Just days ahead of the historic forthcoming decision in the US extradition case against Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) again condemns the targeting of Assange for his contributions to journalism and calls for his immediate release.
Extradition proceedings against Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange are set to conclude on 4 January, when District Judge Vanessa Baraitser is due to give her decision in a 10 am hearing at London’s Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey). This follows a week of proceedings in February 2020 at the Woolwich Crown Court, during which legal arguments were presented, and four weeks of proceedings at the Old Bailey in September, when witness testimony was heard.
A migrant worker in Ahmedabad on May 19. | Amit Dave/Reuters
In 1998, APJ Abdul Kalam, a scientist and administrator associated with India’s missile programme as well as the Pokhran-II nuclear tests, co-authored a book titled
India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium.
It had a simple message: India would be a superpower within the next two decades. As predictions go, this was extremely bold. In 1998, India was a poor country, unable to reach even average global standards of human development. How would it suddenly leapfrog to superpower status? However, instead of being greeting with scepticism, Kalam’s extreme optimism was met largely with adulation.
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The number of journalists murdered in retaliation for their work more than doubled in 2020, as criminal gangs and militant groups targeted reporters working in violent but democratic nations.
According to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published on December 22 by its deputy director, Jennifer Dunham, the number of journalists killed in relation to their work has doubled in the year 2020.
The numbers are worrying and it is clear that even in Nigeria, journalists are not safe.
The co-founder of the Centre Against Brutality and for Safety of Journalists in Africa (CAPSOJA), Barrister Ugochukwu Ezekiel, stated that at least five journalists were killed in Nigeria this year, while many suffered injuries.
The numbers are worrying and it is clear that even in Nigeria, journalists are not safe.
The co-founder of the Centre Against Brutality and for Safety of Journalists in Africa (CAPSOJA), Barrister Ugochukwu Ezekiel, stated that at least four journalists were killed in Nigeria this year, while many suffered injuries.
The timeline of deaths
In January, Alex Ogbu, an editor with Regent Africa, was killed by the police during a protest by members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) in Abuja.
In the same month, Maxwell Nashan of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria was found bound, gagged and hacked to death in Yola, Adamawa State.
Looking back, 2020: Five times Indian media censored itself
A year of retracted reports, spiked columns and a fear psychosis in Kashmir.
Anubhooti Gupta
India ranks 142nd in the World Press Freedom Index, below Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and even occupied Palestine.
This year, journalists
faced attacks while covering the communal carnage in Delhi in late February and obstructions while reporting on the coronavirus lockdown during the summer. Penal charges were used
indiscriminately to intimidate reporters digging stories critical of the governmentâs pandemic response. In Kashmir, several journalists were slapped with the draconian anti-terror law the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
The year also witnessed censorship in Indian newsrooms, manifesting in retracted news reports, spiked columns, and stories that never saw the light of day. Before 2020 ends, here are five of the instances when sections of the media were forced to censor themselves, some out of fear of state