“One of the concepts threatening freedom of information is the abuse of the national security protection, which is the case in the US, but we have seen that authoritarian regimes are using the same argument to crackdown on journalists in Ethiopia, in Turkey and so on,” Halgand said on Wednesday.
US President Barack Obama has been cracking down on reporters and whistleblowers in an attempt to control information, Halgand explained, and if this issue is not resolved, the US will lose credibility when it lectures other countries about free speech violations.
Halgand said during the press conference that the Obama administration has already charged eight whistleblowers under the Espionage Act during his two terms in office, compared with just three under all other administrations since the law was adopted in 1917.
The 2015 World Press Freedom Index ranks the performance of 180 countries based on the degree of freedom that journalists, news media and “netizens” [internet citizens] enjoy, according to an RWB press release.
RWB is an international nonprofit organization registered in France that defends freedom of information, and has consultative status with the United Nations.
