We recently had an enquiry by the Parliament's Intelligence and Security committee into the impact of law enforcement on the freedom of the press. There were sixteen recomendations arising from that enquiry and the Attorney General has promised that all sixteen will pass into law.
The press is critical because it claims that law enforcement will still be able to investigate journalists without media companies being granted any ability to argue their cases. The only real change is that law enforcement will need to obtain their warrant from a Supreme court or a Federal court judge.
The real issue is that journalists may still face the risk of jail for simply doing their job. It is in the public interest that wrong doing be brought into the public domain and yet we are seeing raids on journalists homes and law enforcement delving into the files they maintain in their place of work, and that is not conducive to whistle blowers coming forward with information.
Probably the most illustrative example of how a journalist can be punished for exposing the truth lays in the treatment accorded Australian journalist Julian Assange. His organization - Wikileaks - obtained clear evidence that American Security forces worked outside the law when it killed innocent bystanders during raids on terrorists, and promptly imposed news blackouts to cover up these crimes.
He was assisted by a member of the American armed forces who worked as a data processor. This soldier copied material he handled and passed it on to Wikileaks, who published it and embarrassed the US government. That soldier served jail time and was finally released. He underwent a sex change operation and now lives openly in the United States as a private citizen. Assange sought sanctuary in a London embassy and lived there for years. Finally forced out when his mental health deteriorated, he is now in a British prison cell fighting an extradition attempt to bring him to the United States, where he would probably face either death or life in an American prison.
The pursuit of Julian Assange was relentless. The US is unable to doubt that the account of US crimes overseas is factual and yet it is going after Julian Assange for having printed the truth. He revealed what is really willful murder by American security forces and the free world has simply turned its back and done nothing to protect Assange's journalistic freedom.
What the media are seeking is a clear and simple understanding that a journalist has the right to publish matter that is :" the truth and in the public interest ". When law enforcement carry out these investigative raids the objective sought is the identity of the person who " leaked " that information.
Law enforcement is not challenging the veracity of the information published, merely seeking out the identity of the pertson responsible to plug future leaks. In the course of that information search, the journalist involved may serve jail time for protecting his or her source of information.
We can not have a " free press " unless our journalists have solid protection from law enforcement using its powers to break the nexus between the scribe and the source of information. Without that, many dirty little secrets will remain forever hidden and not see the light of day !
No comments:
Post a Comment