By Libya Herald staff.
Tunis, 19 November 2014:
The French . . .[restrict]broadcasting organisation France 24 has closed its bureau in Tripoli and pulled out its staff after receiving threats. According to AFP, the threats came from armed militiamen attempting to dictate what the channel should disseminate.
It has also been reported, however, that the threats came directly from the Hassi antigovernment which took exception to the fact that France 24 did not refer to it as Libya’s legitimate administration or to Libya Dawn as the country’s legitimate military forces.
The situation facing journalists in Libya has become increasingly menacing in recent months. Many, both in Tripoli and in Benghazi, have had to quit the country because of direct and indirect threats or the fear of them. Others have given up reporting altogether for the moment, or have decided to collaborate with those exercising power.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has repeatedly protested that journalists and other media personnel are being targeted in Libya, pointing out that last year the country ranked 137 out of 180 countries in its press freedom report. It is thought to have slipped further down the scale since then.
Last month, RSF it reported that it had registered seven murders, 37 abductions and 127 physical attacks or acts of harassment targeting journalists. At least one more Libyan journalist has been murdered since then. RSF is now organising an advertising campaign to highlight the dangers fro journalists of working in Libya.
At the beginning of this week, the Libyan Centre for Defense of Journalists also warned that Libya was moving toward another dictatorship should such attempts to suppress freedom of expression continue unchallenged. [/restrict]
