Silencing the press: the global spread of foreign agent laws and their impact on journalism
Ven 11 aprile 2025
15:00 - 15:50
Gratuito
Calcolo distanza...
Foreign agent laws and their increasing application to media organisations and journalists have been spreading like wildfire. This panel will explore the insidious expansion of these laws and their chilling effect on press freedom and independent journalism. We will examine how these laws have become a favoured tool of authoritarian regimes to silence dissent and control the narrative, extending far beyond their original scope.
The session will provide an overview of the global landscape and the various ways they are being implemented to target media professionals. We'll delve into real-world examples of media organisations and journalists who have faced persecution or shutdown under these laws, offering insights into their experiences and the broader implications for press freedom.
We will explore strategies for resistance, including legal challenges, international advocacy, and coalition-building among media organisations and civil society. But we will also look at the challenging question of whether and how media can exist under these restrictive laws - the difficult choices faced by journalists and media outlets, and the balance between maintaining journalistic integrity and ensuring survival.
Moderated by Antonio Zappulla.
Organised in association with Thomson Reuters Foundation and RFE/RL.
Modificato più di un mese fa
Pagine coinvolte
Festival Internazionale del Giornalismo
Il Festival Internazionale del Giornalismo di Perugia è un evento annuale che riunisce professionisti dei media, esperti di comunicazione e appassionati di informazione da tutto il mondo. Si svolge nel centro storico di Perugia e offre conferenze, dibattiti, workshop e opportunità di networking sui temi più rilevanti del giornalismo contemporaneo.
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Pagina tematica del giornalismo
Alsu Kurmasheva
Alsu Kurmasheva is a journalist with RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir Service who was detained in Kazan, Russia, on October 18, 2023. Alsu holds U.S. and Russian citizenship and lives in Prague, Czech Republic, with her husband and two daughters. Alsu traveled to Russia on May 20, 2023, to care for her elderly, ailing mother. She was temporarily detained while waiting for her return flight on June 2, 2023. Authorities at Kazan airport confiscated her U.S. and Russian passports, preventing her from leaving the country. She was subsequently fined 10,000 rubles ($103) for failure to register her U.S. passport with Russian authorities. Before she could pay this fine, she was detained again on October 18, 2023, for failing to declare herself a “foreign agent.” On December 11, 2023, Russian authorities launched a third investigation against Alsu for “spreading false information” about Russia’s military. Following a rapid and secret trial, Kurmasheva was convicted of “spreading false information” about Russia’s military on July 19, 2024, and sentenced to six and a half years in prison. Alsu’s detention was condemned by the governments of Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Poland, and Sweden, two dozen U.S. lawmakers, as well as by EU, OSCE, US and UN officials. President Biden called for Alsu’s immediate release at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 27, 2024. Human rights and press freedom organizations condemned Alsu’s politically-motivated detention and called for her immediate release, including Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Freedom House, Memorial, PEN America, Reporters Without Borders, the International Federation of Journalists, and the International Press Institute. After more than nine months in prison, Alsu was released as part of a prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia on August 1, 2024.
Can Yeginsu
Antonio Zappulla
Antonio Zappulla is CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the corporate foundation of the global news and information services company. Through news, media development, free legal assistance and convening initiatives, the Thomson Reuters Foundation combines its unique services to advance media freedom, raise awareness of human rights issues, and foster more inclusive economies working as a strategic player in the international development space. In 2022, Antonio was named an Official of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for "merit acquired by the Nation in the fields of public service, social, philanthropic and humanitarian activities". In 2019, he was named a European Young Leader by Friends of Europe, and in 2018, ranked first in the OUTstanding list of LGBT+ Executives (public sector/philanthropy) published by the Financial Times. Antonio is a One Young World Ambassador and sits on the boards of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Ox...