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The National Press Club (NPC) has spoken out against alleged threats and intimidation aimed at award-winning journalist Yusuf Abramjee.
News24 reported that evidence presented to the Madlanga commission revealed that text messages from 2021 between the deputy head of crime intelligence, Feroz Kahn, and Carnilinx Industries COO Mohammed Sayed reportedly discussed ways to intimidate Abramjee after he wrote an article about tax evasion in the illegal cigarette industry.
The NPC on Wednesday condemned any attempts to scare, threaten or silence journalists and whistleblowers who expose corruption, organised crime and abuse of power.
NPC chairperson Antoinette Slabbert said journalists should never face danger for doing their jobs. “Threats against journalists are threats against democracy itself. Whether these threats come from criminal gangs, powerful businesses or corrupt officials, they try to hide the truth from the public.”
Slabbert said the NPC stood firmly with Abramjee and all journalists fighting for the truth.
She emphasised that journalists should never be told to back down when their job was to hold powerful people accountable.
The club noted that press freedom was facing growing pressure worldwide, with international reports warning that conditions for journalists were getting worse.
The NPC called for immediate action from various groups, including law enforcement authorities, to fully investigate any allegations of threats or intimidation against journalists. The NPC also called on the relevant oversight bodies to ensure accountability wherever wrongdoing is established.
It also called on political leaders, business leaders and public officials to publicly reject intimidation of journalists and for news organisations, civil society and the broader public to defend the constitutional principles of media freedom and freedom of expression.
The NPC said a democracy cannot function when journalists are threatened into silence.
TimesLIVE
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