Attacks on journalists who expose corruption and other wrong-doing by government officials in their own countries continue unabated around the world. ISLP’s Media Law Working Group Chair Richard “Dick” Winfield has described this worldwide crackdown on freedom of expression as a “pandemic within a pandemic.” In response, we have accelerated our work filing amicus curiae briefs in support of wrongly accused and imprisoned journalists and bloggers. We contend that the weaponizing of penal codes to suppress criticism of government officials constitutes a violation of countries’ treaty obligations under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). We are pleased to report that two of these defendants were recently freed: bloggers Saïd Boudour in Algeria and Wajdi Mahouechi in Tunisia.
In the first case, Algerian freelance journalist Saïd Boudour faced trial and imprisonment for an early 2020 Facebook post criticizing military leaders, the army, and a pro-government news executive. Following his conviction that December, defense counsel presented the arguments contained in our brief to the appellate court, which reduced the sentence to a 2-months suspended sentence. Boudour was freed and shortly thereafter all charges were dismissed in his case.
In the second case, Tunisian blogger Wajdi Mahouechi criticized a local public prosecutor for failing to arrest and investigate an imam whom he accused of promoting violence. Authorities arrested Mahouechi, who was convicted in November 2020 of multiple crimes and sentenced to prison for two years. ISLP filed an ISLP amicus curiae brief in April 2021 with the Tunisian Court of Cassation arguing that the country had flouted international norms and subjected the government to ICCPR treaty violations by refusing to remove the conflicted prosecutor and by punishing Mahouechi’s freedom to criticize public officials. On January 20, 2022, Mahouechi was freed, having had his sentence reduced to 16 months in prison.
Founded and led by ISLP emeritus board member Dick Winfield, ISLP’s Media Law Working Group supports journalists, bloggers, and watchdog NGOs that investigate, report on, and litigate matters that impinge on the right to freedom of expression and mechanisms for government accountability. The Media Law Working Group finds itself busier than ever before.