The killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by Israeli forces is an act of savagery the so-called civilised world must stridently condemn, as it has denounced the fighting in Ukraine. Killing in such a manner is tantamount to murder.
Murdering a journalist is the ultimate form of censorship. Yet journalists continue to pay the price for speaking truth to power. More than 2,500 have been killed since 1990; many more have been jailed — another form of intimidation.
When journalists are killed, democracy dies. Which is why ending impunity for crimes against journalists is one of the most pressing issues to guarantee freedom of expression and access to information for all. When you silence the messenger, catastrophe is the price humanity pays.
Farouk Araie
Joburg
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