by Mary Harrsch © 2025
As a journalist who once reported for newspapers and magazines—but thankfully never in a combat zone—I’m deeply disturbed by the targeting of Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza. Such deliberate attacks amount to nothing less than war crimes. International law, including the Geneva Conventions, explicitly protects journalists as civilians. Actions that endanger them undermine the public’s right to information and erode the accountability that free media provides.
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| A man holds an image of Anas al-Sharif as staff gather at Al Jazeera’s studios in Doha to remember their colleagues killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza. Photograph courtesy of Reuters |
This is not an isolated concern. Around the world, governments have used various means—legal restrictions, harassment, and violence—to stifle independent reporting. From the recent firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner in the United States, to the brutal butchery of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia, to legislative crackdowns on foreign media in Russia, the imprisonment of reporters in Turkey, and the intimidation of investigative journalists in India and Hungary, the pattern is clear: restricting journalism is a hallmark of governments unwilling to face scrutiny.
When journalists are silenced, the consequences extend far beyond any single outlet or story. Suppressing information narrows public understanding, distorts historical records, and weakens democratic institutions. Defending press freedom—and the integrity of factual institutions—is not partisan. It’s a commitment to the ideals that sustain open discourse, historical memory, and democratic governance.
