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Journalism under threat in Libya

February 13, 2015 at 3:42 pm

For the past two years journalists in Libya have faced attacks, kidnappings, even murder; all crimes have been committed by different armed groups with impunity, as Human Rights Watch (HRW) reveals in a recent report wherein the watchdog raises concerns about the country’s deteriorating media landscape.

On 26 May last year, Miftah Bouzeid, the editor-in-chief of Burniq, an independent newspaper in Benghazi, was shot dead in his car. Bouzeid was a frequent critic of Islamist militias and political factions in parliament. For this he had received many threats, Idriss al-Mesmary explained to HRW. The head of the Information Ministry’s Directorate for the Support and Encouragement of the Press suspects that the murder was related to an interview in which Bouzeid criticised the General National Congress, as well as the militia groups, and discussed General Khalifa Haftar’s “anti-terrorism” campaign codenamed “Libya Dignity”.

Like other cases examined by HRW, no serious investigation, if any at all, was conducted after Bouzeid’s murder, which occurred following a deterioration in the security situation in the country. Many journalists fled and today Libya is in 137th place out of the 180 countries on the 2014 Press Freedom index, a six points decline from the year before. The journalists who stayed on the ground have been forced into self-censorship, claims HRW, whose report entitled “War on the Media: Journalists Under Attack in Libya” was released on Monday.

The HRW report, which is based on interviews, identified at least 91 cases of threats and assaults aimed at journalists from mid-2012 to November 2014; 14 were against women and there were 8 killings and 30 kidnappings. The report also estimates that 26 armed attacks had been made against media headquarters such as television and radio stations.

Since the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 Libya has fallen into the hands of different militia groups fighting for power. According to HRW, the revolution transformed Libya’s media: “Libyan journalists started to report the news, express opinions and criticise politicians like never before.” However, the hope and joy after Gaddafi’s overthrow – he kept the media in a firm grip to stay in power for more than four decades, remember – didn’t last for long. Today the country has two governments claiming legitimacy; one is recognised internationally while the other is self-proclaimed and controls the capital Tripoli and western parts of the country. The increasing violence has left the judicial system close to collapse in parts of the country.

As a result, many armed groups can act in impunity. “HRW is not aware of a single instance in which officials prosecuted a perpetrator of an attack against a journalist or media outlet since 2011,” the report notes. “Courts,” though, “are prosecuting people, including journalists, for speech-related offences.” On 17 November, Amar Al-Khatabi, editor of Al-Ummah newspaper, was informed that he had been sentenced in absentia on 17 August to five years in prison for “insulting and slandering” public officials. For now, Al-Khatabi remains free and has told HRW he will seek a retrial.

Objective reporting under threat

“Given the situation they couldn’t cover everything,” says Tripoli-born Asma Khalifa about the HRW report. Nevertheless, the peace activist currently finishing her Master’s degree in Istanbul believes that it is “fairly good.”

At the same time she wishes that there was more coverage about the tribal divisions and how the situation in the south affects the media landscape. “Without security there’s no journalist who can cover the news without taking sides,” she explains. She is worried about this development. “2014 was a complete tragedy.” One of her Libyan friends, who covered human rights violations against journalists, was kidnapped. After a couple of weeks he was released and is now back in Tripoli where, adds Khalifa, he is continuing his job, “cautiously”.

Journalist Valerie Stocker has worked extensively in Libya. She has not been subject to any attacks, threats or intimidation personally but she is aware that other journalists, mostly Libyans, have been through such experiences. “The violence against the press described in the latest HRW report is not news for anyone working on Libya,” she insists.

The attacks have been on the rise since 2012, but today the situation has worsened considerably, she points out. During her last visit to Western Libya in December she was treated well by the authorities but highlights the difficulty in offering objective news from a country like Libya today. “I think that for us, foreign journalists, this is the main challenge right now; trying to remain neutral while being subject to attempts by both political camps to influence media content.” It is worse for the local media. “People feel that they have to side with either of the two political camps,” Stocker points out.

Is it possible to be an objective journalist in Libya today? “After this war,” replies Abdulhameed Amrooni, a Libyan journalist currently working for Reporters Without Borders, “no.” Most media is affiliated with a specific group or political party. Amrooni is trying to assist journalists in Libya with safe havens and information that may help them in their daily life. The intimidation factor is widespread and two of his journalist friends have decided to quit, fearing for their lives. Others have taken a career break to see how the situation develops.

Even though Amrooni thinks that the HRW report is good he has some reservations about the methodology adopted in its compilation. “The report did not address the causes of the violations objectively,” he argues; some of the attacks have been due to a person’s political activism rather than their journalistic work. Many journalists are involved politically, he argues, so we would have liked that factor to have been addressed with more clarity in the report.

Whose responsibility?

In mid-December 2014 Reporters Without Borders declared that at least 66 journalists had been killed throughout the year worldwide; four were in Libya. In addition, the number of kidnappings soared. Territories controlled by ISIS and its affiliates in Iraq, Syria and eastern Libya were among the most dangerous areas for journalists. “The murders are becoming more and more barbaric and the number of abductions is growing rapidly,” the watchdog warns, arguing that crime committed against journalists is a way to try to avoid independent news coverage and scrutiny from the outside world. “The nature of the violence against journalists,” says HRW, “and the way that threats and beheadings are staged very carefully suggests that they are being used for very clear purposes.”

HRW accuses the Libyan authorities of failing to protect the country’s journalists. The result is that much of the limited press freedom that existed following the 2011 uprising has been “wiped out”.

According to Joe Stork, HRW’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, the climate of impunity has allowed militias to assault, threaten, kidnap or even kill journalists because of their reporting or views. “Government authorities and non-state actors who control territory should condemn attacks on journalists as a matter of urgency, and where possible hold those responsible to account,” he added in a public statement as he pushed for government reforms within Libya.

The report concludes by pointing out, “The elected government of Libya as well as non-state actors and members of militias are bound by international law obligations to protect journalists, as much as they are bound to protect civilians, during armed conflicts.” When the political situation and civil society are in such disarray, though, it is unlikely that anyone will take such responsibility seriously.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.