Member Adil Raja burgled, then convicted in absentia

A full report follows soon. The following motion will be debated at the London Freelance Branch meeting on 12 January:

Defend Adil Raja and journalism in Pakistan

This Branch expresses its solidarity with member Adil Raja. An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has announced multiple criminal convictions and severe prison sentences in absentia against a group of Pakistani journalists and commentators now living abroad. Adil is one of those named, alongside colleagues such as Sabir Shakir, Wajahat Saeed Khan, Syed Haider Raza Media and others.

Adil tells us that none of them were notified of charges. None were summoned. None were shown evidence. None were given the opportunity to appear or defend themself. They learned of the convictions through the media, after sentences had reportedly already been imposed.

This appears to be a clear case of judicial harassment aimed at journalists in exile — to be part of a wider global trend of transnational repression, in which authoritarian states use courts and counter-terrorism laws to intimidate critical voices beyond their borders.

This matters to all of us in the NUJ, because it cuts to the heart of what the union exists to defend:

• the right to report freely;
• the safety of journalists wherever they work or live; and
• and the principle that journalism is not terrorism.

The Branch resolves to write to the NUJ National Executive and to the General Secretary thanking them for any steps that they may already have taken and urging them to increase pressure on relevant governments to protect journalists and journalism.

More follows soon...