The U.K.’s Global Conference for Media Freedom in London on July 10-11 highlighted the urgency of protecting journalists worldwide. However, statements during the conference and the past week singled out the Russian government as a threat to reporters and the free press.
The conference, organized by the U.K. and Canada, brought together over 1,000 reporters and civil society members for discussions on improving media freedom, fighting disinformation and promoting safety for journalists and the people they work with.
The organizers said that the conference was assembled because the world is becoming a more hostile place for journalists. Reporters Without Borders said that 99 journalists were killed, 348 imprisoned and 60 held hostage in 2018, making it the deadliest year for journalists on record.
“Freedom of expression is being stifled and barriers are preventing the functioning of an independent media,” the organizers wrote.
Disinformation condemned
To start with, the Kremlin-funded Russian news outlets RT and Sputnik did not receive accreditation for the event, “because of their active role in spreading disinformation,” according to the U.K. Foreign Office. Both outlets reported from outside the building instead.
Some Russian media, including both RT and Sputnik, criticized the decision as hypocritical. The Foreign Office responded that other Russian journalists were invited.
Earlier in the past week, the U.K. said it would create an 18 million pound initiative over 3 years to fight against so-called fake news and disinformation. It also announced 19 million pounds for independent media in Ukraine, specifically.
In the past few years, Russian news outlets and social media accounts have drawn international accusations of trying to manipulate narratives away from facts and sow controversy that would benefit Russia and hurt its enemies.
“Building on the experience of the Salisbury incident, the U.K. has become a global leader in countering disinformation,” U.K. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt stated at the time.
Hunt referred to a series of Russian reports that alleged the U.K. had suppressed or falsified evidence during the investigation of the nerve agent poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei and his daughter Yulia Skripal in the city of Salisbury. An international investigation identified Russian operatives as being behind the attack and they’re wanted on criminal charges in London.
Calling out Russia
During the conference, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland quoted the late Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya in saying “What matters is the information and not what you think about it.” The quote was also written near the entrance to the conference. Politkovskaya was murdered in Russia in 2006, in what is widely seen as political revenge by the Putin administration.
“Anna’s tragic death reminds us that Russia is one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to work today,” said Freeland. “And that, by the way, is not an accident, it’s quite deliberate.”
Freeland pointed out Russia’s detention of Ukrainian writer and filmmaker Oleg Sentsov in Crimea, where he was working during Russia’s annexation. Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison for allegedly plotting terrorist acts. Amnesty International and other organizations said the charges were fabricated.
But Freeland praised Russian reporters for coming together to successfully demand the release of Russian anti-corruption journalist Ivan Golunov. In June, Golunov had been arrested for an alleged drug-related crime by the Moscow police but later released after a massive public outcry.
Mariana Katzarova, a Russia researcher for Amnesty International spoke about Politkovskaya’s life at the Conference and how she was captured and almost killed multiple times over the course of her career. Katzarova said that Politkovskaya was killed for “being the voice of the Chechens,” during Russia’s second war in Chechnya.
Also during the Conference, the U.K. Foreign Office posted an online video statement from Maria Tomak, the Co-founder of the Media Initiative for Human Rights in Ukraine. Tomak said that because Russia does not allow monitoring missions in Crimea, journalists and the Crimean Tatar community offer the world’s only glimpse into what is happening there.
“As for Donbas, I’m afraid that it’s like a black hole on the map,” Tomak said. “There is a place where people are missing, where people are tortured, where journalists are kidnapped.” She gave the example of RFE/RL reporter Stanislav Aseyev, who is still being held hostage in “one of the basements” in the Donbas region.
Separately, on July 10, the U.K. called on Russia to allow international monitoring organizations access to Crimea and to release all political prisoners.
UK media freedom
Despite the U.K. statements, the country “remained one of the worst-ranked Western European countries in the World Press Freedom Index,” according to Reporters Without Borders. The pro-journalist advocacy group pointed to a “heavy handed approach towards the press, often in the name of national security,” and criticized the Investigatory Powers Act and insufficient mechanisms to protect whistleblowers.
The U.K. is also known for its “mass surveillance regime,” which violates the European Convention on Human Rights, including the protection of journalistic sources. Journalists’ data is also at risk from the U.K.’s crackdown on cryptography tools.
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Wright, said on July 11 that the U.K. will set up a national committee for journalist safety. The committee will make an action plan for journalist safety and “ensure that those who threaten journalists are held to account.”
