Cape Town, 05 February 2025 – The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation stands in unwavering solidarity with journalists who face censorship, persecution, and violence for their commitment to truth and accountability. Across the world, freedom of the press is under attack, with journalists facing imprisonment, intimidation, and even death for simply doing their jobs.
In November 2024 we hosted Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Maria Ressa as our speaker for the Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture. Maria’s example of courageous action establishing an independent media platform in the Philippines led to significant persecution. But through courage and global solidarity, Ressa has fought off the vast majority of legal attacks and is a voice for journalists everywhere. Her book – How to Stand Up to a Dictator – is an inspiring call to action.
In light of the example of Maria Ressa, we are particularly alarmed by the escalating repression of journalists in Georgia, where independent voices are being silenced, and the fundamental right to information is under siege. In particular, we condemn the detention of Mzia Amaghlobeli a respected journalist who developed independent media platforms Batumelebi and Net Gazeti. These independent platforms have focussed on human rights and democracy and received many global awards for their work.
Mzia is one of 600 people who have been arrested in the past two months as Georgians fight for their democratic freedoms. For the past 24 days, Mzia has undertaken a hunger strike to protest her detention. We call for her immediate release.
Beyond Georgia, we also express deep concern over the persecution of journalists around the world in countries such as Russia, where independent media outlets have been forced to shut down and many journalists fled into exile; Myanmar, where a state of emergency has been extended by the military junta, and reporters have been imprisoned for covering the regime’s abuses; and Iran, where journalists face harassment and detention for exposing human rights violations. And as in many countries’ journeys to autocracy, we see the threats of mis- and dis-information taking root in the Trump administration’s assault on all levers of democratic accountability.
Media freedom is threatened across the African continent too. In 2023 alone, the following African journalists were killed: Cameroon’s Anye Nde Nsoh and Martinez Zogo, Lesotho’s Ralikonelo Joki, Mozambique’s João Chamusse, Nigeria’s Hilary Nosa Odia, Somalia’s Abdifatah Moallim Nur, Sudan’s Halima Idris, and Rwanda’s John William Ntwali. And a further 67 journalists were in detention in 2023 across the continent.
The role of the press in holding power to account is essential to any just and democratic society, and attacks on media freedom are, at their core, attacks on democracy itself.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu dedicated his life to truth, justice, and the protection of human rights. He reminded us that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Today, we reaffirm his legacy by calling on governments, institutions, and civil society to protect journalists, uphold press freedom, and defend the right of people everywhere to access reliable and independent information.
We urge world leaders to take immediate and decisive action to end the harassment and suppression of journalists. Those who seek to suppress the truth may wield power temporarily, but history has shown that truth and justice ultimately prevail.
The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation calls upon all people of conscience to stand with journalists, amplify their voices, and demand justice for those who have been silenced. A free press is not a privilege; it is a pillar of democracy and human dignity.
ENDS