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Thirty-six human rights organizations, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and PEN America, have called on the US Congress to protect journalists in danger after President Donald Trump disbanded the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
According to Ukrinform, this is stated on the website of the organization Reporters Without Borders.
In a joint letter to members of Congress, human rights activists called on the United States administration, in particular the State Department, to allocate the necessary resources to support foreign journalists working for the USAGM.
According to RSF, at least 84 journalists of the Agency, who are in the United States on work visas, are at risk of deportation to countries where they may face persecution and serious harassment. For example, at least 15 Radio Liberty journalists and 8 Voice of America journalists from Belarus, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Russia, and Vietnam could be immediately arrested upon arrival or imprisoned if deported.
“It is outrageous that these journalists, who risk their lives to expose the extent of repression in their countries, can be completely abandoned. The US Congress must take responsibility for protecting these journalists and all USAGM-funded media outlets by Congress itself,” said RSF CEO Thibaut Brutten.
Read also: US court suspends process of closing Voice of America
He added that the responsibility is not only moral, but also stems from the US commitment to protect the principles of democracy and press freedom.
It is noted that 11 USAGM journalists are currently imprisoned around the world: five in Vietnam, two in Russia and Myanmar, and one in Belarus and Azerbaijan.
Voice of America employees were sent on paid leave a day after Donald Trump signed a decree to liquidate the broadcaster’s parent company.
