2016.04.01
Vice News production order ‘sets dangerous precedent’
CWA Canada and other journalist organizations are expressing alarm at an Ontario Superior Court ruling that would force a Vice News reporter to hand over to the RCMP all communications between him and an ISIS fighter.
“This ruling sets a dangerous precedent and deals a blow to press freedom and the integrity of journalism in Canada,” said their March 31 joint statement to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.
Farah Shirdon, 22, who allegedly left Canada in 2014 to fight in Syria and Iraq, was charged in absentia with six terrorism-related offences in September after he was interviewed by Vice reporter Ben Makuch. The March 29 ruling upholds a court-granted production order for Makuch to turn over to the RCMP chat logs between him and Shirdon.
The letter to Goodale from Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) calls the RCMP’s production order a “fishing expedition, which will do little to make us more secure while making it harder for Makuch, Vice, and indeed all Canadian journalists to bring stories of national importance to the public.”
Although the RCMP maintained it needed Makuch’s communications with Shirdon as evidence to prove their charges, Vice lawyers argued that the reporter’s records would not provide police with anything they didn’t already know.
Vice is giving serious consideration to appealing the decision.
CJFE said “Makuch’s work has shed light on what motivates ISIS fighters, providing an essential public service and informing the public about a matter of national importance.”
It strongly urged the RCMP and Public Safety Canada to “respect the independence of journalists and drop demands for the release of private material and correspondence with sources.The Canadian government must ensure the integrity of journalistic work is protected and journalists can freely operate while protecting their sources without facing the prospect of legal sanction.”
In addition to CWA Canada, the joint statement was signed by the Canadian Association of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and the Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec.
For interviews or more information, contact Martin O'Hanlon (email / 613-820-8460).