–PEC
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26.02.2021. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes a long-awaited US intelligence report released Friday according to which Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation to capture or kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018.

The report “the Saudi Government’s Role in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi” says: «We assess that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. We base this assessment on the Crown Prince’s control of decisionmaking in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman’s protective detail in the operation, and the Crown Prince’s support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi. Since 2017, the Crown Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom’s security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Prince’s authorization» (end quote). The PEC is relieved that all light has been shed, even only more than two years after the journalist’s atrocious death in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, but further steps are needed to fight impunity. #EndImpunity
26.02.2021. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL. 46th session. PEC video statement. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is very concerned by the devastating impact of the pandemic on press freedom. The PEC calls upon all UN Member States 1) to guarantee a safe and free environment for the work of journalists who are informing on the pandemic, 2) to ensure an early vaccination for all journalists on the frontline, and 3) to extend financial aid to the bereaved families of media staff killed by the virus.
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.

23.02.2021. MALTA. Finally a judgment. It’s never too late for justice to be done. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) welcomes the verdict: Vincent Muscat was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to the murder of Malta investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Caruana Galizia was murdered in Malta on October 16, 2017, in a car bomb attack (photo).

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).
On Tuesday, police in Belarus raided the Minsk headquarters of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), and the apartments of two of BAJ’s employees and independent journalists. Police officers confiscated mobile phones, laptops, and money. The PEC reminds the authorities in Minsk that journalists have the right to do their work in a safe environment without interference. Belarusian authorities must put an end to their relentless harassment of journalists and press freedom organizations. Dozens of journalists have been arrested during opposition protests since the August 2020 election.
17.02.2021. INDIA. PEC lauds New Delhi’s gesture to corona media victims – Global tally reaches 800. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) lauded the Indian Union government in New Delhi for extending financial aids to the bereaved families of media corona warriors. The PEC urges other nations to follow the example and go for an early vaccination for journalists.
15.02.2021. MYANMAR. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) expresses concern over complete internet shut down in Myanmar
12.02.2021. MYANMAR. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL.

PEC welcomes the adoption by consensus of a resolution on the situation in Myanmar after the military coup last week at a special session of the Human Rights Council Friday in Geneva. The UN deputy human rights chief and the independent expert on Myanmar Tom Andrews (photo) have called for targeted sanctions against the leaders of the coup. The human rights body has demanded “the immediate and unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained” since the military coup on 1 February and for the state of emergency imposed by the military to be lifted. The resolution also called for the restoration of the elected government and for UN monitors to be granted access to the country. It urged Myanmar’s military to “ensure that members of civil society organisations and the media are able to operate freely and without fear of violence, harassment or intimidation.” And it calls for the “immediate lifting of restrictions on the Internet, telecommunication and social media,” as well as “safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all people in need.”

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

04.02.2021. LEBANON. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) strongly condemns the murder of a prominent Lebanese writer and opponent of Hezbollah who was found dead in his car in southern Lebanon on Thursday morning, hours after going missing as he drove to Beirut. Police said Lokman Slim (photo), 59, a well-known political commentator, had been shot in the head. The PEC calls for a thorough investigation into this shocking murder. Slim was the founder of Shia Watch.
03.02.2021. PEC press release. The Covid-19 is claiming more and more victims in the media community. At least 735 journalists have died from Covid-19 in 63 countries in 11 months, or 66 per month on average, the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) announced on Wednesday in Geneva

27.01.2021. ECUADOR. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is appalled by the killing of television journalist Efrain Raules (photo, 36) in Guyaquil. The PEC called on the authorities to ensure that those responsible for the murder are held to account. Ruales, a popular presenter for the Ecuadorian television network Ecuavisa, was shot four times by an unidentified assailant. The journalist had reported receiving threats in relation to his denunciation of alleged corruption.

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.
05.01.2021. PEC press release. More than 600 journalists died of Covid-19 in 59 countries in ten months in 2020, that is to say 60 per month, or two per day on average, announced Tuesday in Geneva the Press Emblem Campaign (PEC)
04.01.2021. PEC welcomes the decision not to extradite Julian Assange. Geneva/London, January 4 (PEC) The PEC welcomes the decision of UK Judge Vanaissa Baraitser not to extradite Julian Assange from the United Kingdom to the United States. But the fight goes on: he must be freed for humanitarian reasons and the legal battle must end.

02.01.2021. AFGHANISTAN. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) condemns the killing of Afghan radio journalist in-car ambush, the 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.