The Guardian is among more than 50 organisations using World Press Freedom Day to call on governments to protect freedom of expression in the wake of the attack on Charlie Hebdo and increasing state surveillance and censorship.
The call is laid out in a letter organised by press freedom organisation PEN International and signed by more than 20 of its regional centres. Other signatories include campaign groups Index on Censorship and Article 19.
The letter says: “On World Press Freedom Day, 116 days after the attack at the office of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo that left 11 dead and 12 wounded, we, the undersigned, reaffirm our commitment to defending the right to freedom of expression, even when that right is being used to express views that we and others may find difficult, or even offensive.”
Eight Charlie Hebdo editorial staff, including editor Stéphane Charbonnier, were killed at the offices of the satirical magazine in Paris, along with the editor’s bodyguard, a caretaker and a visitor. A police officer who confronted the attackers in the streets outside as they fled was also shot and killed.
The letter goes on to detail incidences of violence and threats being used to intimidate media organisations, as well as censorship by governments in countries such as Turkey, Russia and Egypt.
It also condemns attempts by European governments to use the Charlie Hebdo attacks to clamp down on freedom of expression. It singles out for criticism calls from European ministers for internet service providers to “identify and remove online content ‘that aims to incite hatred and terror’” and suggestions in the UK that security services should have the ability to monitor all encrypted communication.
It says: “This kind of governmental response is chilling because a particularly insidious threat to our right to free expression is self-censorship. In order to fully exercise the right to freedom of expression, individuals must be able to communicate without fear of intrusion by the state.”
