Filipino photojournalist threatened over conflict reporting

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) in expressing serious concerns over the continuous threats made to a Filipino photojournalist in the past week. The IFJ and NUJP call on blogger RJ Nieto to withdraw the allegations against the photojournalist.

Jes Aznar, a photojournalist who publishes with the New York Times and other international agencies has been receiving threats for over the past week. The threats started as accusations were made against Aznar in the blog Thinking Pinoy, which is published by RJ Nieto.  The article by Neito claimed that Aznar was live-streaming military activities during the conflict in Marawi in the southern Philippines. Since the post on June 18, Aznar has received threats across social media.

Aznar has repeatedly said that he posts are always delayed, once the military and soldiers are out of the area and not in danger of revealing their positions.

The NUJP secretary general, Dabet Panelo, said: “We condemn Thinking Pinoy and Mr. Nieto for endangering a journalist, more so on unfounded reasons.  We likewise condemn those who threaten our colleague who was simply doing his job.  We commend the brave journalists who inform the Filipino people and the world about the unfolding events in Marawi City and elsewhere. We urge authorities to protect Mr. Aznar from these threats and to assist him should he seek redress and accountability for those who seek to put him in danger.”

The IFJ said: “We stand in NUJP is demanding immediate support and security for Jes Aznar in the face of these threats. The accusations made by Thinking Pinoy have created a dangerous working environment for Anzar and we demand that they be withdrawn immediately. The situation for journalists in the Philippines remains extremely dangerous, with the highest number of journalists killed across the globe.” 

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +61 2 9333 0946 

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 140 countries

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