LAST month, the American authorities finally brought a bitter chapter in the history of freedom of speech to a close when they finally decided to release a six-year detainee, whose main charge was to hold a camera and send footage to millions of viewers around the world. Sami Al-Hajj, a Sudanese cameraman working for Al Jazeera news group, was captured in December 2001 after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Alongside more than 300 multinational detainees, Sami was held in a desolate prison camp for almost six years without any charges leveled against him. He was subjected to more that 200 interrogation sessions in unspeakable humiliation, and all of this was being done by a country that claims pride in its Freedom of Information Act. Just after his arrival, he was rushed to a nearby hospital where he could receive medical checks. His remarks on the conditions of his detention sparked controversy and shock. He mentioned that, when compared with treatment that detainees received in Guantanamo Bay, “rats are treated with more humanity,” adding that “human dignity was widely violated.” Earlier this week, Abdul Samad Rohani, a journalist who worked for the BBC, was found dead after having been abducted by an unknown military group in the war-ravaged region of Helmand in Afghanistan. According to the physician who initially examined the body, the victim was apparently tortured before being shot dead. A day earlier, another BBC journalist was killed in Mogadishu, Somalia, where he was covering the ongoing battles between rebel fighters and the Ethiopian-backed government forces. These are only sketches of the wide range of violations journalists are facing in this increasingly media-saturated world. Understandably enough, many politicians and decision makers across the world hate the very idea of the media sneaking into the intricacies of their policies. So the reports that they usually publish on various issues may not always please politicians. And because of that, journalists have to pay the heaviest price of all: with their lives. The world's leading media watchdog, Reporters without Borders, has released its report on the violations against journalists in the year 2007. The terrible increase in incidents against journalists is worth discussing. Eighty-six journalists and more than 20 media assistants were killed, 887 arrested, and scores more were either kidnapped or threatened. So far this year, 14 journalists had been killed and 132 imprisoned, according to the press freedom barometer published on the organization's website. The role undertaken by the free press is undeniably great. From politics to economics, it is an utter truth that corrupt and corruption practices do thrive in secret places. The responsibility undertaken by free press is to unveil these practices and report them to the public. In most desperately poor countries, the lack of free journalism and the country's grave political and economic circumstances are inextricably linked. Despite the fact that the Internet has revolutionized nearly everything in our lives, materials published on the Internet are frequently censored and regularly checked for any critical comments written by activists against local governments and their policies. The disappearance of many web journalists is voicing concern that the battle between censors and web activists has taken a grave turn. Usually, journalists or reporters are silenced by vicious and inhuman means because there are some influential people whose very existence is threatened by the disclosure of a story or an incident they dare to keep in secret. In modern warfare, field reporters are brutally targeted in the same manner as enemy combatants. The reports sent and the footages aired are meticulously censored so as to mislead the public and influence the course of events. Freedom of speech is critical to political, economic and social reforms. Enhancement of such freedom is crucially important in advancing the capabilities of individuals and the society at large. It is also the freedom of expression which is in the forefront in any fight against the societal ills such as poverty, deprivation and social inequality. However, there is an urgent need for laws and regulations to protect and regulate freedom of speech so as to stop offenses against innocent people under the umbrella of free speech. The recent examples where the Prophet od Islam (peace be upon him) was sarcastically depicted in numerous cartoons published and republished in several European newspapers are in stark violations of the sentiments of millions of people living across the Muslim world. Accountability and transparency flourish in the presence of quality and investigative journalism. Despite the keen efforts undertaken by many ill-intentioned people to manipulate it, truth, not falsehood, would ultimately prevail. – Saudi Gazette – The writer can be contacted at [email protected] __
