Ignoring lynching calls for Metamorphosis’ journalists must stop

AJM, SSNM, CMEM and MIM demand immediate reaction from the Ministry of Interior and the Public Prosecutor’s Office after the continuous open calls for lynching of journalists and other employees of the Metamorphosis Foundation, which are organized by groups and individuals on social media, thus violating the safety of our colleagues.

We remind you that reports to the Ministry of Interior from the Metamorphosis Foundation were sent in November and December last year, when the journalists’ organizations reacted, requesting a proactive approach from the Ministry of Interior and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. We also remind that no measures have been taken since then to prevent and sanction these threats, but on the contrary, they continue, and the policy of impunity remains present.

It is inadmissible for the competent institutions, the Ministry of Interior and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, for months to avoid the responsibility to respond appropriately to open threats against journalists, whose personal data are revealed in a manner that exposes them to the danger of being the target of physical attacks. At the same time, we remind the institutions that the efficiency of the fight against threats on social media does not end with finding the threateners against senior government officials, which is the practice when it comes to public office holders. We expect the institutions to leave aside the double standards when it comes to journalists and media workers, especially when they are exposed to hate speech and calls for their lynching only due to the performing of their profession.