Journalists Under Attack Around the World

Journalists bring the truth to the world. For that they are sometimes murdered. Many forces of evil want to keep the truth a secret and react in violence to anyone who threatens them by revealing information.

Investigative reporters make a lot of enemies through their work. Thus, in many parts of the world becoming a journalist is basically signing on to be murdered. And those that start a career in journalism under that reality truly are heroes. They are fighting against dark forces that want to withhold the truth from the public.

Oleg Kashin, Journalist, Attacked in Moscow, Russia

Oleg Kashin, age 30, was recently attacked by two men who were waiting for him outside his apartment building in Moscow, Russia. He is a journalist for the Russian newspaper Kommersant.

He was beaten badly and one of his fingers was cut off. He suffered a concussion, both legs were fractured, his jaw was broken and his fingers were broken.

Prior to the attack on Oleg, he had been the subject of a threat. The New York Times reports that the website of Moladaya Gvardiya published an article called "Journalist Betrayers Should be Punished" and placed a picture of Oleg with it and a caption stating: "will be punished."

Dmitri A. Medvedey, President of Russia, announced on Twitter that "The criminals must be found and punished," notes the New York Times. Numerous other journalists in Russia have been murdered or beaten in recent years.

To read more about the attack on Oleg Kashin go HERE.

To see a video of the attack (warning very violent) on the Russian journalist Oleg Kashin, go HERE

Journalists & Bloggers Attacked and Arrested in Egypt & Iran

In 2010, journalists and bloggers in Egypt are often attacked and arrested due to their writings. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that journalists are obstructed and assaulted during public protests in Cairo by the police and government.

Iran is also notorious for arresting journalists who write against the government. Indeed, some journalists are arrested without cause, simply for being a reporter. Iran's president ships journalists to Evin Prison. He does not care about the truth, he maintains power by violence and intimidation. The media for him is an annoyance that must be kept down via violence.

Umar Cheema, Journalist, Tortured in Pakistan

A journalist in Pakistan was kidnapped and then abused for six hours after being kidnapped from his car. Umar Cheema, age 34, writes for The News in Islamabad, Pakistan. In prior months he had published articles that had a negative slant on the Pakistanti Army, notes the New York Times.

Mr. Cheema has spoken about his suspicions that the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) was involved in the attack on him. The ISI reports to the head of the Army. The ISI has denied any involvement in the attack on Umar Cheema.

The men who attacked him stripped him, shaved his head and eyebrows, beat him, and videotaped him while naked. He was also handcuffed. One of the attackers said to him "If you can't avoid rape, enjoy it," notes the NY Times.

That certainly isn't too subtle a threat. One certainly doesn't go into journalism thinking that gang rape will be part of the job. Hearing that threat while handcuffed must have been infuriating indeed.

The ISI had contacted Umar Cheema at a prior point and warned him off covering topics they deemed unacceptable. He didn't take their "advice" it seems. Most journalists wouldn't. And thus it seems the ISI stepped up the threat to include physical violence.

And bullies always travel in packs. The ISI outnumbered the journalist and proved their cowardice by attacking a journalist, who works to keep the people informed.

Another reporter in Pakistan, Azaz Syed, who writes for Dawn, was also attacked during the time when he was also investigating a topic related to the military. The murder of journalists in Pakistan is not unheard of. It is sad indeed when forces with the military and the government step outside the law to murder those people bravely working to bring the truth to the public.

As an American writer, even I have received a death threat from Pakistan. The IP address was traced to Islamabad. The threat started out with talking about raping my mother and then threatened my life if I continued to write on the topic I had just published an article on.

So it is clear that certain people in Pakistan do not care to allow the world to embrace discussion of any and all topics. What a pity for them. Freedom of speech is fun. I embrace it. I celebrate it. I will always use it to write about whatever I feel like.

Mexico: Dangerous for Journalists

Mexico is also a very dangerous place for journalists. Over 30 journalists have been murdered in Mexico since 2006, notes Reuters.

In 2010, three reporters and a TV cameraman were kidnapped in Mexico after covering an alleged drug-cartel related mass murder of 35 people. The drug cartels in Mexico are behind the murder of over 26,000 people in Mexico since 2006, notes Reuters.

Thus journalists in Mexico know their lives are in danger due to the work they do. Just like the police officers there, they know that any day at any time their lives could end suddenly.

Government Control of Media

Trying to control the media has long been favored by evil dictators in communist countries and places like Iran where the elections are bogus and the president is evil.

Even in America, where we greatly value our right to freedom of speech, journalists are sometimes harassed by the government. During the administration of George W. Bush, writer Naomi Wolf reported that the Committee to Protect Journalists stated that the number of arrests of American reporters was at "an all-time high," notes the Guardian. She notes that "Homeland Security brought a criminal complaint against reporter Greg Palast, claiming he threatened critical infrastructure when he was filming victims of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana."

And right now a movie about Valerie Plame, a former CIA agent, has just opened. She alleges that she was outed as a CIA agent after her husband, a writer, published an article stating that George W. Bush was not telling the truth about Saddam Hussein and his supposed weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile President Bush never did not capture Osama bin Laden. But his administration took out Valerie Plame. Valerie's career for the CIA is over and Osama bin Laden is still free. Quite ironic indeed.

Julian Assange & Wikileaks: Hero or Villian?

Right now the world is transfixed with the Wikileaks documents about the Iraq war released by Julian Assange. It has brought the administration of Geoge W. Bush back into the spotlight.

Is Julian Assange a hero or a villain? People have strong opinions on that topic. One thing is sure though, he is telling the world that the U.S. government covered up and lied about the reality of the war.

That is something we already knew vaguely, as those weapons of mass destruction the war was based on never were found. However, we now know much more specific details about incidents that occurred during the war that place our military in a dark light and further damage the reputation of our country.

Will the U.S. government go after Assange? And if so will they do it in a covert or an overt manner? Assange is like a new world journalist. He's using the Internet to disseminate large amounts of information that certain groups, like the U.S. military and the U.S. government, do not want made public.

Is his motivation strictly that of a journalist? Or does he have an intent to promote anti-war information or simply an anti-America mindset?

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/18/world/europe/18impunity.html?hp

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/29/journalists-kidnapped-as-mexican-drug-violence-continues.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/world/asia/25cheema.html?hp

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/world/europe/07russia.html?_r=1&hp

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66R5VC20100729?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+reuters/worldNews+%28News+/+US+/+International%29

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/apr/24/usa.comment