The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the decision by a judge to use the photographs of a freelance Dutch journalist without his permission in a prosecution over human trafficking of illegal immigrants to the Canary Islands.

“This is a journalist who has a right to professional confidentiality,” said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. “This court order undermines this right and could seriously imperil the work of other investigative journalists who may lose access to sensitive information if informants fear the journalists will testify against them in court.”

A judge from the local court in Arrecife issued an order on Thursday that Joel Van Houdt, a freelance who has worked for numerous Dutch publications, must give evidence.

The story Van Houdt was working on concerned illegal immigration from Morocco to the Canaries, an archipelago off the coast of Africa and an autonomous Spanish community. Van Houdt travelled from Morocco to a small island close to Lanzarote on Sunday on a boat with undocumented migrants and took a number of  photographs during the trip. When the boat was intercepted by police he identified himself as a journalist but he was detained for questioning until the early hours of Monday morning. Despite his protests, the photo files from his digital camera were confiscated.

On Wednesday Van Houdt appeared in court and told the judge that due to professional confidentiality he would not reveal the name of the driver of the boat. He asked for the return of his files and requested that his photos not be used in any case against the smugglers.

The IFJ and its Dutch affiliate, the Dutch Journalists’ Association NVJ, are calling on the judge to rescind his order for Van Houdt to testify and to ensure that his original materials are returned to him untouched.

“The European Court has ruled in favour of journalists in cases like this including one of another Dutch journalist,” said White. “Confidentiality  of sources is a recognised principle of press freedom that must be protected.”  

He said journalists should not be coerced into law enforcement when it contravenes journalists’ professional rights. “This practice could lead to self-censorship by journalists who want to avoid situations where they may be caught up in legal cases,” he said.

For more information contact the IFJ at +32 2 235 2207

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide