US government must safeguard journalists’ right to protect confidential sources, says OSCE media freedom representative
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović expressed her concern that the US government is forcing a reporter to testify in a criminal trial of a former Central Intelligence Agency official charged with disclosing classified information.
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, during the 15th Central Asia Media Conference in Bishkek, 27 June 2013.
In a letter to the US Attorney General Eric Holder, Mijatović regretted that this is the third time in recent months where the Justice Department is infringing on reporters’ rights. She requested that the Justice Department rethink its position in the case of a reporter for The New York Times, James Risen and respect the right he has as a journalist to protect his confidential sources.
Mijatović also referred to a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that followed the action of the Department of Justice. The decision says that the First Amendment does not protect reporters from having to reveal sources when called to testify in a criminal proceeding.
“I fear that this could have an adverse effect on the ability of journalists to investigate and to report on sensitive issues,” said Mijatović.
She stressed that this appears to go against the recent Media Guidelines issued by the Department of Justice that state “…the Department views the use of tools to seek evidence from or involving the news media as an extraordinary measure… to utilize such tools only as a last resort, after all reasonable alternative investigative steps have been taken”.
“The government should defend the right of reporters to protect their sources as one of the key principles of investigative journalism. One of the best ways to do this would be through adoption of a shield law,” said Mijatović.
She expressed her support for the government’s efforts on this. “A well-crafted shield law would eliminate the threat of imprisonment for journalists declining to identify their sources and would stem the tendency of law enforcement officials to engage in overbroad monitoring of journalists' activities”.
Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
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