 6 against (Russia, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Venezuela) and 24 abstentions. "This international support, despire the large nimber of abstentions among African and Latin American countries, shows that Russia cannot escape the scrutiny of the international community. An independent monitoring of the situation in Russia is imperative due to the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in the country. It will be important for the civil society in Russia to have a focal point at the United Nations", said PEC President Blaide Lempen.

06.10.2022. UKRAINE. 8th PEC report on the state of media during the war. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the fact the safety of the work of journalists has increased over the past weeks despite that the war continues. According to the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), a total of 40 deaths among journalists is recorded since 24 February 2022, with only 7 deaths in the past 3 months. PEC stresses that the work of journalists is of great importance for documenting war crimes and for the subsequent punishment of the perpetrators.

27.09.2022. UN Human Rights Council 51rst session. RUSSIA. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) joined other civil international organizations to call upon UN Member States to support a resolution on the establishment of a Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Russia. The resolution is sponsored by the European Union. Over the last several years, the Russian authorities have engaged in a systematic campaign of repression of human rights and restriction of civic space including by shutting down independent media, intimidating and harassing human rights defenders and activists, banning peaceful protest, and imposing impermissible restrictions on the operations of independent civil society organizations in the country. A rigorous monitoring of the human rights situation in Russia is imperative. A dedicated Special Rapporteur mandate would independently collect information and analyse the human rights situation in Russia, allowing Human Rights Council Members to be informed by in-depth and authoritative reports and to make recommendations on how to improve the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in the country.

Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is deeply concerned by an annual survey jointly

conducted by the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) and the Hong Kong

Public Opinion Research Institute (HKPORI) published Friday 23 September.

Hong Kong journalists' faith in the city being a free press hub has sunk to a record

low, with 97% saying the reporting environment has become much worse,

19.09.2022. MALI. La PEC préoccupée par la détérioration de la liberté de la presse. L'ONG demande que le sort de quatre journalistes disparus soit éclairci et que le Conseil des droits l'homme exhorte les autorités maliennes à garantir la liberté de la presse et la sécurité des journalistes lors de son débat sur les disparitions forcées. Olivier Dubois (photo) est détenu au Mali depuis le 8 avril 2021, Amadou Dicko depuis le 18 avril 2021, Hamadoun Nialibouly depuis le 27 septembre 2020. Birama Touré a disparu à Bamako le 29 janvier 2016.

14.09.2022. USA. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the arrest of a public official in the case of the stabbing death of Las Vegas investigative journalist Jeff German (photo). PEC congratulates the local authorities who acted quickly to solve this chilling and heinous criminal act. Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles was charged with murder with a deadly weapon in the stabbing death of the reporter, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday 12 September.

12.09.2022. HAITI. Consternación en Haití: dos periodistas fueron asesinados y quemados. Tayson Latigue y Frantzsen Charles (photo) fueron asesinados este domingo en la comuna Cité Soleil. Las autoridades de Haití investigan el crimen de dos periodistas que realizaban un reportaje en el barrio de Cité Soleil, que ha sido escenario de fuertes enfrentamientos entre bandas que se disputan el control territorial. Se indicó que los comunicadores hacían parte de un grupo de siete periodistas que se encontraban adelantando labores periodistas, cuando desconocidos, tras asesinarlos, les prendieron fuego a sus cuerpos. Se trata de Frantzsen Charles, que trabaja para FS News, y Tayson Lartigue, de Ti Jenn Jounalis, quienes no lograron salir pese a que los otros cinco periodistas si alcanzaron a abandonar el lugar, al parecer, al notar la presencia de personas armadas. El PEC condena esta tragedia. En un año siete periodistas han sido asesinados en Haití : Marie Antoinette Duclaire, Diego Charles, Amady John Wesley, Wilgens Louissaint, Maxihen Lazarre, Frantzen Charles, Tayson Lartigue. Sin seguimiento ni justicia.

29.08.2022. PAKISTAN. One more journalist of Pakistan named Muhammad Younis (photo) was shot
dead by unidentified assailants on 27 August 2022 in Jhang district of Punjab province. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) expresses serious concern on the relentless murder of jourbalists in the south-Asian nation and deamnded stringent actions against the culprits so that it can work as deterrant.

12.08.2022. PAKISTAN. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), while expressing relief over the release of senior television personality Ammad Yousaf (photo) on 11 August 2022 by a Karachi-based civil court, urges the Pakistani military authority to maintain respect to media persons. The director (news) of popular ARY News was arrested on Wednesday over an anti-Pak army comment. The
energetic television anchor was picked up by a group of armed personnel in plainclothes from his residence in the southern port city
of Pakistan during night hours.

Read more on PEC NEWS

04.08.2022. MEXICO. EL PEC CONSTERNADO : OTRO PERIODISTA ASESINADO. Suman

13 periodistas asesinados en lo que va del 2022. Este martes, Ernesto Méndez (photo), director del

medio «voz» fue asesinado en el municipio de San Luis de la Paz en Guanajuato. El homicidio se

registró cuando civiles con armas, ingresaron a un bar, propiedad de la familia del periodista para

luego comenzar a disparar. Tenía antecedentes de amenazas contra su vida. Ernesto Méndez era

director del medio Tu Voz y había trabajado en Zona Franca y el periódico El Correo. Con Ernesto, suman 13 asesinatos de

periodistas en 2022. El PEC exige al Estado Mexicano actuar de manera urgente para frenar este inquietante fenómeno. Con este crimen han muerto 79 periodistas este año, lo mismo que en todo el año pasado.

26.07.2022. FRANCOPHONIE. Le vice-président de la PEC nommé vice-président pour l’Europe de l’Union de la presse francophone (UPF). Le comité de la PEC félicite Jean-Philippe Jutzi pour sa nomination dans les instances dirigeantes de l’UPF lors des assises de Marrakech (Maroc) aux côtés de la nouvelle présidente internationale Anne Cécile Robert (photo), journaliste et professeure, directrice des éditions et des relations internationales du Monde diplomatique. L’UPF est membre fondatrice de la PEC et a soutenu notre association depuis sa création en 2004. Jean-Philippe Jutzi, également président de la section suisse de l’UPF, va ainsi poursuivre dans la voie des synergies développées par notre regretté confrère Daniel Favre, des synergies essentielles au renforcement du combat pour la protection des journalistes dans le monde. L’UPF regroupe près de 3000 journalistes dans plus de 40 pays.

04.07.2022. PAKISTAN. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) has demanded adequate punishment to
perpetrators who were involved in the murder of Pakistani journalist Iftikhar Ahmed (photo) on Saturday last. Associated with Pakistan’s influential Express Media Group for many years, the talented journalist was shot dead in his own Shabqadar locality of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on 2 July 2022. Pakistan has already lost three media workers namely Hasnain Shah, Murtaza Shar and Athar Mateen to assailants.

30.06.2022- PEC six months report. The number of journalists killed has doubled. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is appalled by the large number of journalists killed in the first six months of 2022. The year-on-year increase is 100% with 73 victims in 18 countries since January compared to 36 deaths in the same period last year.

"The war in Ukraine and the rampant criminality in Mexico are the main reasons of this alarming deterioration", said PEC President Blaise Lempen. There must be no impunity. All these crimes must be fully investigated without exception.

The UN has said its investigations have found that the shot that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh on 11 May was fired by Israeli forces. The Palestinian-American journalist, who was wearing a vest and helmet marked “press”, was killed while covering an Israeli army operation in Jenin, in the northern West Bank.“We find that the shots that killed Abu Aqleh came from Israeli security forces,” the UN human rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in Geneva. “It is deeply disturbing that Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation.” Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) calls upon the Israeli authorities to carry out a proper and full investigation in order to render justice to Shireen Abu Akleh.

17.06.2022. UNITED KINGDOM. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is disappointed by the decision of UK Home Secretary Priti Patel to approve the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange (photo) to the United States. His legal team now has two weeks to appeal the decision. "This absurd human tragedy keep on going, while Julian Assange has already paid with several years of deprivation of liberty for his commitment to denounce war crimes. It is a shame for democracies", said PEC President Blaise Lempen. "It's really time to put an end to this appalling relentlessness with no justification and to allow Assange to live peacefully with his family in his country", he added. We appeal to the United Nations to stop this injustice. PEC called for the release of the Wikileaks founder since many years.

13.06.2022. BRAZIL. Bodies have been found in the search for the British journalist Dom Phillips and the Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, eight days after they went missing in a remote part of the Amazon, according to multiple sources.

Media reports in Brazil claimed bodies had been found, citing Mr Phillips’ wife. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) pays tribute to the work of the courageous British journalist and his companion. Mr Phillips has reported from Brazil for more than a decade. The journalist’s sister, Sian Phillips, said in a video statement last week: “We knew it was a dangerous place but Dom really believed it’s possible to safeguard the nature and the livelihood of the Indigenous people". He paid with his life for his commitment. PEC sends its condolences to the family and friends of the two victims.

30.05.2022. UKRAINE. One more foreign journalist was killed. A French journalist, Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff (photo, 32) was killed after a car was hit near Severodonetsk. Leclerc-Imhoff worked for BFMTV. The sad news was released by the Lugansk regional governor, Serhiy Gaidaias: "Today our armored evacuation vehicle – said Gaidai – was going to collect 10 people from the area and ended up under enemy fire. Shrapnel from the grenades pierced the armor of the car, a fatal wound in the neck was received by an accredited French journalist who was making a report on the evacuation, a policeman on patrol was saved by a helmet “. France’s foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, said Leclerc-Imhoff was killed by a Russian attack “while he was carrying out his duty to inform.” Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns this crime and calls on Russian and Ukrainian authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances of his death. He is at least the 22th media worker killed in Ukraine in 3 months of war.

11.05.2022. ISRAËL/PALESTINE. Press Emblem Campaign strongly condemns the killing by Israeli forces in Jenin (West Bank) of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh (51, photo). The Al-Jazeera’s veteran TV journalist was covering an Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp when she was shot in the face by a single bullett despite wearing a press vest. Another Palestinian journalist Ali al-Samoudi was wounded in the back. PEC calls for an independent investigation to hold those responsible to account for this heinous crime.

05.05.2022. Interview with Spanish photographer Guillermo Cervera: “I have covered the stupidity of the human race”.

Guillermo Cervera is a Spanish photographer named "the outsider of photojournalism" by Vice Magazine. He has covered, among other subjects, numerous wars and conflicts for more than 20 years, and has published his photos in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, El Mundo, El País, La Vanguardia, among others. He not only worked as a photographer and journalist in difficult areas, but he was also attacked several times because of his media position: in Chad where he was detained and tortured, in the Egyptian revolution where he was attacked by the police, in Libya, he was next to photographers Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, when they were killed by a mortar. For Guillermo Cervera, a war is necessarily linked to risk and it is important for journalists who go to war to be aware of this.

29.04.2022. UKRAINE. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is saddened to learn that one more journalist has been killed in Ukraine. Vira Hyrych (photo), a journalist at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has died as a result of Russia's missile attack on Kyiv on April 28.

That's according to the Institute of Mass Information. Inna Kuznetsova, the editor-in-chief at the Ukrainian service of RFE/RL, confirmed this information to the IMI. During the shelling, a missile hit the journalist's apartment, Kuznetsova added. The shelling of Kyiv on April 28 took place during a visit by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "We condemn these indiscriminate bombings that strike civilians", said PEC President Blaise Lempen. Vira Kyrych is the 21st media person to be killed in Ukraine in 2 months of war.

20.04.2022. UNITED KINGDOM. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) deeply regrets the decision of a British judge on Wednesday formally approving the extradition of Julian Assange (photo) to the United States to face spying charges. PEC asks Britain’s interior minister Priti Patel not to grant the extradition and to release the Wikileaks founder. «Assange has already paid a very high price for his investigative work related to WikiLeaks’ publication of US classified documents on Iraq and Afghanistan. He must be released without further delay after more than 10 years of deprivation of liberty to reunite with his family and return to his country in Australia. The treatment imposed on him is inhuman», said PEC President Blaise Lempen. Assange has been held at Britain’s high-security Belmarsh Prison in London since 2019, before that, he spent seven years inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. His lawyers have four weeks to make submissions to Patel, and can also seek to appeal to the High Court.

16.04.2022. BANGLADESH. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the murder of Bangladeshi journalist Mohiuddin Sarker Nayeem (photo, 28) and demands exemplary punishments to the perpetrators. Mentionable is that Cumilla-based journalist Mohiuddin was shot dead by suspected drug smugglers on 14 April 2022. His family members claimed that Mohiuddin used to report about the drug trafficking in his locality.

09.04.2022. MYANMAR. More Burmese scribes imprisoned, PEC denounces military action. As the dictators of Myanmar and military courts continue to detain and imprison journalists, Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) urges the international community to support the Burmese media fraternity at this time of crisis. Local media outlets report that three journalists (photos) were imprisoned by the court under sedition charges in the first week of April 2022. Ma Lwe Am Phaung, a female television scribe at Shwe Phee Myay news agency of Shan State was imprisoned on 7 April. Another Shan State-based journalist Khaing Myint Tun (alias Shwe Lin Thit) was sentenced to jail same day by the court. Earlier on 5 April, a Mandalay-based scribe Win Naing Oo was imprisoned by the court.

04.04.2022. Sharp rise in journalists killed in three months. Press Emblem Campaign

(PEC) is alarmed by the large number of journalists killed in the first three months of

2022. The year-on-year increase is 153% with 38 victims in 15 countries since January (3

per week) compared to 15 deaths in the same period last year. "This dramatic rise is very

worrying. The war in Ukraine and the rampant criminality in Mexico are the main

reasons of this appalling deterioration", said PEC President Blaise Lempen (photo: photojournalist Maks Levin (40) has disappeared 13 March north of Kyiv - he was found dead near Kyiv on April 1rst)

24.03.2022. UKRAINE. ONE MORE JOURNALIST KILLED. PEC is saddened to learn that Oksana Baulina (photo), a Russian journalist with The Insider, was killed as a result of shelling in Podilsky district of Kyiv on Wednesday, the editorial office of the publication said. "She filmed the destruction after the shelling of Podilsky district of the capital by Russian troops and came under new missile fire. Another civilian was killed with her, two people accompanying her were wounded and hospitalized," the publication said. It said that in the past Baulina worked for the Anti-Corruption Foundation in Russia. After the organization was included in the list of extremist, it went abroad. Later, as a correspondent for "The Insider" (the editorial office is located in Latvia), the journalist came to Ukraine, where she worked on creating reports from Lviv and Kyiv (with Ukraine news agency). One journalist is still missing: on March 13, Maks Levin, a freelance photojournalist and documentary filmmaker who has covered Russia’s invasions of Ukraine since 2014, went missing near the village of Huta-Mezhyhirska, in the Kyiv region.

24.03.2022. UKRAINE 2022 - HUNGARY 1956. Christian Campiche is currently the honorary president of the PEC after having been a member of its committee for several years representing the Swiss union of journalists, Impressum, whose president he was from 2015 to 2019. Today he is sharing with us his testimony regarding information on the war in Ukraine on the occasion of the publication of his historical novel situated in Hungary under communist control.

19.03.2022. UKRAINE. The new PEC Representative in Ukraine Andrii Ianitskyi (photo) describes

in his report the state of media in Ukraine during the first weeks of the war (february 24 – March

19). Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) appeals to help the Ukrainian media in this very difficult

situation. Information on the sufferings of the population is of crucial importance. 

16.03.2022. MEXICO. Nuevo homicidio contra la prensa mexicana. PEC esta horrorizado por este nuevo homicidio y pide detener este baño de sangre. El periodista Armando Linares López (photo), director del medio de comunicación Monitor Michoacán, fue asesinado a balazos este martes en su domicilio en la ciudad michoacana de Zitácuaro. El homicidio se produce seis semanas después de que su compañero del mismo medio, Roberto Toledo, fuese también ejecutado. Es el noveno asesinato de un periodista mexicano en lo que va de año. Como director de Monitor Michoacán, Linares se dedicaba a investigar la corrupción en el oeste de México. Antes, había pedido protección a las autoridades porque temía por su vida. NO A LA IMPUNIDAD.

13.03.2022. AMERICAN JOURNALIST KILLED IN UKRAINE. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is deeply saddened to hear that Brent Renaud (photo), an award-winning American filmmaker and journalist, was killed in Ukraine on Sunday while reporting in a suburb of the capital, Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry. Mr. Renaud, 50, had worked for a number of American news and media organizations in the past, including HBO, NBC and The New York Times. The Ukrainian authorities said he was killed in Irpin, a suburb that has been the site of intense shelling by Russian forces in recent days, but the details of his death were not immediately clear. Ukrainian officials said another journalist was wounded as well. Mr. Renaud had contributed to The Times in previous years, most recently in 2015, but he was not on assignment for the company in Ukraine (source: New York Times). It is the first reported death of a foreign journalist covering the war in Ukraine. However, half a dozen foreign journalists at least were injured and two Ukrainian journalists were killed so far. Journalists are not fighters and should not be targeted. It is a war crime.

07.03.2022. UKRAINE MORE AND MORE DANGEROUS FOR JOURNALISTS. Swiss photoreporter Guillaume Briquet (photo) wounded after being shot by Russian soldiers. Guillaume Briquet, 58, was deployed as a photojournalist in southern Ukraine when his vehicle was hit while driving near a small village towards the besieged city of Mykolaiv on Sunday. Pictures of the bullet-riddled four-by-four show it was marked ‘Press’ in large writing on all sides (photos below). The head of the regional military administration, Maria Chorna, claimed the shots were fired by Russian soldiers at close range. Guillaume Briquet suffered wounds to his face and forearm. He was admitted to a hospital in Kirovograd.

Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is alarmed by this attack against an international journalist despite the clear signs PRESS on his vehicle. PEC recalls that journalists are not combatants and benefit from the protection of the Geneva Conventions. The 58-year-old, based in Geneva, has photographed conflicts and disaster zones around the world including occupied Iraq, earthquake-stricken Haiti and North Korea. The presence on the ground of independent journalists is essential to have an objective view of the fighting.

01.03.2022. UKRAINE. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) strongly condemns the missile attack launched today by Russian forces on the TV tower in the city of Kyiv, attempting to disrupt broadcasting (photo). Videos shared on Twitter show plumes of smoke engulfing the Kyiv TV Tower, which stands at 385m high. The tower was built in 1973 for radio and television broadcasting. PEC recalls the Security Council resolution 2222 adopted unanimously on protection of journalists 27 May 2015 condemning «all violations and abuses committed against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in situations of armed conflict», and calling «upon all parties to armed conflict to bring an end to such practices». Article 10 «recalls also that media equipment and installations constitute civilian objects, and in this respect shall not be the object of attack or of reprisals». The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs says that “channels will not work for a while.” “The backup broadcasting of some channels will be enabled in the near future,” it says. The Russian Defense Ministry earlier said the strikes would be "to suppress information attacks against Russia," according to a statement reported by Russian state media TASS, adding that Kyiv residents near the sites should leave their homes.

24.02.2022. UKRAINE. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns in the strongest terms the Russian military aggression in Ukraine contrary to international law. PEC calls on all belligerents to ensure safety of journalists, reminding that all OSCE participating States, including Russia and Ukraine, have committed themselves to adopt, where appropriate, all feasible measures to protect journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions and to condemn all attacks and violence against journalists. Journalists must be safe to do their work, under all circumstances, and to inform independently. PEC also urges all parties to refrain from spreading propaganda for war or incitement to hostility or violence. PEC calls on all journalists on the ground to take precautionary measures. We remind the belligerents of documents adopted by consensus at the UN Security Council on the safety of journalists in conflict zones, resolution 2022 adopted on 27 May 2015 and resolution 1738 adopted on 23 December 2006, as well as resolutions on the safety of journalists adopted by the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council (see on our page DOCUMENTS). PEC will follow the situation in Ukraine very closely.

23.02.2022. MEXICO. La conductora de televisión y modelo, Michelle Pérez Tadeo (photo), conocida como “Michell Simón”, originaria de Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, fue hallada sin vida y con signos de violencia en un paraje del cerro del Ajusco, alcaldía Tlalpan, al sur de la capital del país. La joven de 29 años y madre de una menor fue reportada como desaparecida desde el pasado domingo. En lo que va del 2022, en México han sido asesinados, además de la periodista Michelle Pérez, seis trabajadores de los medios de comunicación, o uno por semana. PEC esta horrorizado por esta escalade de violencia y exige que la investigación por este nuevo asesinato no descarte ninguna hipótesis.

19.02.2022. PAKISTAN. Television journalist shot dead in Pakistan, PEC demands punishment to perpetrators. Expressing grief over the demise of Karachi-based Pakistani television journalist Athar Mateen, Press Emblem Campaign insists on a genuine probe into the incident that led to his killing during the morning hours on 18 February 2022. PEC also demands compensation to the bereaved family. Till date, 20 journalists have been killed worldwide in 2022, where Mexico tops the list with six casualties, followed by Pakistan (3).

15.02.2022. SRI LANKA. Condemning the attack on the residence of Sri Lanka’s senior television journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrema (photo) by a group of masked armed men in the early hours of 14 February 2022, Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) on Tuesday demands a fair probe into the incident and to punish the perpetrators. Local media outlets reported that at least four unidentified persons stormed into the residential complex of Samarawickrema at Piliyandala area of Colombo. “It’s unacceptable that a journalist, who remains critical about the government functioning, has to face this kind of attack on him. The Lankan government, must identify the culprits to maintain its credibility,” said Blaise Lempen, PEC secretary-general.

10.02.2022. Guinée Bissau : PEC condamne la violente attaque armée d’un groupe de militaires contre la radio privée Capital FM

Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condamne la violente attaque ciblée, contre le personnel et les installations de la radio privée Capital FM, en Guinée Bissau, perpétrée le 7 février 2022, par des des hommes en uniforme militaire, lourdement armés. L'ONG appelle à des enquêtes pour identifier et sanctionner les auteurs de cette agression. Selon le témoignage recueilli par PEC auprès de Mme Indira Correia Balde, présidente du Syndicat des Journalistes et Techniciens de la Communication sociale de Guinée Bissau (SINJOTECS) : « Un groupe d’hommes armés a attaqué la radio, en tirant avec des armes AK à l’intérieur de l’édifice et détruisant tous les équipements. Il y a eu cinq blessés parmi les journalistes, techniciens et personnels administratifs qui essayaient d’échapper aux tirs.  Une journaliste qui a dû sauter du premier étage est hospitalisée, dans un état grave, et doit être évacuée au Portugal, le vendredi 11 février, pour des soins appropriés ». En effet, blessée à la colonne vertébrale et aux côtes la journaliste Maimuna Bari (photo) est dans le coma et a été évacuée au Portugal le 11 février.

06.02.2022. INDIA. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) mourns the demise of a promising Indian scribe in a
landmine blast, planted by left-wing rebels in Kalahandi locality of Odisha province. Rohit Kumar Biswal (photo, 40) stepped on the mine on 5 February 2022 and died on the spot. Rohit used to work for an Oriya daily (Dharitri) and he went to report about the posters of ultra-left extremists (belonging to outlawed
Communist Party of India-Maoist), asking the people to boycott the forthcoming local (Panchayat) elections scheduled for different phases in 16-24 February next.

01.02.2022. 12 journalists killed in one month, PEC demands justice to bereaved families. Expressing shock over the murder of a record number of 12 journalists killed in the first month of 2022, the global media safety and rights body Press Emblem Campaign demands justice and adequate compensation to the bereaved families. PEC laments that another journalist has been cowardly assassinated in Mexico. The slain journalist is Roberto Toledo (photo), of 55 years of age, gunned down on Monday, January 31st, 2022, in the municipality of Zitacuaro, Michoacan. He worked for the Monitor Michoacan news outlet. Toledo is the 4th journalist killed in less than a month in Mexico. If the current continues, we could be having one journalist per week being killed in the county. PEC also condemns the murder of another journalist in Pakistan within a week, Ghulam Murtaza Shar (32), who was associated with private Urdu news channel Ummat.

24.01.2022. MEXICO. Yet another journalist has been killed in Mexico Lourdes Maldonado Lopez (photo). She worked for different news services, the most important one being Primer Sistema de Noticias (PSN). She was killed in Tijuana Mexico last night, January 23rd, 2022, after arriving home in her car. She was shot at point-blank range in the head in her driveway. She had just won a 9-year lawsuit against her former boss media mogul turned-politician, Baja California State Governor (2018-2021), Jamie Bonilla. It is well-known that Bonilla had threatened Maldonado. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) strongly condems this shameful new murder, the third journalist to be killed in Mexico in 2022, and demands a full investigation and the arrest of all those responsible. Maldonado's killing follows that of freelance photojournalist Alfonso Margarito Martínez Esquivel on January 17 in Tijuana, and that of Jose Luis Gamboa - a journalist who founded and edited the Inforegio news website and co-founded and edited the news website La Noticia - on January 10 in Veracruz state.

21.01.2022. HOMMAGE A DANIEL FAVRE // TRIBUTE TO DANIEL FAVRE. Le secrétaire général de la PEC Blaise Lempen (à gauche) et son vice-président Jean-Philippe Jutzi, également président de la section suisse de l'Union de la presse francophone (UPF), ont remis vendredi à Lausanne à la fille de Daniel Favre, Florence Rachez (au centre) une plaque en l'honneur de son père, décédé en novembre 2021. Daniel Favre a été membre fondateur de la PEC en 2004 et son vice-président en charge de la Francophonie jusqu'à son décès (photo pec).

10.01. 2022. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the killing of 4 journalists in the 10 first days of January 2022. PEC demands a fair probe into the incidents that led to the death of Chin journalist Pu Tui Dim (photo, 35) by the Burmese military forces. Tui Dim died in the police firing at Matupi locality of Chin State in north-western Myanmar on 9 January 2022. Tui Dim became the fourth journalist to be killed this year after Amady John Wesley and Wilguens Louissaint killed by gang criminals in Port-au-Prince in Haiti and Muratkhan Bazarbayev in Kazakhstan. Employed by Almaty TV, Bazarbayev was part of a team covering protests when the vehicle he was driving came under attack as protesters and security forces clashed. PEC demands justice as well as adequate compensations to the victim families.

Last year, in 2021, at least 1400 media workers

succumbed to the virus, that is to say 116 par month or

some 4 per day on average, announced Friday in Geneva

 the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC). No continent is

spared by the pandemic. Of the 1940 journalists

dead registered by the PEC since March 1, 2020,

Latin America leads with half of the victims, or 955

deaths. Asia follows with 556 dead, ahead of Europe 263,

then Africa 98 and North America  68. After a spike in

deadly infections in the first half of 2021, the death toll slowed in the second half thanks to advances in vaccination.

01.01.2022. 2021 marks a decrease of 14% in journo-killings globally // L'année 2021 enregistre une baisse de 14% des meurtres de journalistes dans le monde.

The bygone year witnessed the killing of 79 media employees by assailants in 29 countries marking an improvement in journo-murder index by 14% compared to last year where 92 media workers were killed. PEC has lately confirmed the death of Burmese journalist A Kay Sai (also known as Sai Win Aung, photo) because of serious head injuries by the shell operated by the Myanmar military junta at Maekheewar village of Karen State on 25 December. Sai (38) was trapped in crossfire between the junta forces and KNLA rebels and finally hit by artillery from Tatmadaw.

16.12.2021. MYANMAR. Burmese photojournalist dies in military custody, PEC deplores - Freelance photojournalist Ko Soe Naing (photo) died lately on 14 December under the Myanmar military custody and thus the young scribe becomes the first media-victims in the country after the 1 February 2021 military coup. He started taking photographs of various anti-military demonstrations. In some occasions, his photographs were also used by a number of outside agencies.

10.12.2021. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited from the UK to the US, the High Court has ruled. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is appalled by the decision of the british justice. Julian Assange (photo, leaving court in 2020) is sentenced to more months of imprisonment and uncertainty, it is an unbearable physical and psychological torture, lamented the PEC.

Of the 77 journalists murdered, 29 were in war zones (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, DRC, Ethiopia, Gaza, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen). 62% wew killed outside conflict zones, by criminal gangs. Terrorist groups were responsible of at least 20 murders (Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen), an increase compared to previous years.

07.12.2021. MYANMAR. PEC demands unconditional release of all Myanmar journalists. Lately the PEC expresses serious concern over a recent intentional attack on anti-junta protesters that left many seriously wounded including a female journalist Ma Hmu Yandanar Khet Moh Moh Tun (photo) who was on duty at that moment in the Yangon city and still remains in critical condition. It’s already a grave situation in Myanmar and following the imprisonment of pro-democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by the military court in NayPieTaw the situation may deteriorate more.

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) rewards Indian journalist Nava Thakuria for his relentless initiatives to safeguard the rights of media persons in the south Asian country and defending the press freedom in the region with an exemplary commitment. Last year, a record number of 15 journalists were killed in India and six more this year. The PEC award also wants to pay tribute to some 300 journalists who died throughout India with Covid-19 complications (on the picture Nava Thakuria, far right, during a demonstration with other media workers).

20.11.2021. La PEC est heureuse d’accueillir un nouveau membre dans son comité directeur. Jean-Philippe Jutzi (photo) remplace notre vice-président décédé le 7 novembre dernier Daniel Favre, membre fondateur de la PEC en 2004. Actuel président de la section suisse de l’Union internationale de la presse francophone (UPF), Jean-Philippe (66 ans) a été journaliste dans plusieurs journaux suisses de 1982 à 2003 (La Liberté, Le Matin, 24 Heures), avant de devenir le porte-parole de l’Aide humanitaire suisse de 2003 à 2005, puis le chef adjoint de la communication de la DDC (Coopération au développement) (2006-2008), et le porte-parole du chef du Département fédéral des Affaires étrangères (DFAE) en 2008 et 2009. De 2010 à 2013, il a été chargé des Affaires culturelles au DFAE et membre de Présence Suisse avant de devenir conseiller culturel à l’ambassade de Suisse en France (2013 à 2016) et chef de la section médias et culture à l’ambassade de Suisse à Pékin à partir de 2016 avant de prendre sa retraite en 2020.

14.11.2021. AFGHANISTAN. Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is sad to learn that another journalist has been killed in Afghanistan. Hamid Saighani (photo) was killed in yesterday's explosion in Kabul. His wife Fawzia Wahdat, also a journalist, confirmed the heart-breaking news. Saighani used to work with Khurahid and Aryana News. It is the 12th journalist to be killed since the beginning of 2021 in the war-torn country, according to PEC casualties.

13.11.2021. MYANMAR. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) expressed its dismay over the 11-year imprisonment of American journalist Danny Fenster (photo) by the military junta of Myanmar (also known as Burma) and demanded his immediate and unconditional release by the military dictators in Naypietaw. Nearly 50 journalists are behind bars in Myanmar.

11.11.2021. PAKISTAN. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is shocked by the killing of two media activists in one week in Pakistan. Pakistan loses one more socially responsible media activist Muhammad Zada (photo) killed by two gunmen on 8 November at his residence in Sakhakot area of Malakand locality in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Nazim Samwal Jokhio, a videographer in western Sindh province, was killed on 4 November. Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa authorities must take the brutal murder of Nazim Samwal Jokhio and Muhammad Zada seriously and assure that the culprits will not enjoy impunity.

05.11.2021. NUMERIQUE ET LIBERTES. Une évolution très rapide et incontrôlée des technologies de l'information et de la communication a eu lieu ces dernières années. Les milliards de capteurs déployés dans notre environnement, nos confidences sur les réseaux sociaux et les smartphones, les logiciels de pistage sur les ordinateurs, les capacités de traitement des données de l’intelligence artificielle se conjuguent pour créer une société de l’hypersurveillance. Dans son nouveau livre, "La Dictature numérique en marche - société de l'hypersurveillance: un appel à la vigilance", Blaise Lempen, journaliste, secrétaire général de la PEC, sonne l’alarme. Un débat est indispensable sur le développement de techniques invasives de manipulation des comportements et des pensées. L’avenir de la démocratie est en jeu. Le totalitarisme high-tech n’a rien d’inéluctable, à condition de percevoir la menace. L’auteur lance un appel à la vigilance, essentielle pour préserver nos libertés. Il évoque des pistes pour maîtriser la civilisation numérique en gestation : droit à la déconnexion, sobriété numérique, réglementation de la reconnaissance faciale, démantèlement des géants de la Tech.

To mark the United Nations International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on 2 November 2021, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) demands governments to bring those who threaten journalists to justice. According to PEC figures, at least 66 journalists have been killed so far this year (2 more than last year in 10 months). Mexico and Afghanistan remain the most dangerous countries for journalism. "There is no progress for the safety of media workers and killers of journalists still get away with murder. No crime must go unpunished", stressed PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen. No one has been held to account in 81% of journalist murders during the last 10 years, CPJ’s 2021 Global Impunity Index has found. Two journalists were killed in Mexico in the last three days. On Thursday, Mexican journalist Fredy López Arévalo (photo) was shot dead outside his home in San Cristobal de las Casas in the state of Chiapas. Lopez, who was a correspondent for El Universal in Guatemala in the 1990s, worked for the Central American magazine Panorama and was in charge of the Notimex office in Chiapas. He also was head of information in the newspaper Novedades and published articles in the magazine Proceso. On October 31, in Acapulco, photojournalist Alfredo Cardoso died from his wounds. PEC strongly condemns those new cowardly murders which brings the total figure for Mexico to 10 journalists killed since January.

08.10.2021. NOBEL PEACE PRIZE. The Press Emblem Campaign warmly congratulates journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov (photo) who have won the Nobel Peace Prize for their fights to defend freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia. « PEC welcomes the choice of the Nobel committee on the very day of the 15th anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya’ murder. It is a posthumous tribute and an encouragement for all journalists and organizations fighting for press freedom and against impunity », said PEC General Secretary Blaise Lempen.

05.10.2021. INDIA. PEC demands authentic probe into killing of Indian scribe Raman Kashyap.
The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condoles the demise of young television scribe Raman Kashyap (photo) at Lakhimpur Kheri locality of Uttar Pradesh in central India and demands an authentic probe into the incident that led to killing of the rural reporter on 3 October 2021. Raman Kashyap is the 59th journalist killed so far in 2021 across the globe and the 4th in India.

Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condena este nuevo asesinato y pide a las autoridades que realicen una investigación completa y que lleven ante la justicia a los responsables de la ejecución del periodista Manuel González Reyes (photo) en Cuernavaca, en el estado mexicano de Morelos. La encuesta debe considerar la labor periodística como uno de los motivos del asesinato. México es el pais más violento del mundo para el gremio periodístico y cada año se registran numerosos asesinatos y asaltos contra la prensa por parte del crimen organizado y de autoridades. Manuel González Reyes es el séptimo periodista asesinado en México en 2021.

Alireza Ahmadi (left), a reporter for the Raha News Agency, and Najma Sadeqi (right), a presenter at Jahan-e-Sehat TV channel, according to the AFJC (Afghanistan Journalists' Center), were killed in the suicide attack on August 26 that also claimed the lives of more than 180 people including 13 US military personnel amid a chaotic evacuation effort. The Afghan affiliate of the ISIL (ISIS), known as the Islamic State Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), claimed responsibility for the attack. The Press Emblem Campaign strongly condemns the attack and is saddened at the deaths of yet two more journalists in Afghanistan. The Kabul’s airport deaths bring to 9 the number of media workers killed this year in Afghanistan since January, making it the most dangerous country in the world for journalists. The PEC renews its concern to the safety of journalists at this critical juncture and urges the international community to evacuate all journalists and NGOs members at risks who want to leave the country, before it's too late.

15.08.2021. AFGHANISTAN. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is very concerned by the rapidly changing situation in Afghanistan. Over the past 20 years, independent media has proliferated in Afghanistan. As the Taliban are gaining power across the country, journalists are coming under increasing attack. Those who defy the Taliban face threats, pressure, kidnapping and murder. Female journalists are at greater risk due to their public role.

10.08.2021. INDIA. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) expresses shock at the murder of young journalist Ch. Keshav (photo) in Andhra Pradesh of central India and demanded a thorough probe into the incidents which led to his death, so that the culprits can be booked under the law. He is the third journalist to be killed in India this year, the 45th worldwide.

05.08.2021. MYANMAR 6 MONTHS AFTER THE COUP - The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) demands relief to journalists, political prisoners. As the pandemic claims many victims in the country, it is of the utmost importance that journalists be able to inform freely about the evolution of the disease (photo: Thin Thin Aung arrested by the military)

Read more on PEC NEWS

07.07.2021. NETHERLANDS. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is shocked by the attack on journalist Peter de Vries (photo) yesterday in the Netherlands. Those responsible must be brought to justice. Enough is enough after the killings in Europe in Malta, Slovakia and Greece. Dutch crime reporter Peter de Vries, known for his work in exposing the criminal underworld, has been shot and seriously wounded on a street in Amsterdam. Three suspects were detained, including the possible gunmen, police said, without providing details.

24.06.2021. MEXICO. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the murder of two journalists in one week in Mexico. Gustavo Sánchez Cabrera (photo), director of the digital newspaper Noticias Minuto a Minuto, was shot dead on 17 June in Mexico’s state of Oaxaca. Sánchez Cabrera had received violent threats in the past and had survived an armed attack in July 2020. Saul Tijerina Rentería, La Voz de Coahuila, was shot dead in Ciudad Acuna, June 23. The PEC urges a thorough investigation into those killings.

07.06.2021. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) announced in Geneva on

Monday that the pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 1,500

journalists in 77 countries around the world. We deplore a record number

of deaths in May, more than 200 in one month. According to the PEC tally,

media in India have paid the heaviest price for the novel corona virus, with at

least 246 deaths since March 2020. Brazil follows India closely with 239

journalists who died from the corona virus, ahead of Peru 163 and Mexico 112.

Read on PEC NEWS the PEC press release in English, French, Spanish and Arabic - list of victims on COVID-19

04.06.2021. THE GENEVA CALL TO FREE JULIAN ASSANGE // APPEL DE GENEVE A LIBERER JULIAN ASSANGE. On the occasion of a press conference and the inauguration of the statues of David Dormino in Geneva, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) signed the Geneva call to free Julian Assange and launched an urgent appeal to the new United States administration and to President Joe Biden to rescind their request for extradition to the United States and to authorize the British judicial system to free Julian Assange immediately, for humanitarian reasons. It is time to close this case, which has already gone on far too long, and to allow Julian Assange to join his family and return to his country.

23.05.2021. BELARUS. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) strongly condemns the hijacking of a Ryanair plane to arrest Raman Pratasevich (photo of the video after his arrest in Minsk), a prominent journalist and opponent of Belarus’s president Alexander Lukashenko. "This operation of banditry and state terrorism is another escalation in the repression of independent media in Belarus", said PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen. "We demand the immediate release of the journalist and his girl friend arrested by illegal means", he added.

18.05.2021. PEC press release: India has overtaken Brazil in the number of journalists dead from Covid-19, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) announced in Geneva on Tuesday. At least 1,356 journalists have died in 76 countries from the coronavirus since March 2020. India has just passed the milestone of 200 journalists dead from Covid-19, just ahead of Brazil (194). In India, 68 journalists have died from Covid since the beginning of May, an average of four a day, a majority of them in their 40s or 50s.

13.05.2021. ISRAEL/GAZA. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the targeting of media offices in Gaza city by the Israeli forces. The offices of 13 media organisations in Al-Jawhara tower were destroyed in the bombing of the Israeli warplanes on the night of 11 May. There were no injuries as journalists evacuated their offices after the Israeli army warned some of the media that the building would be bombed. However media organisations lost their equipment. On 13 May, an Israeli airstrike destroyed Gaza City’s Al-Shorouk Tower, a 14-storey building that housed seven media outlets. The Israel Defence Forces said they were “striking Hamas weapons stores hidden inside civilian buildings in Gaza.” The PEC suspects an Israeli attempt to silence Palestinian media.

12.05.2021. Globally over 1300 journalists died of Covid-19, India loses 40 in last 10 days

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to kill working journalists around the world, where the global tally reaches at least 1302 victims in 76 countries till 11 May 2021. Brazil with 191 journo-casualties because of novel corona virus infection aggravated ailments still tops the list of victims among journalists narrowly followed by India (173 dead). In the south Asian country, at least 40 journalists died of Covid-19 complications in the last 10 days.

29.04.2021. The Covid-19 pandemic had a devastating impact

on the media. The human cost of the pandemic is very high:

more than 1,200 journalists have died from the novel coronavirus

since March 2020 in 75 countries.

The situation is particularly  alarming in India: in the past two weeks,

at least 50 journalists have succumbed to the virus, 3,5 per day.

Read the PEC press release on PEC NEWS

REMEMBER THE DEAD, FIGHT FOR THE LIVING

list of victims on our page Covid-19

26.04.2021. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The Press Emblem Campaign is shocked by the murder of a young journalist in Kansas City. Aviva Okeson-Haberman (photo), a KCUR reporter, has died after suffering a gunshot wound in her Kansas City apartment. She was 24.

22.04.2021. MYANMAR/BURMA. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) calls for the unconditional release of all journalists in Myanmar. "The arrested journalists face sedition laws under section 505 (a) of Myanmar penal code that may put them behind the bars for around three years. The military authority run Myanmar Radio and Television continues to broadcast the name of wanted journalists under the specified rules, which is appalling,” said PEC general secretary Blaise Lempen. Over 65 journalists performing their job were arrested/detained since the military coup on 1 February.

13.04.2021. PEC press release. More than a thousand journalists have died from Covid-19 around the world // Comunicado de prensa de la PEC. Más de mil periodistas han muerto por la Covid-19 en todo el mundo // Communiqué de presse PEC. Plus d’un millier de journalistes sont morts du Covid-19 dans le monde

Read the PEC press release (English, Spanish, French and Arabic) on PEC NEWS

09.04.2021. GREECE. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is appalled by the murder of journalist Giorgios Karaivaz (photo), shot dead on April 9 near his home in Athens. The PEC urged the authorities to fully investigate this cold-blooded murder. Giorgios Karaivaz was the founder and owner of bloko.gr and one of Greece's most well-known crime reporters. It is the second murder of a journalist in Greece since 2010. It sadly reminds us of the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta and Jan Kuciak in Slovakia. All light must be shed on this despicable murder.

29.03.2020. MYANMAR. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the release of Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw (photo). He has been released from detention in Myanmar three weeks after he was arrested on February 27 for covering a protest against the country’s military coup. Thein Zaw told the Associated Press by phone following a court hearing on Wednesday that all charges had been dropped because he was doing his job at the time of his arrest. The PEC is relieved that Thein Zaw has been freed from prison, but additional journalists there remain detained. We urge Myanmar to release all journalists and allow them to report freely and safely on what is happening inside the country. We strongly condemn the increasing violence, restrictions on Internet access, on publication and broadcasting by media outlets in the country.

The PEC is outraged at these brutal killings and expects these heinous crimes to be investigated and perpetrators brought to justice. According to PEC data, 11 journalists and media workers have been killed in Afghanistan since the peace deal was signed between the United States and the Taliban in February 2020. Most of these journalists were deliberately targeted for their work, which underscores the lack of effective protection in the country, specially for female journalists (18 female journalists killed in Afghanistan since 2001, according to AFJC data). The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the killing of the three women.

25.02.2021. BANGLADESH. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is concerned by the deterioration of freedom of expression in Bangladesh. PEC is worried by the death of writer and commentator Mushtaq Ahmed (photo). He should not have been detained in the first place. Mushtaq Ahmed, detained in a case filed under the Digital Security Act, died in Kashimpur High-Security Jail in Gazipur on February 25.The 54-years-old writer was declared dead by the duty doctor of Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College. He was arrested on May 6, 2020, and later shifted to a high-security jail on August 24, 2020, from the Dhaka Central Jail. Writer Mushtaq and cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore were sent to jail in the case in May 2020, a day after they had reportedly been picked up from their residences. In his case lodged on May 5, 2020, RAB-3 warrant officer Abu Bakar Siddique named 11 people, including Mushtaq and Kishore, and five to six unidentified people on charge of tarnishing the image of the country’s founding President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, hurting the spirit of the liberation war and spreading rumors about COVID-19 and the army and other security forces on social media. In another incident, Borhan Uddin Mujakkir, the Companiganj correspondent of daily Bangladesh Samachar, died in Dhaka Medical College Hospital on February 20 after he had been shot while covering a clash between two factions of the ruling Awami League at Chaprashirhat of Companiganj on February 19.

18.02.2021. BELARUS. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the intensification of the crackdown on the media in Belarus. On Thursday, a Belarusian court sentenced two Belarusian journalists from Poland-based TV news channel Belsat to two years in prison. Katsiaryna Andreyeva, 27, and Darya Chultsova, 23, were detained in an apartment in November from where they had been filming protests taking place over the death of a protester who was killed several days earlier. Both women are not guilty, they have just done their job documenting the demonstrations. They must be release unconditionally (Photo epa: Katerina Andreyeva gave a victory sign in court, next to Daria Chultsova).

07.02.2021. International Day of Solidarity with Belarus. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) joins other organisations to demand the release of all journalists detained in Belarus. At least 11 journalists and media workers are in detention. For more than two months now, Katsiaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsova (photo), reporters for Poland-based TV channel Belsat, have been held behind bars. Both are charged with violating the public order for their reporting on rallies in the capital Minsk and will face trial at the Frunzensky District Court of Minsk on February 9. Overall, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) has documented 477 detentions of journalists in 2020. PEC condemns Belarus’s crackdown on press freedom which continues six months after the presidential election. Last week, Swiss TV Russia correspondent, Luzia Tschirky, has been detained in Minsk for three hours without any justification. #StandWithBelarus

21.01.2021. ETHIOPIA. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) strongly condemns the killing of journalist Dawit Kebede Araya (photo) in Mekelle, the capital of the northern state of Tigray. Ethiopian authorities must conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the killing of the journalist and hold those responsible to account. In the evening of January 19, unidentified attackers shot and killed Dawit, a reporter with the state-owned broadcaster Tigray TV, and his friend, Bereket Berhe, while they were driving near Dawit’s home in Mekelle, according to news reports. The Ethiopia Human Rights Council, an independent watchdog group, alleged that unspecified government security forces had killed Dawit and Bereket.

02.01.2021. AFGHANISTAN. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the killing of Afghan radio journalist in car ambush, first media person to be killed in 2021. Besmullah Adel Aimaq (28), editor-in-chief of Voice of Ghor radio, was killed en route to Firoz Koh city, the capital of Ghor province, said Aref Aber, the governor’s spokesman. He is the fifth journalist slain in Afghanistan in the past two months.

10.12.2020 - updated 31.12.2020. PEC ANNUAL REPORT. India and Mexico most dangerous countries in 2020. India and Mexico have been the most dangerous countries for media work this year, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) said in its annual report in Geneva. The number of journalists killed increased by more than 22% compared to last year.In total, since January, 92 media workers have been killed in 31 countries around the world (up from 75 last year).

El Premio 2020 para la Protección de Periodistas otorgado a la periodista mexicana Carmen Aristegui

28.09.2020. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL. Oral statement delivered by the Press Emblem Campaign on item 4. The coronavirus must not be the pretext for additional restrictions on freedom of expression.  Journalists should not fear reprisals and must be able to do their job safely (photo: PEC UN Representative Ana Leurinda speaking at the Human Rights Council in Geneva).

01.09.2020. Genève/ONU. La PEC participe à un débat avec la présidente de la Confédération Simonetta Sommaruga et la Haut Commissaire aux droits de l'Homme au cours duquel la Suisse et le Haut Commissariat aux droits l'Homme soulignent l’importance de la liberté de la presse et de la liberté d’expression (photo PEC).

01.05.2020. Coronavirus used as a pretext for many press freedom violations - at least 55 journalists have died from Covid-19 in two months // Le coronavirus prétexte à de nombreuses violations de la liberté de la presse – au moins 55 journalistes sont morts du Covid-19 en deux mois // El COVID 19 se ha utilizado como un pretexto para que se hagan muchas violaciones a la libertad de prensa. Al menos 55 periodistas han muerto desde el 1 de marzo // Coronavírus usado como pretexto para diversas violações à liberdade de imprensa – ao menos 55 jornalistas morreram em decorrência de Covid-19 em dois meses

28.02.2020. FREEASSANGE. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes and supports the decision by the Geneva parliament to ask Switzerland to issue a humanitarian permit for Julian Assange. At his trial for extradition to the US in London, the cofounder of WikiLeaks appears this week in a very bad shape. It is a question of offering a concrete and immediate solution to a person prosecuted for political reasons and seriously affected in his physical and mental health. This visa must allow Julian Assange to be treated at the University Hospitals of Geneva, where security measures can be put in place. "Julian Assange must be released for medical reasons", added PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen.

16.02.2020. SOMALIA. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is sad to learn the heinous murder of journalist Abdiweli Ali Hassan (photo) in Agfoye, south of Mogadishu. The reporter was working with Universal TV. He was attacked by two unidentified gunmen who shot him in the head. The killing of the journalist is the first in Somalia in 2020. Last year, three media workers were killed in Somalia, one of the most dangerous countries for media. The PEC calls on local authorities to investigate this crime, bring its perpetrators to justice and to better ensure the safety of journalists who informs the public at great risk.

06.02.2020. SYRIA. Media activist killed in Idlib. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the killing of Amjad Aktalati (photo), on February 4 in Ariha in Idlib countryside by Russian airstrikes. The brave media activist worked for several media outlets, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights. Amjad's last post on Facebook was "The situation is so catastrophic." This killing reminds us that the war in Syria is still raging. According to the United Nations, Russian-Assad offensive against opposition-held areas in Syria has displaced more than half a million people in two months, since 1 December, 80% women and children. In another incident, two journalists and two cameramen were injured on 3 February while covering the clashes near Aleppo city between the Syrian army and arned groups: reporter Diaa Qadour and Ibrahim Kahil, cameraman for al-Alam TV, Kinanah Aloush, a correspondent for Sama TV and Souhaib al-Masri cameraman of Al Kawthar TV. In a separate incident, Wafa Shabruni, a reporter working for Russia Today, was severely injured by ammunitions left by militants at Maarret-en-Nuuman in the province of Idlib. The PEC demands that the safety of journalists be guaranteed by all the belligerents.

23.12.2019. Saudi Arabia sentences five to death for murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) regrets that the Saudi court had failed to bring the real perpetrators to justice. Masterminds walk free one more time.

Five men have been sentenced to death and another three face a total of 24 years in prison for their roles in the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year. However, the investigation concluded “the killing was not premeditated …. The decision was taken at the spur of the moment,” the deputy public prosecutor and spokesperson Shalaan bin Rajih Shalaan said, reading the verdict in the Saudi capital on Monday. Three senior figures, including the de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s former top adviser, Saud al-Qahtani, were cleared of wrongdoing during the trial. The verdict contradicts the conclusion of the CIA and other western intelligence agencies that Prince Mohammed directly ordered Khashoggi’s assassination. Khashoggi, a US-based columnist for the Washington Post who was critical of the Saudi government, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October last year. The 59-year-old’s body has not been found and is thought by Turkish investigators to have been dissolved in acid. UN special rapporteur Agnès Callamard said in a tweet on Monday that the trial’s conclusion was a “mockery” and the “antithesis” of justice.

19.12.2019. DEMO IN GENEVA. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) demands the immediate release of Julian Assange

"Assange and WikiLeaks have documented serious violations of humanitarian law in Afghanistan and Iraq. To enforce the law, it is necessary to make known the abuses. Assange did only his job of journalist, he must be freed on humanitarian grounds", PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen said at the demo in Geneva in front of the UN building.

06.12.2019. Speak Up for Assange. Julian Assange (photo), founder and publisher of WikiLeaks, is currently detained in Belmarsh high-security prison in the United Kingdom and faces extradition to the United States and criminal prosecution under the Espionage Act. He risks up to 175 years emprisonment for his part in making public the leak of US military documents from Afghanistan and Iraq, and a trove of US State Department cables. The legal action underway against Mr Assange sets an extremely dangerous precedent for journalists, media organizations and the freedom of the press. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) joins today an appeal launched by more than 120 journalists and journalistic organizations around the globe, expressing our grave concern for Mr Assange's wellbeing, for his continued detention and for the draconian espionage charges. In a democracy, journalists must reveal war crimes in conflict zones without having to go to jail. It is the very role of the press to act in the public interest. The PEC requests that Assange be released on medical and humanitarian grounds.

02.12.2019. MALTA. A TRIPLE VICTORY. Finally after two years of stalled investigations the hope of justice gets closer. Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced on Sunday that he will step down in January, following mounting criticism of his response to the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia (photo). It comes as Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech was on Saturday charged with complicity in the murder case. "What we now expect is for the Prime Minister to leave office and Parliament, and to be properly investigated along with Keith Schembri (his chief of staff) for their possible involvement in Daphne's assassination", the journalist's sister Corinne Vella told the Malta Independent. She added on Twitter: "Until he resigns, we will use all legal remedies to ensure Muscat has no further involvement in the investigation and criminal proceedings, other than a possible suspect".

14.10.2019. MALTA. JUSTICE FOR DAPHNE. NEVER AGAIN IN THE EUROPEAN UNION. Wednesday 16 October marks two years since the brutal assassination of Malta’s investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) reiterated its call to the Maltese authorities to prosecute all those involved in planning and carrying the attack.

02.10.2019. KHASHOGGI. ONE YEAR AFTER. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is grateful to UN Special Rapporteur Agnès Callamard and UK media freedom envoy Amal Clooney (photo) for recommending a UN Standing Instrument to investigate killings of journalists.

On October 3, the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) has filed a legal challenge against the police over what it described as improper treatment of media at ongoing protests. The HKJA said journalists have been subjected to “a pattern of deliberately aggressive and obstructive police tactics as well as unnecessary and excessive force” since demonstrations began in June. The HKJA said the judicial review application referred to incidents of abusive and insulting language, use of high-intensity lights and strobe lighting to interfere with visual recording equipment, exclusion of reporters from newsworthy scenes and locations, deliberate blocking of reporters’ line of sight, as well as deliberate withholding of police officers’ identities. It also noted incidents of journalists being beaten, kicked, pepper-sprayed (photo), targeted with tear gas, having tear gas grenades thrown at them, water cannon jets directed at them and being hit with rubber bullets and bean bag rounds. On Sept 29 a Hong Kong-based Indonesian journalist Veby Mega Indah, who works for Suara, has been hit by a rubber bullet while covering a demonstration. Her right eye was injured by the projectile fired by a police officer. A journalist working with Hong Kong's public broadcaster RTHK was recovering in hospital on Monday Oct 7 after he was hit by a petrol bomb during weekend protests. The PEC will continue to closely follow the situation of freedom of the press in Hong Kong.

01.10.2019. KHASHOGGI. ONE YEAR AFTER. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) joins other organizations for a moment of unsilence one year after the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. It is important that the whole truth be established and accountability be achieved. Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Turkey on Oct. 2, 2018. Agents of the Saudi government killed the journalist inside the consulate and apparently dismembered his body, which has never been found. Saudi Arabia has charged 11 people in the slaying and put them on trial, which has been held in secret. As of yet, no one has been convicted. A U.N. report by the Special Rapporteur Agnès Callamard asserted that Saudi Arabia bore responsibility for the killing and said Prince Mohammed’s possible role in it should be investigated. Speaking to the US network CBS on its 60 Minutes programme aired on Sunday, Prince Mohammed bin Salman MBS said: "Absolutely not," when asked if he ordered the killing. But he said he took full responsibility, "since it was committed by individuals working for the Saudi government". "This was a mistake. And I must take all actions to avoid such a thing in the future," MBS said of the killing, which he finally called "heinous". The PEC says no to barbaric practices, no to impunity. We call on the international community to ensure that all perpetrators of the crime are identified and prosecuted in a fair trial and to guarantee freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia.

22.09.2019. MALTA. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the launch by the Maltese authorities of a public inquiry into the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia (photo), killed on 16 October 2017. "It's coming late, but it is an important step in the fight against impunity and a texbook case for Europe", said the PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen. He added that the public inquiry must be truly independent, impartial and have the truth of all parties, including the family of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The PEC called repeatedly for a public investigation to find out who ordered the killing, and if it had been possible to prevent it. The PEC donated its annual award in 2018 to Daphne's family and it once again salutes the courage and determination of Daphne's family in their struggle to make all the clarity on this crime. The PEC will follow up the inquiry which is expected to be concluded within nine months (read more on the terms of reference on our page NO IMPUNITY).

The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) has today in Geneva handed over the award to its Executive Director Ahmad Quraishi (photo). "Afghanistan is at a crossroad. Freeedom of the press is at stake. Terrorist groups are a constant threat to civilians and journalists", said the PEC Secretary-General Blaise Lempen at the PEC Award press conference at the Geneva Press Club. "The AFJC works to defend rights of Afghan journalists, the safety of journalists in a very dangerous conflict zone and to ensure freedom of the press and freedom of expression in Afghanistan. They deserve our support", he added. Ahmad Quraishi thanks the PEC for honoring the AFJC. "Taliban, IS (Islamic State group) and constant abuses by warlords, drug mafia and corrupt officials constitute a permanent threat and fear to journalists, the media, and in general freedom of expression/press in Afghanistan", said the AFJC Executive Director. He confided his fear that "we may go back to the dark era experienced under the Taliban". He called upon the international community who supported the Afghan young democracy in the past two decades to uphold the values gained .

16.09.2019. AFGHANISTAN AT THE CROSSROAD. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AT STAKE. PEC AWARD 2019: INVITATION TO A PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE GENEVA PRESS CLUB

25.08.2019. ONE MORE JOURNALIST KILLED IN MEXICO. A Mexican reporter has been found dead in his home Aug 24, making him the thirteenth journalist killed in the country this year. Nevith Condes Jaramillo (photo) died as result of being stabbed several times. Jaramillo, 42, ran the local news site El Observatorio del Sur. On his website, he posted stories that led to him being at odds with local government, resulting in several threats over the last year. Jaramillo had requested federal protection because of the threats. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) strongly condemns the murder and calls for an independent investigation.

The PEC condemns several detentions and repeated attacks on foreign and russian journalists during demonstrations for fair elections on July 27, August 3 and August 10. The PEC calls on Russian authorities to allow journalists to cover protests freely and safely. Police must stop use of abusive force, a clear attempt to intimidate journalists and censor coverage (photo Reuters: Russian opposition figure Lyubov Sobol was detained August 10 near her office in Moscow)

13.07.2019. SOMALIA. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is saddened to learn that two Somali journalists were among the 26 fatal victims of an attack by the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab on a hotel in Kismayo, in southern Somalia, on 12 July. The two media fatalities were Mohamed Sahal Omar, who worked for SBS, a TV channel based in the northwestern Puntland region, and Hodan Nalayeh (photo), who had Canadian as well as Somali nationality and worked for Integration TV. The death of these two reporters, the first to be killed this year in Somalia, is a reminder that Somali journalists continue to be the ones who are most exposed to this kind of terrorist attack after those in Afghanistan.

20.06.2019. UKRAINE. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is deeply shocked by death of journalist Vadim Komarov in Ukraine. He had been in a coma since suffering a violent attack on 4 May in Cherkasy, Ukraine. Vadim Komarov (photo) was a well-known media professional exposing corruption and uncovering abuses of power. It is regrettable that about one-and-a-half months after the attack the law enforcement have not yet identified the perpetrators nor reported any progress on the investigation. The investigation into the July 2016 murder of Belarusian journalist Pavel Sheremet in Kyiv also continues to be shrouded in mystery. Those responsible for those crimes must be identified and face justice.

16.06.2019. A l'occasion de la parution de son nouveau livre: "Guerre et Paix dans le Cyberespace - les démocraties à l'épreuve de la démocratie numérique" (Georg éditeur, 282 pages), Blaise Lempen a expliqué sa démarche et confié ses inquiétudes à la PEC. Il faut défendre nos libertés, nos démocraties à la fois contre les abus des multinationales du numérique qui concentrent les données et ceux de régimes autoritaires qui cherchent à supprimer toute opinion critique. L'Europe doit mener ce combat face aux empires numériques chinois, russe et américain. Une réflexion sur les mutations profondes de notre environnement sociopolitique et les outils de promotion de la paix numérique (lire l'interview de Blaise Lempen sur PEC NEWS)