[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 191 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 191
Recognizing widening threats to freedom of the press and free
expression around the world, reaffirming the vital role that a free and
independent press plays in combating the growing threats of
authoritarianism, misinformation, and disinformation, and reaffirming
freedom of the press as a priority of the United States Government in
promoting democracy, human rights, and good governance in commemoration
of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2023.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 3, 2023
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Cardin, Mr.
Merkley, and Mr. Van Hollen) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing widening threats to freedom of the press and free
expression around the world, reaffirming the vital role that a free and
independent press plays in combating the growing threats of
authoritarianism, misinformation, and disinformation, and reaffirming
freedom of the press as a priority of the United States Government in
promoting democracy, human rights, and good governance in commemoration
of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2023.
Whereas the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and various State
constitutions protect freedom of the press in the United States;
Whereas Thomas Jefferson, who championed the necessity of a free press for a
thriving democratic society, wisely declared, ``Our liberty depends on
the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being
lost.'';
Whereas article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
adopted in Paris on December 10, 1948, states, ``Everyone has the right
to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to
hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.'';
Whereas, in 1993, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the third day
of May of each year to be ``World Press Freedom Day''--
(1) to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom;
(2) to evaluate press freedom around the world;
(3) to defend the media against attacks on its independence; and
(4) to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives while
working in their profession;
Whereas the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-166)
expanded the examination of the freedom of the press around the world in
the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices published by the
Department of State;
Whereas, on December 18, 2013, and December 18, 2019, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted Resolution 68/163 and Resolution 74/157, respectively,
on the safety of journalists and the problem of impunity by
unequivocally condemning all attacks on, and violence against,
journalists and media workers, including torture, extrajudicial killing,
enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and intimidation and
harassment in conflict and non-conflict situations;
Whereas the United States Government has used the Global Magnitsky Human Rights
Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114-328) to
place targeted visa and economic sanctions on individuals, including for
their roles in the targeted killings of journalists;
Whereas, in an effort to combat attacks against journalists, Secretary of State
Antony J. Blinken in February 2021, announced the Khashoggi Ban, a new
policy allowing the Department of State to impose visa restrictions on
individuals who, acting on behalf of a foreign government, are believed
to have been directly engaged in serious, extraterritorial counter-
dissident activities, including activities that suppress, harass,
surveil, threaten, or harm journalists, activists, or other persons
perceived to be dissidents for their work;
Whereas Reporters Without Borders, in their compiled data from 2022, provide
alarming indications about growing divisions resulting from the spread
of disinformation with the potential to weaken democratic societies;
Whereas, according to Reporters Without Borders, a record total of 533
journalists were in prison as of December 1, 2022, and the annual number
of women journalists in prison has recently risen by nearly 30 percent;
Whereas Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2023 report marked the 17th
consecutive year of decline in global freedom, with an estimated 39
percent of the global population living in countries deemed ``Not
Free'';
Whereas worsening media freedom has been one of the key drivers of declines in
global freedom, including attacks and prosecutions against journalists,
pressure on media outlets, repressive regulatory and legal frameworks,
internet shutdowns, and blocks on online sources of information;
Whereas journalists and media staff are being murdered, attacked, harassed and
imprisoned around the world and the Committee to Protect Journalists has
reported that--
(1) at least 67 journalists and media workers were killed around the
world in 2022, representing a rise compared to the previous year of almost
50 percent;
(2) the vast majority of murders of journalists occur with impunity,
with nearly 80 percent of the perpetrators of 263 murders of journalists
from September 1, 2012, to August 31, 2022, facing no punishment;
(3) Iran, China, Burma, Turkey, and Belarus were responsible for nearly
60 percent of all imprisoned journalists; and
(4) journalists and media outlets around the world have been targeted
by government actors with sophisticated spyware products that pose a severe
risk to their security and the security of their sources and families;
Whereas, according to PEN America, at least 311 writers and public
intellectuals, including columnists and editorial journalists, were
imprisoned across 36 different countries during 2022;
Whereas, since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February
2022, Reporters Without Borders has documented attacks directly
targeting journalists, including--
(1) the killing of 8 journalists and media workers;
(2) the torture by electric shock, beatings, and mock executions of
journalists working for the international press;
(3) the targeted kidnappings of journalists and their families in
occupied regions of Ukraine to put pressure on their reporting; and
(4) the deliberate attacks targeting media facilities;
Whereas, in the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, Ukrainian journalists and
bloggers have repeatedly been threatened, arbitrarily arrested, and
tortured for resisting Russian occupation, such as the detentions of
Vladyslav Yesypenko Iryna Danylovych, Amet Suleimanov, Asan Akhmetov,
Marlen Asanov, Nariman Celal, Oleksiy Bessarabov, Osman Arifmemetov,
Remzi Bekirov, Ruslan Suleimanov, Rustem Sheikhaliev, Server Mustafayev,
Seyran Saliev, Timur Ibragimov, and Vilen Temeryanov;
Whereas media workers face heightened dangers in Russia, such as harassment,
repression, censorship, and imprisonment, with 22 journalists imprisoned
as of April 17, 2023, of whom 10 were arrested after the beginning of
the invasion of Ukraine, including--
(1) Evan Gershkovich, a United States reporter with the Wall Street
Journal, who was wrongfully detained on baseless espionage charges in March
and faces up to 20 years in jail;
(2) Ivan Safronov, a correspondent with Russian business dailies
Kommersant and Vedomosti, who was sentenced to 22 years in jail on treason
charges in September 2022;
(3) Maria Ponomarenko, a correspondent with the RusNews independent
news website, who was sentenced to 6 years in prison for spreading false
information about the Russian military on February 15, 2023;
(4) Sergey Mikhaylov, publisher of independent newspaper Listok, who
was arrested for spreading false information about the Russian military in
April 2022;
(5) Mikhail Afanasyev, editor-in-chief of the online magazine Novy
Fokus, who was arrested and charged with spreading false information about
the Russian military in April 2022;
(6) Novaya Gazeta, a landmark independent newspaper founded in 1993,
which--
G (A) suspended operations in Russia in March 2022 after receiving
warnings from the authorities citing the country's foreign agents law; and
G (B) was stripped of its print and online media licenses in
September 2022; and
(7) Meduza, a leading independent bilingual news website based outside
of Russia, which--
G (A) was designated by Russian authorities in January 2023 as an
``undesirable organization'' under the 2015 Undesirable Organization Law;
and
G (B) was banned from operating in the Russian Federation;
Whereas, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Government of
the People's Republic of China had detained at least 43 journalists, as
of December 1, 2022, and has unleashed an onslaught of attacks on press
freedom in China and Hong Kong, including through--
(1) state-sponsored censorship and disinformation campaigns limiting
access to information about any dissent, including recent protests against
then-imposed COVID-19 restrictions, and by censoring protest-related
keywords on social media platforms;
(2) attacks on press freedom in Hong Kong, including the passage of the
National Security Law, which poses an existential threat to the city's
tradition of press freedom, and the arrest and subsequent conviction of
Jimmy Lai, owner of Hong Kong's largest media outlet, Apple Daily, and an
outspoken democracy advocate;
(3) arrests or other repressive actions against independent journalists
and others in mainland China attempting to share uncensored news or opinion
about current affairs, including Sophia Huang Xueqin, who has written about
women's rights and the protests in Hong Kong, and has been arbitrarily
detained for more than 500 days;
(4) the detention of journalists critical of the Government of China,
including Ruan Xiaohuan, who, after blogging about programming and
politics, was sentenced to a 7-year term of imprisonment in early 2023,
following 21 months of incommunicado detention; and
(5) the continued detention of Uyghur journalists, who account for
nearly 50 percent of imprisoned journalists in China, including Ilham
Tohti, founder of the news website Uighurbiz, who was detained in 2014 and
is serving a life sentence;
Whereas Afghanistan, under the control of the Taliban, remains one of the most
repressive countries for journalists, with journalists in Afghanistan
being subject to arrest, beatings, and arbitrary restrictions on their
work, including journalists Mortaza Behboudi and Khairullah Parhar, who
have been detained by the Taliban since January 2023;
Whereas Belarus has witnessed sweeping attacks against the press since Alexander
Lukashenka's fraudulent election in August 2020, with journalists and
media workers harassed, assaulted, imprisoned, or otherwise retaliated
against for their work, including--
(1) Katsiaryna Andreyeva, a correspondent with Poland-based independent
broadcaster Belsat TV, who, while serving a 2-year prison term for filming
a live broadcast of the violent dispersal of a protest against Lukashenko
in November 2020, was sentenced to 8 additional years in prison on treason
charges in July 2022;
(2) Ksenia Lutskina, a former correspondent for the state broadcaster
Belteleradio, who was sentenced to 8 years in prison on charges of
conspiring to seize state power in September 2022, and who is not receiving
appropriate medical care despite having a preexisting brain tumor that has
grown during her detention;
(3) Maryna Zolatava, chief editor of independent news website Tut.by,
who was sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of incitement to hatred
and distributing materials calling for actions aimed at harming national
security in March 2023;
(4) Andrey Kuznechyk, a journalist who, while working for Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty, was detained in November 2021, and sentenced in June
2022 to 6 years in prison on charges of forming an extremist group; and
(5) Ihar Losik, another Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist who
was arrested in June 2020, and sentenced in December 2021 to 15 years in
jail on bogus charges of preparation of actions that violate public order,
who attempted suicide in March 2023, and whose wife Darya was sentenced in
January 2023 to 2 years in prison on a charge of facilitating extremist
activity;
Whereas Reporters Without Borders asserts that due to oppression by the military
junta, ``press freedom in [Burma] has been set back ten years in ten
days'' after the February 1, 2021, military coup, including through--
(1) media workers forced into hiding and confronting censorship,
harassment, internet blocks, beatings, interrogations, threats, and
injuries at the hands of the military;
(2) multiple independent media outlets had forced to cease operations
or close altogether or had their licenses revoked by the military; and
(3) journalists being detained at alarming rates, with 75 journalists
in prison as of April 17, 2023;
Whereas Cuba remains a highly restricted environment for independent media,
marked by internet restrictions and constant harassment of journalists
and news outlets, including journalist Lazaro Yuri Valle Roca who was
sentenced to 5 years in prison for ``enemy propaganda and resistance''
in July 2022, a clear sign that the Cuban regime continues using the
extreme measure of jailing journalists to maintain its regime of
censorship;
Whereas Egypt's restrictions on the media have accelerated under President Abdel
Fattah el-Sisi since 2013, with at least 21 journalists imprisoned as of
December 1, 2022, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists,
including--
(1) Alaa Abd El Fattah, a blogger sentenced to 5 years in prison for
``broadcasting false news'' who embarked on a hunger strike on April 2,
2022, to protest his mistreatment, which he escalated to a near-fatal
``water strike'' that prompted a forced medical intervention by prison
officials upon the start of the United Nations COP 27 climate summit in
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt on November 6, 2022;
(2) Hisham Abdel Aziz, an Al Jazeera journalist who is on the verge of
losing his eyesight following untreated glaucoma while in prison; and
(3) Mahmoud Abou Zeid, who was released after 5 years in prison, but
remains subject to a 5-year probation term that requires his continuous
presence at a police station between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. daily;
Whereas assaults on press freedom in El Salvador imperil its fragile democracy
and include both verbal attacks on journalists by political leaders and
the use of state power to intimidate independent media, such as--
(1) the ongoing criminal investigation against outlet El Faro, which
was launched after it reported damaging information about the government,
and which led the media outlet to relocate most of its operations to Costa
Rica following harassment by Salvadorian police;
(2) the online attacks and threats to journalists from the outlet
Revista Factum, which has been banned from press conferences at the
presidential residence; and
(3) the adoption of a new law that imposes prison sentences ranging
from 10 to 15 years for certain reporting on criminal groups, such as
gangs;
Whereas, in India, government authorities frequently impose internet and
communication blackouts in certain areas, and have recently detained and
charged journalists covering political demonstrations, called for the
temporary blockage of journalists and media accounts on Twitter, and
subjected journalists to searches and arrests, including--
(1) the February 2023 raid on the British Broadcasting Company offices
in Delhi and Mumbai, during which tax authorities seized employees' laptops
and mobile phones, following an Income Tax Department order the previous
month, widely viewed as an attempt to censor the outlet following the
release of a documentary on key political figures in India; and
(2) the house arrest of Gautam Navlakha, a journalist and activist, who
has been awaiting trial since April 2020 on charges of ``instigating caste
violence'';
Whereas Pakistan maintains high levels of media censorship and impunity persists
in cases of killings and physical attacks on journalists who criticize
the military and state institutions, including--
(1) the arrest of journalists Imran Riaz Khan, in July 2022, under
sedition charges for his criticism of the military; and
(2) the assault of Ayaz Amir, an employee of Dunya News, on July 1,
2022, days after he had made comments criticizing former Prime Minister
Imran Khan and the military;
Whereas Iran was the leading jailer of journalists and the most prolific jailer
of female journalists in 2022, subjecting media workers to aggressive
intimidation, arbitrary summons, arrests, travel bans, conditional
releases, torture, inhumane treatment, and unsubstantiated and unjust
sentences, including--
(1) Niloofar Hamedi, correspondent of the daily newspaper Shargh, who
was imprisoned in 2022 for trying to document the death of Mahsa Amini on
charges that could result in the death penalty;
(2) Elahe Mohammadi, journalist for the daily Ham Mihan, who was also
imprisoned in 2022 for the same action and on the same charges;
(3) Yalda Moaiery, a prominent female photojournalist who--
G (A) while covering the nationwide protests in Tehran, was arrested
by anti-riot police despite having press credentials;
G (B) was later charged with ``spreading propaganda against the
system'' and ``acting against national security''; and
G (C) was sentenced to 6 years in prison;
(4) freelance journalist Fariborz Kalantari, who was sentenced on
February 7, 2021, to 7 years in prison and 74 lashes for using his telegram
channel to circulate articles about corruption charges brought against the
ex-Vice President's brother;
(5) Mahmoud Mahmoudi, the editor of the weekly newspaper Agrin Rozh,
who was arrested by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence in Sanandaj
after issuing an open letter calling for the release of detained Kurdish
activists;
(6) freelance photojournalist Nooshin Jafari, who was arrested in 2021,
and sentenced to a 4-year prison term for ``spreading anti-state
propaganda'' and ``insulting sanctities''; and
(7) Iranian journalist Navid Seyed-Mohammadi, a Kurdish reporter for
the state-run Islamic Republic Radio and Television broadcaster, who was
arrested in May 2020 and is serving a 7-year prison sentence for
``espionage for hostile states'';
Whereas Mexico continues to be one of the world's deadliest countries for
journalists, where 25 journalists are currently counted as missing, and
reporters covering stories on political corruption and organized crime
are frequently assaulted and murdered, including--
(1) Gustavo Sanchez Cabrera, a reporter who covered crime and politics
and who was murdered in front of his son;
(2) Ricardo Dominguez Lopez, the founder and editor of news website
InfoGuaymas;
(3) Lourdes Maldonado Lopez, a broadcast journalist, and Margarito
Martinez, a photojournalist, who were both killed in Tijuana in January
2022;
(4) Juan Carlos Muniz, a reporter who covered crime for the news
website Testigo Minero; and
(5) Fredid Roman, the founder of the newspaper La Realidad and a
columnist for the newspaper Vertice Diario de Chilpancingo;
Whereas Haiti is the second deadliest country in the Western Hemisphere for
journalists, with 7 journalists killed during 2022, following a steady
uptick of violence against the press over the last several years;
Whereas the years-long persecution of journalists in Nicaragua continues,
including news outlets being forced to close and individual journalists
being threatened, harassed, sued, surveilled, jailed, and forced into
exile, including--
(1) Miguel Mendoza, who along with 6 other journalists and media
workers, was among the group of 222 political prisoners released by
Nicaraguan authorities in February 2023, sent to the United States, and
subsequently stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship; and
(2) journalist Victor Ticay, who was arrested in April 2023, in
connection to his April 5 reporting about a Catholic Easter celebration;
Whereas Honduras remains one of the Western Hemisphere's most dangerous
countries for journalists, where those working for opposition media or
who are outspoken critics of the government are subjected to harassment,
intimidation, and death threats by the country's security forces and its
affiliates;
Whereas criminal defamation lawsuits and legislation have been used in Peru to
harass and silence investigative journalists who write about prominent
political figures and the violent repression of protestors has also
increased the risk to journalists covering ongoing social unrest in
Peru;
Whereas the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has concluded that
the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist and American resident
Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul was approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed
bin Salman and impunity continues for the Saudi officials involved in
this crime;
Whereas the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia maintains an especially hostile environment
towards journalists through systematic and arbitrary arrests, torture
and inhumane or degrading treatment, lengthy pre-trial detentions,
political persecution, and conditional release restrictions, which
inhibit reporters and columnists from traveling or returning to their
professional work post-detention, including--
(1) Maha Al-Rafidi Al-Qahtani, a journalist and writer arrested in
September 2019, held in solitary confinement and physically abused while in
prison;
(2) Abdulrahman Farhana, a columnist detained in February 2019, charged
with membership in a terrorist organization;
(3) Zuhair Kutbi, a journalist jailed in January 2019, who reportedly
suffers from torture, malnourishment, and denial of cancer treatment in
prison; and
(4) blogger Raif Badawi, who recently completed a 10-year prison
sentence on blasphemy and apostasy charges, and who remains subjected to a
further 10-year travel ban, which prevents him from reuniting with his
family who received asylum in Canada;
Whereas the battle for a free press continues to be fought in South Asia and
Southeast Asia, where--
(1) Bangladeshi journalists are subjected to arbitrary arrests and
charges under the Digital Security Act, and suffer killings and physical
attacks with near-total impunity
(2) journalist, Nobel Prize laureate, and United States citizen Maria
Ressa, despite rulings in her favor, continues to face lawfare for her
reporting on President Duterte's ``war on drugs'', among other topics;
(3) Vietnamese journalists Pham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, and Le Huu
Minh Tuan were each sentenced to more than 10 years in prison; and
(4) Pham Doan Trang, a Vietnamese journalist and writer, following a
year in detention, was sentenced to 9 years in prison for ``anti-state
propaganda'' in a judicial proceeding and imprisonment declared
``arbitrary'' by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention;
Whereas press freedom continues to face challenges in sub-Saharan Africa,
including in--
(1) Ethiopia, where a crackdown on the press has included--
G (A) the arbitrary arrests of journalists, which was exacerbated
during the civil war and has continued even after the signing of a peace
agreement in November 2022;
G (B) internet disruptions deployed during times of political
tension, including as recently as April 2023, making it difficult and
dangerous for the press to report the news;
G (C) the January 2023 suspension of 15 media outlets, including the
BBC's Somali service, and their representatives from operating in the
Somali Regional State; and
G (D) the failure to provide a credible accounting for the 2021
killings of journalists Dawit Kebede Araya and Sisay Fida;
(2) Nigeria, where journalists have been repeatedly detained and
charged for their work, including--
G (A) Luke Binniyat, who was arrested in November 2021, released on
bail in February 2022, and is facing 3 years in prison if convicted of
sending false information under the Cybercrimes Act;
G (B) Agba Jalingo, publisher of the CrossRiverWatch news site, who
was arrested on March 27, 2023, charged under the Cybercrimes Act for
allegedly publishing false news, and released on bail on April 3, 2023; and
G (C) Haruna Mohammed Salisu, publisher of the WikkiTimes, who was
arrested while covering the February 25, 2023, Federal elections, charged
under the penal code with inciting the public to disturb the Bauchi state
governor, and released on bail on March 1, 2023;
(3) Eritrea, which is one of the world's most censored nations, and
where at least 16 journalists, including editors Dawit Isaak and Amanuel
Asrat, are detained, with most of these detentions commencing during a 2001
crackdown on the independent press, according to the Committee to Protect
Journalists;
(4) Cameroon, where--
G (A) 5 journalists were imprisoned as of December 2022;
G (B) at least 2 journalists have died in government custody under
suspicious circumstances since 2010; and
G (C) journalist Martinez Zogo was abducted, tortured, and killed in
January 2023;
(5) Rwanda, where--
G (A) at least 4 journalists were imprisoned as of December 1, 2022,
according to the Committee to Protect Journalists; and
G (B) journalist John Williams Ntwali, who, after reporting on cases
of torture, disappearances, and forced government evictions, was killed
under suspicious circumstances;
(6) Somalia, where recent violations include the months-long legal
harassment of the freelance journalist and press freedom advocate Abdalle
Ahmed Mumin, who was detained several times and convicted of disobeying
government orders in connection to his objection to government plans to
censor media coverage of security issues and was released on March 26,
2023, after more than 1 month in prison;
(7) Burundi, where journalist Floriane Irangabiye is serving a 10-year
prison sentence, following a January 2023 conviction in connection to her
critical commentary on governance issues in the country;
(8) in Mali and Burkina Faso, where foreign journalists have been
expelled and French media outlets have been banned; and
(9) in Zimbabwe, where the country's overly broad cybercrime
legislation has been used to detain journalists and silence the press;
Whereas, in Turkey, where the Erdogan government maintains one of the world's
most repressive environments for journalists and continues to imprison
at least 40 journalists in retaliation for their professional work,
including 15 Kurdish journalists who were arrested in June 2022, but
were never publicly charged;
Whereas Hatice Duman, the longest imprisoned journalist in Turkey, who has been
serving a life sentence on terrorism charges since April 9, 2003, told
the Committee to Protect Journalists in November that she had little
hope for freedom in her current retrial;
Whereas, in Georgia, the free press is increasingly threatened, as evidenced by
the conviction of former government minister and journalist Nika
Gvaramia to a 42 month prison sentence on May 16, 2022, on charges
widely denounced as politically motivated, and attempts to pass laws
modeled after the Russian Federation's infamous ``foreign agents'' law,
and insufficient prosecution of frequent physical attacks on members of
the press;
Whereas, in Tajikistan, where the government continues its systematic repression
of the free press in 2022 by sentencing 6 journalists to lengthy prison
terms on spurious charges in secretive, closed-door trials held in
detention centers amid allegations of torture and forced confessions,
including--
(1) Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva, a 66-year-old ethnic Pamiri journalist and
human rights defender, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison; and
(2) journalists Daler Imomali, Abdullo Ghurbati, Zavqibek Saidamini,
and Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda, who were sentenced to terms of imprisonment
ranging from 7 to 10 years on spurious charges of extremism;
Whereas, in Kyrgyzstan, where the government has taken worrying steps to
undermine the country's relative press freedom since the start of 2022,
including by--
(1) blocking news websites under an arbitrary new ``false information''
law, including that of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; and
(2) imposing spurious charges of illegal drug manufacture on
investigative journalist Bolot Temirov and deporting him to the Russian
Federation in retaliation for his reporting on corruption in the
government's procurement processes;
Whereas the Government of Morocco has imposed severe crackdowns on freedom of
expression and supporters of a free press and is currently detaining 13
journalists, including--
(1) Taoufik Bouachrine, the publisher and editor-in-chief of Akhbar al-
Youm, who was arrested in February 2018 on retaliatory charges related to
his journalism and is serving a 15-year prison sentence;
(2) Soulaimane Raissouni, a columnist and editor-in-chief Akhbar al-
Youm, who succeeded publisher Taoufik Bouachrine and was arrested on
similar retaliatory charges in May 2020, and is serving a 5-year prison
sentence;
(3) Ali Anouzla, a journalist and editor of the news website Lakome,
who has been repeatedly arrested on retaliatory charges relating to his
journalism including ``apologism for terrorism'', ``material aid for
terrorism'', and ``incitement to terrorism'';
(4) Maati Monjib, a historian and advocate for free press, who was
detained in December 2020 for 3 months on specious national security and
fraud charges and remains subject to restrictive bail conditions; and
(5) Omar Radi, a journalist who was arrested on suspicion of espionage
in June 2020 shortly after Amnesty International reported that the Moroccan
authorities hacked his phone and monitored his activities;
Whereas, in 2022 and 2023, press freedom in Algeria continued to deteriorate at
an alarming pace, with the newspaper Liberte closing after 30 years in
print following a decision by its owner, as a result of the interminable
pressure exerted at the highest level in recent months against its
editorial line, with the newspaper El Watan being subjected to strong
pressures that led to a radical change in its editorial line, and before
the recent adoption of an alarming media law, several journalists were
summoned and prosecuted for their work, notably--
(1) Nadir Kerri, who was placed under judicial supervision;
(2) Belkacem Haouam, who was detained for 2 months in response to an
article he published in late 2022; and
(3) Ihsane El Kadi, who was prosecuted several times and remains in
prison after he was ultimately sentenced to 3 years in prison in April
2023;
Whereas the Maduro regime of Venezuela continues to target independent media
outlets, restrict the exercise of freedom of expression, and severely
limit Venezuelan access to accurate information;
Whereas American journalists have been victimized while reporting abroad,
including--
(1) Christopher Allen, who was killed while covering the conflict in
South Sudan on August 26, 2017, and whose killing has yet to be
investigated by authorities after nearly 6 years;
(2) Austin Tice, who was kidnapped in Syria and has been held in
captivity since August 12, 2012;
(3) Brent Renaud, who was killed by Russian forces while covering the
war in Ukraine on March 13, 2022; and
(4) Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia on charges of
espionage on March 29, 2023;
Whereas, under the auspices of the United States Agency for Global Media, the
United States Government provides financial assistance to several
editorially independent media outlets, including Voice of America, Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba
Broadcasting, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks--
(1) which report and broadcast news, information, and analysis in
critical regions around the world; and
(2) whose journalists regularly face harassment, fines, and
imprisonment for their work; and
Whereas press freedom--
(1) is a key component of democratic governance, activism in civil
society, and socioeconomic development; and
(2) enhances public accountability, transparency, and participation in
civil society and democratic governance: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) declares that a free press--
(A) is a central component of free societies and
democratic governance;
(B) contributes to an informed civil society and
government accountability;
(C) helps to expose corruption;
(D) enhances public accountability and transparency
of governments at all levels; and
(E) disseminates information that is essential to
improving public health and safety;
(2) expresses concerns about threats to the exercise of
freedom of expression, including by the press, around the
world;
(3) recognizes and commends journalism's role in providing
trusted, accurate, and timely information and in holding
governments and leaders accountable to citizens;
(4) is dismayed that, under cover of the COVID-19 pandemic,
many governments have restricted the work of journalists
reporting on the public health crisis and on peaceful protests
on a variety of issues;
(5) pays tribute to journalists who made tremendous
sacrifices, including the loss of their lives, in the pursuit
of truth and justice;
(6) condemns all actions around the world that suppress
press freedom;
(7) calls for the unconditional and immediate release of
all wrongfully detained journalists;
(8) reaffirms the centrality of press freedom to efforts of
the United States Government to support democracy, mitigate
conflict, and promote good governance domestically and around
the world; and
(9) calls upon the President and the Secretary of State--
(A) to preserve and build upon the leadership of
the United States on issues relating to press freedom,
on the basis of the protections for freedom of the
press afforded the American people under the First
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States;
(B) to transparently investigate and bring to
justice the perpetrators of attacks against
journalists; and
(C) to promote the respect and protection of press
freedom around the world.
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