Iliya Kure, Executive Director of the Africa Media Development Foundation (AMDF), has praised journalists in Africa and throughout the world for their tenacity in the face of attacks, threats, jails, loss, and blackmail.
In a press statement to mark the 2022 World Press Freedom Day, Ikiya Kure added, “As we mark the 2022 World Press Freedom Day, we remember each of the 55 journalists killed worldwide in the last year (UNESCO figures), who died in the line of duty, or because of their journalistic practice.”
“Today, we salute journalists in Africa, and others around the world, who remain in the frontline to practice journalism, despite the attacks, threats, imprisonment, loss and blackmail.”
He highlighted that, throughout time, Press Freedom in Africa has been a source of worry, with high occurrences of violations and attacks on the Press by security agencies, on the instructions of individuals in authority, and occasionally by disgruntled members of the public who take the law into their own hands.
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He stated that the day is designated by the UN to serve as a reminder to governments of the need of upholding their commitment to press freedom, as well as a day of reflection for media professionals on problems of press freedom and professional ethics.
The Executive Director stated that AMDF is worried about the growing number of examples of harassment, arrests, incarceration, torture, and digital attacks on journalists for no other reason than that they are journalists.
He urged African governments and security services to always protect press freedom, and he urged journalists to scrupulously adhere to the code of journalistic ethics when writing their reports.
According to him, AMDF has linked itself with the 2022 subject, “Journalism Under Digital Siege,” which reflects the numerous problems that journalists face in carrying out their jobs.
He stated that it is critical because the trend of online attacks on media is significantly increasing, with women journalists being the hardest hit, emphasizing that a recent UNESCO statistic shows a shocking prevalence of online harassment, with nearly three-quarters of female media professionals having experienced online violence related to their work.
