[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1192 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1192

     Recognizing widening threats to freedom of the press and free 
expression around the world, reaffirming the vital role that a free and 
     independent press plays in countering the growing threats of 
 authoritarianism, misinformation, and disinformation, and reaffirming 
 freedom of the press as a priority of the United States Government in 
promoting democracy, human rights, and good governance in commemoration 
               of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2024.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 2, 2024

 Mr. Schiff submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Recognizing widening threats to freedom of the press and free 
expression around the world, reaffirming the vital role that a free and 
     independent press plays in countering the growing threats of 
 authoritarianism, misinformation, and disinformation, and reaffirming 
 freedom of the press as a priority of the United States Government in 
promoting democracy, human rights, and good governance in commemoration 
               of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2024.

Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution and various State constitutions 
        protect freedom of the press in the United States;
Whereas Thomas Jefferson, who championed the necessity of a free press for a 
        thriving democratic society, wisely declared, ``Our liberty depends on 
        the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being 
        lost'';
Whereas Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 
        adopted in Paris on December 10, 1948, states, ``Everyone has the right 
        to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to 
        hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart 
        information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers'';
Whereas, in 1993, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the third day 
        of May of each year to be ``World Press Freedom Day'' to--

    (1) celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom;

    (2) evaluate press freedom around the world;

    (3) defend the media against attacks on its independence; and

    (4) pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives while working 
in their profession;

Whereas the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-166) 
        expanded the examination of the freedom of the press around the world in 
        the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices published by the 
        Department of State;
Whereas, on December 18, 2013, and December 18, 2019, the United Nations General 
        Assembly adopted Resolution 68/163 and Resolution 74/157, respectively, 
        on the safety of journalists and the problem of impunity by 
        unequivocally condemning all attacks on, and violence against, 
        journalists and media workers, including torture, extrajudicial killing, 
        enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and intimidation and 
        harassment in conflict and nonconflict situations;
Whereas the United States Government has used the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
        Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114-328) to 
        place targeted visa and economic sanctions on individuals, including for 
        their roles in the targeted killings of journalists;
Whereas, in an effort to counter attacks against journalists, Secretary of State 
        Antony J. Blinken, in February 2021, announced the Khashoggi Ban, a 
        policy allowing the Department of State to impose visa restrictions on 
        individuals who, acting on behalf of a foreign government, are believed 
        to have been directly engaged in serious, extraterritorial 
        counterdissident activities, including activities that suppress, harass, 
        surveil, threaten, or harm journalists, activists, or other persons 
        perceived to be dissidents for their work;
Whereas compiled data from Reporters Without Borders provides alarming 
        indications about growing divisions resulting from the spread of 
        disinformation with the potential to weaken democratic societies;
Whereas, according to Reporters Without Borders, a total of 521 journalists were 
        in prison and 84 were missing as of December 14, 2023;
Whereas, according to Reporters Without Borders, 45 journalists around the world 
        were killed in direct connection with their work in 2023;
Whereas Reporters Without Borders notes that punishments against women 
        journalists are increasing disproportionately, with the number of women 
        journalists in prison rising 30 percent in 2022, and with most of the 
        longest prison sentences handed down against journalists in 2023 coming 
        against women;
Whereas Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2024 report marked the 18th 
        consecutive year of decline in global freedom, with an estimated 38 
        percent of the global population living in countries deemed ``Not 
        Free'';
Whereas Freedom House's Freedom on the Net 2023 report marked the 13th 
        consecutive year of decline in global internet freedom, with people in 
        55 of the 70 countries covered facing legal repercussions for expressing 
        themselves online and people in 41 countries facing physical assaults or 
        death for their online commentary;
Whereas infringement on freedom of expression, including media freedom, has been 
        one of the key drivers of declines in global freedom over the last 50 
        years, including attacks and prosecutions against journalists, pressure 
        on media outlets, repressive regulatory and legal frameworks, internet 
        shutdowns, efforts to undermine strong encryption, and blocks on online 
        sources of information;
Whereas, over the last 18 years, the number of countries and territories 
        receiving a 0 out of 4 on Freedom in the World's media freedom indicator 
        has dramatically grown from 14 to 36;
Whereas journalists and media staff are being murdered, imprisoned, attacked, 
        and harassed around the world, and the Committee to Protect Journalists 
        (CPJ) has reported that--

    (1) at least 99 journalists and media workers were killed around the 
world in 2023, including 72 killed during the hostilities in Gaza starting 
October 7, 2023, and in addition, at least 18 journalists have been killed 
in 2024 as of March 5;

    (2) the vast majority of murders of journalists occur with impunity, 
with nearly 80 percent of the perpetrators of 261 murders of journalists 
from September 1, 2013, to August 31, 2023, facing no punishment;

    (3) 320 journalists were behind bars in 2023, with the People's 
Republic of China (PRC), Burma, Belarus, Russia, Vietnam, Iran, Israel, 
Eritrea, Egypt, and Turkey jailing the highest numbers of journalists 
respectively; and

    (4) journalists and media outlets around the world have been targeted 
by government actors with sophisticated spyware products that pose a severe 
risk to their privacy and security as well as that of their sources and 
families;

Whereas, according to PEN America, more than 325 writers and public 
        intellectuals, including columnists and editorial journalists, were 
        imprisoned across 37 different countries during 2023;
Whereas the censorship, victimization, and killing of journalists around the 
        world and particularly in conflict zones has obvious and profound 
        implications for the ability of the public, including the United States 
        public, to be informed, including about conflicts with local, regional, 
        and global ramifications;
Whereas, since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 
        2022, Reporters Without Borders has documented attacks directly 
        targeting journalists, including--

    (1) the killing of 11 Ukrainian and accredited international 
journalists and media workers by Russian Armed Forces;

    (2) the torture by electric shock, beatings, and mock executions of 
journalists working for the international press;

    (3) the targeted kidnappings of journalists and their families in 
occupied regions of Ukraine to put pressure on their reporting;

    (4) the deliberate attacks targeting media facilities; and

    (5) the near-universal censorship, imprisonment, or exile of Russia's 
independent news media;

Whereas, in the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, 88 percent of media outlets 
        active before 2014 had ceased operating by 2015, and Ukrainian 
        journalists and bloggers have repeatedly been threatened, arbitrarily 
        arrested, and tortured for resisting Russian occupation, such as the 
        detentions and imprisonments of Vladyslav Yesypenko, Iryna Danylovych, 
        Amet Suleimanov, Asan Akhmetov, Marlen Asanov, Nariman Celal, Oleksiy 
        Bessarabov, Osman Arifmemetov, Remzi Bekirov, Ruslan Suleimanov, Rustem 
        Sheikhaliev, Server Mustafayev, Seyran Saliev, Timur Ibragimov, Vilen 
        Temeryanov, and Lutfiye Zudiyeva;
Whereas Ukrainian journalists Viktoria Roshchina, Iryna Levchenko, and Dmytro 
        Khilyuk remain in the custody of Russian forces after their full-scale 
        invasion of Ukraine in 2022;
Whereas journalists and media workers face heightened dangers in Russia, such as 
        harassment, repression, censorship, and imprisonment, with 30 
        journalists and 4 media workers imprisoned as of March 27, 2024, 
        according to Reporters Without Borders, including--

    (1) Evan Gershkovich, a United States citizen and reporter with the 
Wall Street Journal, who has been wrongfully detained on baseless espionage 
charges since March 29, 2023, and faces up to 20 years in jail;

    (2) Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for congressionally 
funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, who was arrested for violating the 
``Foreign Agent'' law and has since been charged for violating Article 
207.3 of Russia's Criminal Code, which effectively criminalizes reporting 
about Russia's war in Ukraine;

    (3) Ivan Safronov, a correspondent with Russian business dailies 
Kommersant and Vedomosti, who was sentenced to 22 years in jail on treason 
charges in September 2022;

    (4) Sergey Mikhaylov, publisher of independent newspaper Listok, who 
was arrested for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian 
military in April 2022;

    (5) Mikhail Afanasyev, editor-in-chief of the online magazine Novy 
Fokus, who was arrested and charged with allegedly spreading false 
information about the Russian military in April 2022;

    (6) Novaya Gazeta, a landmark independent newspaper founded in 1993, 
which--

    G    (A) suspended operations in Russia in March 2022 after receiving 
warnings from the authorities citing the country's ``Foreign Agent'' law; 
and

    G    (B) was stripped of its print and online media licenses in 
September 2022;

    (7) Meduza, a leading independent bilingual news website based outside 
of Russia, which--

    G    (A) was designated by Russian authorities in January 2023 as an 
``undesirable organization'' under the 2015 Undesirable Organization Law; 
and

    G    (B) was banned from operating in the Russian Federation;

    (8) Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, an independent nonprofit media 
outlet, which was designated by Russian authorities in February 2024 as an 
``undesirable organization'' under the 2015 Undesirable Organization Law; 
and

    (9) RusNews, an independent news website with few remaining 
correspondents in Russia, whose journalists--

    G    (A) Maria Ponomarenko was sentenced to 6 years in prison for 
allegedly spreading false information about the Russian military on 
February 15, 2023, and is facing a second criminal charge for alleged 
violation of prison rules;

    G    (B) Roman Ivanov was sentenced on March 6, 2024, to 7 years in 
prison for allegedly disseminating false news on the war in Ukraine; and

    G    (C) Igor Kuznetsov, who has been in detention since September 
2021, was given a 3-year suspended sentence on alleged extremism charges on 
March 20, 2024, but remains in detention over a second court case for 
allegedly inciting mass disturbances in group chats on Telegram, for which 
a prosecutor in December 2023 requested a 9-year jail sentence;

Whereas Russian authorities continue harassing and prosecuting journalists in 
        exile, including--

    (1) exiled Russian journalists Ruslan Leviev and Michael Nacke, who 
were each sentenced in absentia to 11 years in prison in August 2023 for 
allegedly distributing ``fake'' information about the Russian military;

    (2) exiled Russian journalist Denis Kamalyagin, editor-in-chief of the 
exiled Russian newspaper Pskovskaya Guberniya, who was charged in late 2023 
with failing to comply with the foreign agent law and with discrediting the 
Russian army; and

    (3) United States-based Russian-United States journalist and writer 
Masha Gessen, against whom Russia issued an arrest warrant in 2023 for 
allegedly spreading ``fake'' information about the Russian army;

Whereas other Russian journalists living in exile have also been targets of 
        harassment, surveillance, and suspected poisoning, including--

    (1) exiled Russian journalists Elena Kostyuchenko and Irina Babloyan, 
who reported in August 2023 that they may have been poisoned in Germany and 
Georgia, respectively;

    (2) Prague-based IStories' reporters Alesya Marokhovskaya and Irina 
Dolinina, who received threats and fear they have been under surveillance; 
and

    (3) Galina Timchenko, the Latvia-based head of Meduza, whose phone was 
infected by Pegasus, a form of zero-click spyware produced by the Israeli 
company NSO Group, while she was in Germany in February 2023;

Whereas, according to CPJ, the PRC had detained at least 44 journalists, as of 
        December 1, 2023, is the world's largest jailer of journalists according 
        to Reporters Without Borders, and has unleashed an onslaught of attacks 
        on press freedom in the PRC and Hong Kong, including through--

    (1) state-sponsored censorship and disinformation campaigns limiting 
access to information which runs contrary to Chinese Communist Party 
propaganda narratives, and censoring politically sensitive keywords on 
social media platforms;

    (2) the passage and implementation of legislation which severely 
curtails press freedom in Hong Kong, including the National Security Law of 
June 2020 and Article 23 of the Basic Law of March 2024, both of which pose 
an existential threat to the city's tradition of press freedom;

    (3) harassment, intimidation, arrest, and imprisonment of journalists 
in Hong Kong, including the arrest and subsequent conviction of journalist 
and outspoken democracy advocate Jimmy Lai, as well as the closure of his 
once widely popular Chinese-language newspaper, Apple Daily;

    (4) arrests or other repressive actions against independent journalists 
and others in mainland China attempting to share uncensored news or opinion 
about current affairs, including Sophia Huang Xueqin, who has written about 
women's rights and the protests in Hong Kong, was detained arbitrarily in 
September 2021, and went on trial in September 2023 on charges of 
``inciting subversion of state power'', and whose current status remains 
unknown, and citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who provided uncensored news 
regarding the COVID outbreak in Wuhan and has been imprisoned since May 
2020 on politically motivated charges of ``picking quarrels and provoking 
trouble'';

    (5) the detention of journalists critical of the Government of the PRC, 
including Ruan Xiaohuan, who, after blogging about programming and 
politics, was sentenced to a 7-year term of imprisonment in early 2023, 
following 21 months of detention; and

    (6) the continued detention of Uyghur journalists, who account for 
nearly 50 percent of imprisoned journalists in the PRC, including Ilham 
Tohti, founder of the news website Uighurbiz, who was detained in 2014 and 
is serving a life sentence;

Whereas Belarus has witnessed sweeping attacks against the press since Alexander 
        Lukashenko's fraudulent election in August 2020, with journalists and 
        media workers harassed, assaulted, and imprisoned, with 22 journalists 
        imprisoned as of December 1, 2023, according to CPJ, including--

    (1) Katsiaryna Andreyeva, a correspondent with Poland-based independent 
broadcaster Belsat TV, who, while serving a 2-year prison term for filming 
a live broadcast of the violent dispersal of a protest against Lukashenko 
in November 2020, was sentenced to 8 additional years in prison on treason 
charges in July 2022;

    (2) Ksenia Lutskina, a former correspondent for the state broadcaster 
Belteleradio, who was sentenced to 8 years in prison on charges of 
conspiring to seize state power in September 2022, and is not receiving 
appropriate medical care despite having a preexisting brain tumor which has 
grown during her detention;

    (3) Maryna Zolatava, chief editor of independent news website Tut.by, 
who was sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of incitement to hatred 
and distributing materials calling for actions aimed at harming national 
security in March 2023;

    (4) Andrey Kuznechyk, a journalist who, while working for Radio Free 
Europe/Radio Liberty, was detained in November 2021, and sentenced in June 
2022 to 6 years in prison on charges of forming an extremist group;

    (5) Ihar Losik, another Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist who 
was arrested in June 2020, and sentenced in December 2021 to 15 years in 
jail on bogus charges of preparation of actions that violate public order, 
who attempted suicide in March 2023, and whose wife Darya was sentenced in 
January 2023 to 2 years in prison on a charge of facilitating extremist 
activity;

    (6) Alyaksandr Mantsevich, who was detained in March 2023, and is 
serving a 4-year prison sentence after being convicted in November 2023 on 
charges of discrediting Belarus;

    (7) Dzianis Ivashyn, a freelance journalist who has been serving a 
sentence of 13 years and 1 month since being convicted in September 2022 on 
charges of treason and ``illegal collection and dissemination of 
information about private life''; and

    (8) Ihar Karnei, a former freelancer with Radio Free Europe/Radio 
Liberty, who was sentenced on March 22, 2024, to 3 years in jail for 
participating in an extremist group;

Whereas Belarus has weaponized ``extremism'' laws against independent media 
        outlets, with around 25 media outlets labeled as ``extremist'' groups or 
        organizations as of March 2024, and has jailed journalists on 
        allegations of creating or participating in extremist groups or 
        facilitating extremist activities;
Whereas Belarusian authorities continue to prosecute journalists in exile, 
        including exiled journalists Stsypan Putsila and Yan Rudzik, who had 
        covered the protests during the 2020 Presidential election and were 
        sentenced in absentia to 20 years and 19 years in jail, respectively, in 
        May 2023;
Whereas the Islamic Republic of Iran was the world's leading jailer of 
        journalists, including female journalists, in 2022, and whose Government 
        subjected them to arbitrary summonses, arrests, travel bans, torture, 
        inhumane treatment, and unsubstantiated and unjust sentences, and where, 
        according to CPJ, at least 17 journalists and media workers remained 
        behind bars as of December 1, 2023, including--

    (1) Niloofar Hamedi, correspondent of the daily newspaper Shargh, who 
was imprisoned in 2022 for trying to document the death of Mahsa Jina Amini 
on charges that could result in the death penalty;

    (2) Elahe Mohammadi, a journalist for the daily Ham Mihan, who was also 
imprisoned in 2022 for the same action and on the same charges;

    (3) Iranian journalist Navid Seyed-Mohammadi, a Kurdish reporter for 
the state-run Islamic Republic Radio and Television broadcaster, who was 
arrested in May 2020 and is serving a 7-year prison sentence for 
``espionage for hostile states'';

    (4) Kayvan Samimi, a 76-year-old veteran journalist, who was initially 
imprisoned in May 2019 and is serving a 6-year prison sentence despite on 
antistate charges of ``spreading propaganda against the system'' and 
``colluding against national security'';

    (5) sisters Hoda and Zahra Tohidi, who are freelance journalists, and 
were imprisoned alongside Zahra's husband, Alireza Khoshbakht, a fellow 
journalist, in 2022 for documenting the nationwide protests after the death 
of Mahsa Jina Amini; and

    (6) Mohammad-Bagher Moradi, an exiled freelance journalist, who was 
extradited to Iran from Turkey, who was immediately imprisoned in 2022 for 
his work and is serving a 5-year prison sentence;

Whereas since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, at least 95 
        journalists have been killed during the ongoing war in Gaza, Lebanon, 
        and Israel and other significant attacks on the press have been 
        documented, including--

    (1) at least 26 journalists have been killed in direct connection to 
their work, according to Reporters Without Borders;

    (2) 2 Israeli journalists were killed by Hamas-led forces on October 7;

    (3) Hamas is also reportedly holding 1 Israeli journalist hostage, 
while 2 Palestinian journalists have reportedly gone missing in Israeli 
custody; and

    (4) the detention of 17 journalists as of December 1, 2023, with 14 
journalists being held without charge in the West Bank under administrative 
detention, according to CPJ;

Whereas the Egyptian Government's repression of the media has expanded under 
        President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi since 2013, including attacks on 
        independent media outlet Mada Masr, whom the Government has targeted 
        with specious charges brought against editor-in-chief Lina Attalah and 
        journalist Rana Mamdouh, and with at least 11 journalists imprisoned by 
        the Government as of December 1, 2023, according to CPJ, including--

    (1) Alaa Abd El Fattah, a blogger sentenced to 5 years in prison for 
``broadcasting false news'', who embarked on a hunger strike on April 2, 
2022, to protest his mistreatment, which he escalated to a near-fatal 
``water strike'' that prompted a forced medical intervention by prison 
officials upon the start of the United Nations Framework Convention on 
Climate Change's Conference of the Parties 27 (COP 27) climate summit, in 
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on November 6, 2022; and

    (2) Mohamed Ibrahim, a blogger also known as ``Mohamed Oxygen'', who 
has spent over 4 years in pretrial detention, 2 years beyond the 2-year 
legal limit for such pretrial detention;

Whereas Lokman Slim was murdered in southern Lebanon on February 4, 2021, after 
        warning that he had been threatened and accused of treason by supporters 
        of Hezbollah and, to date, no arrests or charges have been made in the 
        investigation into his murder;
Whereas the Office of the Director of National Intelligence concluded that the 
        2018 murder of Washington Post journalist and United States legal 
        permanent resident Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul was approved by Saudi 
        Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and impunity continues for the Saudi 
        officials involved in this crime;
Whereas the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia maintains a hostile environment toward 
        journalists through transnational repression, systematic and arbitrary 
        arrests, torture and inhumane or degrading treatment, lengthy pretrial 
        detentions, and conditional release restrictions, which inhibit 
        reporters and columnists from traveling or returning to their 
        professional work postdetention, including--

    (1) Abdulrahman Farhana, a columnist detained in February 2019, charged 
with membership in a terrorist organization;

    (2) Zuhair Kutbi, a journalist jailed in January 2019, who reportedly 
suffers from torture, malnourishment, and denial of cancer treatment in 
prison; and

    (3) blogger Raif Badawi, who recently completed a 10-year prison 
sentence on blasphemy and apostasy charges, and who remains subjected to a 
further 10-year travel ban, which prevents him from reuniting with his 
family who received asylum in Canada;

Whereas, in Sudan, the United Nations Panel of Experts reported that at least 
        15,000 people died as a result of the Rapid Supports offensive in West 
        Darfur in 2023, and tens of thousands more are believed to have been 
        killed, and over 8,000,000 displaced, and where freedom of the press and 
        the safety of journalists has severely deteriorated, as evidenced by 
        attacks on independent media and the killings, arrests, detentions, 
        harassment, and beatings of journalists, including--

    (1) the killing of Halima Idris Salim, a 29-year-old reporter for local 
independent online news outlet Sudan Bukra, on October 10, 2023, when Rapid 
Support Forces (RSF) soldiers ran her over with their car while she was 
covering health conditions of a hospital's emergency wing in Omdurman;

    (2) reports that the RSF has cut access to telecommunications and 
internet services since early February 2024, leaving civilians in a 
communications blackout and making reporting on the war nearly impossible; 
and

    (3) the forced closure of all print media in the country, and banning 
of foreign news channels, forcing of journalists into exile;

Whereas Reporters Without Borders asserts that due to oppression by the military 
        junta, ``press freedom in [Burma] has been set back ten years in ten 
        days'' after the February 1, 2021, military coup, including through--

    (1) media workers forced into hiding and confronting censorship, 
harassment, internet blockages, beatings, interrogations, threats, and 
torture at the hands of the military;

    (2) multiple independent media outlets forced to cease operations or 
close altogether or having their licenses revoked by the military; and

    (3) journalists being detained at alarming rates, with 75 journalists 
in prison as of April 17, 2023, including photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike, 
who was sentenced to a 20-year prison term in May 2023 while covering the 
aftermath of a deadly cyclone;

Whereas in India, Government authorities have taken a series of actions limiting 
        the space for free and independent media, including--

    (1) frequently imposing internet and communication blackouts in Indian-
administered Kashmir and the Indian State of Manipur, among certain areas;

    (2) calling for the temporary blockage of journalists and media 
accounts on X (formerly known as Twitter) and other online platforms; and

    (3) increasing restrictions on foreign journalists, and subjecting 
journalists to searches and arrests, including--

    G    (A) revoking the journalism permit of French reporter Vanessa 
Dougnac, who, as the spouse of an Indian citizen, holds permanent residency 
status, known as an Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), forcing her to leave 
the country in February 2024;

    G    (B) the continued detention of Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan 
since April 2018, including his rearrest for the third time by Indian 
authorities in February 2024, days after his release from 5 and a half 
years of preventative detention;

    G    (C) the arrest of Teesta Setalvad, a journalist and civil rights 
activist, in June 2022 by the Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Gujarat Police, 
for allegedly conspiring to implicate the Gujarat government in the 2002 
Gujarat riots, and who has since faced legal harassment and arbitrary 
detention over the last year for her work; and

    G    (D) the Indian Government's efforts to censor the BBC documentary 
critical of prominent Indian political figures;

Whereas Pakistan maintains high levels of media censorship, and impunity 
        persists in cases of killings and physical attacks on journalists who 
        criticize the military and state institutions, including--

    (1) the repeated arrest of journalist Imran Riaz Khan, including his 
arbitrary detention in solitary confinement without due process for 142 
days in 2023;

    (2) the assault of Ayaz Amir, an employee of Dunya News, on July 1, 
2022, days after he had made comments criticizing former Prime Minister 
Imran Khan and the military; and

    (3) in February 2024, the arrest of Pakistani journalist and video 
blogger Asad Ali Toor on charges of orchestrating a campaign against the 
state and its officials through his social media platforms;

Whereas Afghanistan, under the control of the Taliban, remains one of the most 
        repressive countries for journalists, who are subjected to arrest, 
        beatings, and arbitrary restrictions on their work, including journalist 
        Sultan Ali Jawadi, who was sentenced to 1 year in prison by a Taliban 
        court in December 2023;
Whereas violations of press freedom are persistent in South Asia and Southeast 
        Asia, where--

    (1) in Vietnam, Pham Doan Trang, a journalist and writer, following a 
year in pretrial detention, was sentenced to 9 years in prison in December 
2021 for ``anti-state propaganda'' in a judicial proceeding and 
imprisonment declared ``arbitrary'' by the United Nations Working Group on 
Arbitrary Detention;

    (2) in Bangladesh, journalists are subjected to arbitrary arrests, and 
suffer killings and physical attacks with near-total impunity; and

    (3) in Sri Lanka, the enactment of the recent draconian Online Safety 
Act, which undermines freedom of speech, incentivizes self-censorship and 
could be misused to suppress dissent;

Whereas Cuba remains a highly restricted environment for independent media, 
        marked by internet restrictions and constant, state-directed harassment 
        of journalists and news outlets, as well as the preponderance of 
        arbitrary arrests, threats, police summonses, and forced exile, which 
        remain among the repressive suite of measures applied by the Government 
        against activists and journalists, with victims including Lazaro Yuri 
        Valle Roca, a journalist who was sentenced to 5 years in prison for 
        ``enemy propaganda and resistance'' in July 2022, evidence that the 
        Cuban Government continues to employ retaliatory tactics to silence and 
        jail journalists, or force them into exile, to maintain its oppressive 
        censorship regime;
Whereas assaults on press freedom in El Salvador imperil its fragile democracy, 
        which include verbal attacks on journalists by political leaders and the 
        use of state power to intimidate and pressure independent media, such 
        as--

    (1) the spyware attacks by the Salvadoran Government against 
journalists of the media outlet El Faro, who were subject to 226 illegal 
wire tappings between June 2020 and November 2021, and where many of these 
attacks occurred when the journalists were communicating with confidential 
sources and reporting on abuses by the Salvadoran Government, and which 
intensified around El Faro's publication of major stories;

    (2) the ongoing criminal investigation against that same outlet, which 
investigation was launched after El Faro reported damaging information 
about the Salvadoran Government, and the relentless harassment by 
Salvadoran law enforcement toward El Faro journalists, which led the media 
outlet to relocate most of its operations to Costa Rica following 
harassment by Salvadoran police;

    (3) the online attacks and threats to journalists from the outlet 
Revista Factum, which has been banned from press conferences at the 
Presidential residence; and

    (4) the adoption of a new law that imposes prison sentences ranging 
from 10 to 15 years for certain reporting on criminal groups, such as 
gangs;

Whereas Mexico continues to be one of the world's deadliest countries for 
        journalists, where 25 journalists are currently counted as missing, 
        according to Mexico's National Human Rights Commission, and where CPJ 
        has recorded 88 killings of journalists and media workers since 2012, of 
        which 37 were murdered in response to their reportage, and where 
        reporters covering stories concerning political corruption and organized 
        crime are frequently assaulted and murdered;
Whereas Haiti is now the second deadliest country in the Western Hemisphere for 
        journalists, with 7 journalist deaths since 2022 following a steady 
        uptick of violence in the country, including violence against the press, 
        as the country's security situation continues to deteriorate following 
        the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, with violence 
        claiming the lives of--

    (1) Garry Tesse, a Haitian radio reporter who reported on political and 
government corruption and was believed to be tortured and killed in 
retaliation for his reporting; and

    (2) Dumesky Kersaint, a journalist for an online news outlet who was 
killed while attempting to cover another killing in his community;

Whereas, in Nicaragua, the persecution of journalists by the Ortega regime 
        continues unabated, including through forced closures of independent 
        media outlets, and journalists in the country are continually 
        threatened, harassed, sued, surveilled, jailed, and forced into exile, 
        including--

    (1) Miguel Mendoza, who along with 6 other journalists and media 
workers, was among the group of 222 political prisoners released by 
Nicaraguan authorities in February 2023, sent to the United States, and 
subsequently stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship; and

    (2) journalist Victor Ticay, who was arrested in April 2023 in 
connection to his April 5, 2023, reporting about a Catholic Easter 
celebration;

Whereas, in Guatemala, RSF has noted the risk of the criminalization of 
        journalism in Guatemala as Government officials and politicians 
        routinely harass and target journalists who investigate corruption, 
        press freedom is facing an alarming assault, and journalists are not 
        only being criminalized and imprisoned but are also relentlessly 
        targeted for their reporting, enduring online and offline harassment, 
        intimidation, and physical assaults, including the arrest of Jose Ruben 
        Zamora, a prize-winning journalist whose trial has been widely 
        criticized by international observers as arbitrary and politically 
        motivated, who was convicted of ``money laundering'' allegations in July 
        2022, sentenced to 6 years in prison, and remains behind bars despite 
        the October 13, 2023, ruling by a Guatemalan court that overturned the 
        conviction and ordered a retrial in Zamora's case, which continues to 
        face delays;
Whereas, in Peru, criminal defamation lawsuits, legislation, and restrictive 
        accreditation schemes for journalists that undermine freedom of 
        expression have been used to harass and silence investigative 
        journalists who write about prominent political figures, and the 
        unlawful state repression of protesters has also increased the risk to 
        journalists covering ongoing social unrest in Peru, as corroborated by 
        the woundings of several journalists by rubber pellets and tear gas 
        canisters in police and military operations throughout 2022 and 2023 
        that have been condemned by international organizations as violating 
        international standards on the use of force;
Whereas, in Ecuador, a group of presumed gang members stormed a local news 
        station in Guayaquil on January 9, 2024, during a live broadcast, which 
        evinces the country's worsening security condition amid organized crime 
        activity that has forced at least 5 journalists to leave Ecuador between 
        April and October 2023, according to CPJ;
Whereas, in Venezuela, the Maduro regime continues to target independent media 
        outlets, restrict the exercise of freedom of expression, and severely 
        limit access to accurate information, with local civil society 
        organization Public Space (Espacio Publico) registering 349 attacks on 
        journalists and media workers between January and November 2023, 
        including censorship, verbal attacks, and intimidation;
Whereas press freedom continues to face challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, 
        including in--

    (1) Ethiopia, the second-worst jailer of journalists in sub-Saharan 
Africa, where a crackdown on the press has included--

    G    (A) an entrenched pattern of arbitrarily detaining journalists; 
with at least 8 journalists behind bars as of December 2023, according to 
CPJ;

    G    (B) significant due process and fair trial concerns in the cases 
of detained journalists, such as in May 2023, when online journalist Gobeze 
Sisay was arrested in neighboring Djibouti and transferred to Ethiopia 
under unclear circumstances;

    G    (C) the detention of journalists arrested under state of emergency 
provisions at a military camp in eastern Ethiopia without judicial 
oversight or access to family and legal counsel;

    G    (D) the use of internet disruptions during political tension or in 
restive parts of the country, including the Oromia and Amhara regions, 
making it difficult for journalists to report safely and freely;

    G    (E) the failure to provide a credible accounting for the 2021 
killings of journalists Dawit Kebede Araya and Sisay Fida;

    G    (F) the consistent persecution of media trying to cover the 
conflict and violence in the Oromia and Amhara regions, including the 
detention of at least 6 journalists as of March 27, 2024, who were 
reporting on events in Amhara; and

    G    (G) the forced exile and deportation of independent journalists;

    (2) Nigeria, where journalists have been repeatedly detained and 
charged for their work, including--

    G    (A) Luka Binniyat, who was arrested in November 2021, released on 
bail in February 2022, and is facing 3 years in prison if convicted of 
sending false information under the Cybercrimes Act;

    G    (B) Agba Jalingo, publisher of the CrossRiverWatch news site, who 
was arrested on March 27, 2023, charged under the Cybercrimes Act for 
allegedly publishing false news, and released on bail on April 3, 2023;

    G    (C) Haruna Mohammed Salisu, publisher of the WikkiTimes, who was 
arrested while covering the February 25, 2023, Federal elections, charged 
under the penal code with inciting the public to disturb the Bauchi State 
Governor, and released on bail on March 1, 2023, and who faces ongoing 
prosecution in that case and several others; and

    G    (D) Saint Mienpamo Onitsha, founder of the online broadcaster 
NAIJA Live TV, who was arrested on October 10, 2023, at gunpoint at the 
home of a friend, charged under the Cybercrime Act over a report about 
tensions in the southern Niger Delta region, and released on bail after 
nearly four months in jail;

    (3) Eritrea, which is one of the world's most censored countries, and 
where at least 16 journalists, including editors Dawit Isaak and Amanuel 
Asrat, are detained, with most of these detentions commencing during a 2001 
crackdown on the independent press, according to CPJ;

    (4) Cameroon, where--

    G    (A) 6 journalists were imprisoned as of December 2023, according 
to CPJ;

    G    (B) at least 2 journalists have died in government custody under 
suspicious circumstances since 2010; and

    G    (C) journalist Martinez Zogo was abducted, tortured, and killed in 
January 2023; and journalist Jean-Jacques Ola Bebe was killed in February 
2023, with no police investigation into his murder;

    (5) Rwanda, where the media landscape is heavily restricted by 
censorship and authoritarianism, and where--

    G    (A) at least 4 journalists were imprisoned as of December 1, 2023, 
according to CPJ, 2 of whom, YouTubers Aimbale Karasira Uzaramba and 
Dieudonne Niyonsenga, have alleged torture in state custody; and

    G    (B) journalist John Williams Ntwali, who, after reporting on cases 
of torture, disappearances, and forced government evictions, was killed in 
January 2023 under suspicious circumstances, and whose death has never been 
credibly investigated;

    (6) Burundi, where journalist Floriane Irangabiye is serving a 10-year 
prison sentence, following a January 2023 conviction in connection to her 
critical commentary on governance issues in the country;

    (7) Mali and Burkina Faso, where foreign journalists have been expelled 
in the aftermath of coups d'etat in the respective countries, French-
language media outlets have been banned, and local journalists work under 
threat of reprisal for reporting on security issues;

    (8) Niger, where journalist Samira Sabou was detained for 11 days in 
October 2023 and charged with cybercrime and treason in connection with her 
reporting;

    (9) Senegal, where journalists have been repeatedly arrested and 
prosecuted for their work, attacked by security forces, and struggled amid 
internet shutdowns;

    (10) Togo, where journalists have faced arrests and prosecutions for 
their work, as well as other forms of intimidation, including spyware 
surveillance; and

    (11) Zimbabwe, where journalists have been banned from covering 
government meetings, and the legal framework remains harsh;

Whereas, in Hungary, the Parliament in December 2023 passed a Russian-inspired 
        national sovereignty law that created a ``Sovereignty Protection 
        Authority'', an institution with the publicly declared objectives of 
        targeting journalists and identifying individuals and organizations that 
        receive foreign funding and which the Authority suspects undermine the 
        country's national sovereignty, objectives that local media outlets have 
        warned will empower the Authority with the ability to stifle independent 
        journalism supported by overseas donors;
Whereas, in Serbia, journalists suffer regular online harassment, smear 
        campaigns, and physical attacks, and the 1999 killing of journalist 
        Slavko Curuvija remains unpunished after those formerly convicted for 
        the murder were acquitted;
Whereas, in Slovakia, more than 6 years after the brutal killing of 
        investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova, and 
        despite the hitmen and intermediaries receiving lengthy prison 
        sentences, authorities have been so far unable to convict the alleged 
        mastermind;
Whereas, in Greece, authorities have 2 unresolved murders of journalists, and 
        journalists have in recent years been targeted by surveillance, abusive 
        lawsuits, and have experienced physical attacks;
Whereas, in Turkey, the Erdogan government maintains one of the world's most 
        repressive environments for journalists and continues its ``revolving 
        door'' policy on detaining journalists, with at least 13 journalists 
        jailed in retaliation for their professional work at the time of CPJ's 
        most recent prison census on December 1, 2023;
Whereas Hatice Duman, the longest imprisoned journalist in Turkey, who has been 
        serving a life sentence on terrorism charges since April 9, 2003, told 
        CPJ in November 2022 that she had little hope for freedom in her 
        retrial, while her continuing retrial has not instigated any changes on 
        the part of the authorities;
Whereas, in Azerbaijan, the Government of Ilham Aliyev, who secured a fifth term 
        in an uncompetitive early Presidential election in February 2024, 
        mounted a renewed assault on independent media in recent months by 
        detaining 10 journalists from outlets Abzas Media, Kanal 13 and Toplum 
        TV: Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinj Vagifgizi, Mahammad Kekalov, Hafiz Babali, 
        Elnara Gasimova, Nargiz Absalamova, Aziz Orujov, Shamo Eminov, Alasgar 
        Mammadli, and Mushfig Jabbar, constituting a crackdown on journalists 
        that was in part retaliation for their reporting on official corruption;
Whereas, in Tajikistan, the Government continued its systematic repression of 
        the free press in 2022 and 2023 by sentencing 7 journalists to lengthy 
        prison terms on spurious charges in secretive, closed-door trials held 
        in detention centers amid allegations of torture and forced confessions, 
        including--

    (1) Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva, a 67-year-old ethnic Pamiri journalist and 
human rights defender, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison; and

    (2) journalists Daler Imomali, Abdullo Ghurbati, Zavqibek Saidamini, 
Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda, and Khurshed Fozilov, who were sentenced to 
terms of imprisonment ranging from 7 to 10 years on spurious charges of 
extremism;

Whereas, in Kyrgyzstan, since the start of 2022, the Government has taken 
        worrying steps to dismantle the country's previously vibrant press 
        environment, including by--

    (1) detaining 11 current and former staff of the investigative 
reporting outlet Temirov Live, who have reported on corruption allegations 
among high-level government officials, since January 2024;

    (2) imposing spurious charges of illegal drug manufacture on 
Kyrgyzstan-born investigative journalist Bolot Temirov, founder of Temirov 
Live, and deporting him to the Russian Federation in retaliation for his 
reporting on corruption in the Government's procurement processes;

    (3) shuttering and blocking investigative outlet Kloop, known for its 
reporting on high-level government corruption;

    (4) enacting the so-called ``Foreign representatives'' legislation that 
will establish extensive state control over externally funded press freedom 
groups and nongovernmental organizations that run prominent news sites; and

    (5) raiding independent news agency 24.kg on fabricated charges;

Whereas, in Algeria, press freedom continued to deteriorate at an alarming pace 
        in 2023, with 3 journalists in jail as of December 2023, according to 
        CPJ, 2 of whom are the country's most prominent journalists, including--

    (1) Mustapha Bendjama, editor-in-chief and director of local 
independent news website Le Provincial, who was arrested on February 8, 
2023, on foreign funding charges and is currently serving a 6-month prison 
sentence for ``committing an illegal immigration crime''; and

    (2) Ihsane El Kadi, editor-in-chief of local independent news website 
Maghreb Emergent and Radio M, who was arrested in December 2022, and is 
serving a 7-year prison sentence on charges of receiving foreign funding 
for the news outlet he manages;

Whereas, in Tunisia, press freedom has gravely deteriorated following President 
        Kais Saied's dismissal of the prime minister on July 25, 2021, and his 
        concomitant suspension of Parliament, in addition to his Government's 
        imprisonment of journalists in 2023, according to CPJ, which evince a 
        national context in which the Government has broadly suppressed press 
        freedom in the country, including--

    (1) raiding multiple local and foreign media outlets and news 
organizations, and security officers, in several cases, confiscating the 
organizations' broadcasting equipment and ordering their offices to close, 
notably the office of Al Jazeera; and

    (2) approving a new constitution that is devoid of necessary 
protections for journalists to pursue their work without fear of censorship 
and repression;

Whereas United States journalists have been targeted while reporting abroad, 
        including--

    (1) Christopher Allen, who was killed while covering the conflict in 
South Sudan on August 26, 2017, and for whom there has been no credible 
investigation to pursue justice after nearly 7 years;

    (2) Austin Tice, who was kidnapped in Syria and has been held in 
captivity since August 13, 2012;

    (3) Brent Renaud, who was killed by Russian forces while covering the 
war in Ukraine on March 13, 2022;

    (4) Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia on charges of 
espionage on March 29, 2023; and

    (5) Alsu Kurmasheva, who holds dual United States-Russian citizenship, 
who was arrested on October 18, 2023, in Russia on charges of failure to 
register as a foreign agent;

Whereas, under the auspices of the United States Agency for Global Media, the 
        United States Government provides financial assistance to several 
        editorially independent media outlets, including Voice of America, Radio 
        Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba 
        Broadcasting, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks--

    (1) which report and broadcast news, information, and analysis in 
critical regions around the world;

    (2) whose journalists regularly face harassment, fines, and 
imprisonment for their work; and

    (3) whose journalist Alsu Kurmasheva has been in Russian detention 
since October 18, 2023, on antistate false news charges; and

Whereas press freedom--

    (1) is a key component of democratic governance activism in civil 
society, and socioeconomic development; and

    (2) enhances public accountability, transparency, and participation in 
civil society and democratic governance: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) declares that a free press--
                    (A) is a central component of free societies and 
                democratic governance;
                    (B) contributes to an informed civil society and 
                government accountability;
                    (C) helps to expose corruption;
                    (D) enhances public accountability and transparency 
                of governments at all levels; and
                    (E) disseminates information that is essential to 
                improving public health and safety;
            (2) expresses concerns about threats to the exercise of 
        freedom of expression, including by the press, around the 
        world;
            (3) recognizes and commends journalism's role in providing 
        trusted, accurate, and timely information and in holding 
        governments, leaders accountable to citizens;
            (4) recognizes the indispensable role of journalists and 
        media outlets in informing voters and the international 
        community about elections in multiple countries worldwide in 
        2024;
            (5) is dismayed that, under cover of the COVID-19 pandemic, 
        many governments have restricted the work of journalists 
        reporting on the public health crisis and on peaceful protests 
        on a variety of issues;
            (6) pays tribute to journalists who made tremendous 
        sacrifices, including the loss of their lives, in the pursuit 
        of truth and justice;
            (7) condemns all actions around the world that suppress 
        press freedom and endanger the safety of journalists;
            (8) calls for the unconditional and immediate release of 
        all wrongfully detained journalists;
            (9) reaffirms the centrality of press freedom to efforts of 
        the United States Government to support democracy, mitigate 
        conflict, and promote good governance domestically and around 
        the world; and
            (10) calls upon the President and the Secretary of State--
                    (A) to preserve and build upon the leadership of 
                the United States on issues relating to press freedom, 
                on the basis of the protections for freedom of the 
                press afforded the United States people under the First 
                Amendment to the Constitution;
                    (B) to transparently investigate and bring to 
                justice the perpetrators of attacks against 
                journalists; and
                    (C) to promote the respect and protection of press 
                freedom around the world.
                                 <all>