Updated: 10:18pm – Director for Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission Ashwin Raj says journalists need to be able to speak truth to power.
Raj says as the fourth estate, journalists must ensure they base their stories on facts.
He made the comments after the recent detainment and questioning of the former publisher for Islands Business Netani Rika, its Managing Director – Samisoni Pareti and staff writer Nanise Volau.
The three are believed to be behind an inaccurate story on the contract termination of the presiding Magistrate in the ATS Workers case.
“The journalists have a very critical role to play, they are the important interlocutor between the public and institutions of power and they need to be able to do their work without fear of reprisal or recrimination but that power comes with a lot of responsibility and this is a sad indictment of that fact that journalists are still failing to realize what their responsibilities are.”
The three were questioned by Police again yesterday following their first round of interviews last Sunday and continue to be investigated for breaching the Public Order Act.
-FBC
