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In May 2019, WIRED joined the One Free Press Coalition, a united group of pre-eminent editors and publishers who use their global reach and social platforms to highlight journalists under attack worldwide. Today, the coalition publishes its eighth monthly list of the “10 Most Urgent” of journalists whose press freedoms are being repressed or whose cases demand justice.
Here’s the May 2020 list, ranked in order of urgency:
1. Azimjon Askarov (Kyrgyzstan)
Journalist imprisoned for deteriorating health with high risk of contracting Covid-19.
On May 11, a Kyrgyz court is slated to hear the final appeal in the Azimjon Askarov case, which spanned his nine years in prison, despite persistent international condemnation. The award-winning ethnic Uzbek journalist had been reporting on human rights when he was arrested on trumped-up charges including incitement to ethnic hatred and complicity in the murder of a police officer. Askarov’s wife Khadicha recently wrote a letter to the President of Kyrgyzstan asking for the journalist’s release, saying he is “absolutely innocent” and suffers from painful inflammation of the bones and joints.
2. Abdulkhaleq Amran, Akram al-Waleedi, Hareth Hameed and Tawfiq al-Mansouri (Yemen)
Yemeni journalists detained for a long time in prison now sentenced to death.
On April 11, four Yemeni journalists, Abdulkhaleq Amran, Akram al-Waleedi, Hareth Hameed and Tawfiq al-Mansouri, were sentenced to death on charges of spreading false news. The individuals have been detained for almost five years by the Ansar Allah group, known as the Houthis, at war with the internationally recognized government, a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia. The journalists’ lawyer says they were not allowed any representation in the courtroom during the sentencing, which was postponed for so long because the Houthi leaders were trying to free them as part of an exchange agreement with the Yemeni government.
3. Mahmoud al-Jaziri (Bahrain)
Jailed reporter punished for telling media about inmates’ fears of coronavirus.
Mahmoud al-Jaziri was transferred to solitary confinement on April 8 in retaliation for an audio clip that appeared on the dissident media channel Bahrain Today3 in which he questioned reports that the Bahraini authorities had taken steps to protect the prisoners of the Covid-19 spread. A reporter for the now-defunct independent newspaper Al-wasat, the last of the country’s independent newspapers, Al-Jaziri has been jailed since December 2015 with a 15-year sentence on charges of belonging to a terrorist group.
4. Solafa Magdy (Egypt)
Prison conditions increase the journalist’s risk of Covid-19 in deteriorating health.
The overcrowding of Egyptian prisons, such as that of Al-Qanater that houses Solafa Magdy, and inhumane conditions threaten to turn places of detention into disease clusters. Magdy, a freelance multimedia journalist, and her husband have been jailed since November 2019 on charges of “belonging to a prohibited group” and “spreading false news.” She has suffered medical negligence and even refused treatment for fear of contracting an infection at the center’s unhygienic hospital. In April, the prison authorities prohibited Magdy’s mother from visiting her and contributing money and food for her.
5. Darvinson Rojas (Venezuela)
Freelance journalist and parents arrested for reporting on Covid-19.
Venezuelan freelance journalist Darvinson Rojas was detained for 13 days after police officers appeared at his home alleging that they were testing Covid-19. In fact, they broke in, violently arrested him, and then interrogated him about the sources of his Covid-19 reports. According to local press freedom organization Espacio Público, Rojas was secretly brought before a judge on March 22 and charged under the controversial “Hate Law” with hate speech and instigation. Rojas was denied the right to his private attorney, instead represented by a court-appointed public defender.
