WAN-IFRA condemns arrest of Japanese journalist
WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers, condemns the criminalisation of journalism in Russia and has called on Russian authorities to immediately release Japanese journalist, Yuki Imai, detained on allegations of espionage.
Imai, an accredited Japanese correspondent for Hokkaido Shimbun, was arrested on 13 October on Sakhalin Island, in Russia’s Far East, just north of Japan as he was getting ready to leave the country. He was subsequently transferred to Moscow, accused of gathering defence related information for Japanese intelligence – a claim rejected by Japan.
Stig Ørskov, WAN-IFRA’s CEO said: “Gathering information in the public interest is a fundamental part of journalism. Security laws must not be used to punish legitimate reporting, intimidate journalists or turn journalists in to bargaining pawns in political disputes.”
Imai was working in Russia on a journalist visa, with Russian foreign ministry accreditation. Based in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, his work covered Russia’s Far East and regional relationships. His last report on 5 October, described the presence and everyday lives of North Korean workers on Sakhalin.
David Walmsley, President of WAN-IFRA’s World Editors Forum and editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail said: “The gathering of information by reporters is the entire purpose of responsible journalism and Imai is no different. It is to the dismay of his colleagues across the industry that his responsibility has been perversely turned into accusations of wrongdoing. Imai should be immediately released.”
WAN-IFRA urges its members, national media associations and the wider international media community to take every opportunity to protest Russia’s actions, and the intimidation and arrest of journalists.
