New Delhi: Terming West African nation Sierra Leone’s repeal of its infamous criminal defamation law as a major victory for media freedom, the South Asia Media Defenders Network (SAMDEN) has said it contrasts with the increasing accounts of physical, psychological, legal and administrative attacks on journalists in South Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic.Many South Asian journalists harassed for questioning COVID-19 response“The criminalisation of journalism is unacceptable and media lacks security within a pervasive culture of impunity,” said SAMDEN, which is anchored in the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and has five co-conveners, including its international director Sanjoy Hazarika, and a membership of over 60 media professionals across South Asia.Referring to the continuation of attacks on media persons in South Asian region, SAMDEN said in Bangladesh, more than 20 journalists have reportedly been detained, assaulted, harassed or investigated for their critical reporting of the government’s COVID-19 response.50 journalists, mostly working in rural areas, targeted in IndiaIn India, it noted, the situation was worse with over 50 journalists, a majority of them reportedly being independent journalists working in rural India, being targeted.In neighbouring Pakistan, SAMDEN said the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) announced restrictive directives for reporting on the pandemic days after two TV journalists covered conditions of a quarantine centre in the peripheral areas. The journalists were reportedly detained.Also read: Bleak Outlook for Press Freedom in West AfricaApart from these reports, the Network said journalists like Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman in Pakistan, Aasif Sultan and Qazi Shibli in India, and Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, Shafiqul Islam Kajol and several others in Bangladesh, continue to be targeted or detained, despite calls by national and international human rights organisations.Coming to the situation in Sierra Leone, it said the parliament there has unanimously adopted the Independent Media Commission (IMC) Act 2020, replacing Part 5 of the 1965 Public Order Act (POA) which criminalised any publication that is deemed defamatory or seditious.‘Sierra Leone’s repeal of earlier law will strengthen democratic institutions’Providing a background into developments in Sierra Leone, SAMDEN said President Julius Maada Bio in 2018 made a campaign promise to repeal the law, which had been used for 55 years to suppress dissent by targeting, harassing and imprisoning journalists, including veterans from newspapers such as the New Age, the Salone Times, and the Independent Observer among others.The earlier Act violated at least 10 international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it noted, adding that “the revocation of the act will strengthen Sierra Leone’s democratic institutions.”On the importance of the move, Hazarika explained that “at the heart of media freedom is the ability of journalists to receive, produce and share information without facing physical, legal or online threats, to do their work professionally, protected by the laws of the land to uphold freedom of information and expression”.He underscored the need for an inclusive safe media environment, saying “safety of the media ensures media freedom” and that the decision should be applauded even as news continues to come in of attacks on media for going about their work.Arrest of Zimbabwean journalist deploredThe Network also supported the Commonwealth Journalists Association’s statement condemning the arrest of distinguished Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono following his extensive investigative reporting revealing corruption practices by members of the ruling ZANU-PK party. It said “freedom of media is indivisible” and that it found the decision to be a “blow for press freedom everywhere”.