Our partners have incredible stories to tell, and fantastic track records within their expertise. We are interviewing a number of these “fighters” to highlight the brave and excellent work they do. Enjoy the reading!
DONGHUI MUN, SOUTH KOREA
“NORTH KOREAN CITIZENS REMAIN LARGELY UNAWARE OF THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEIR RIGHTS ARE VIOLATED”
Interview with Donghui Mun, reporter at Daily NK, an online media that reports on North Korea. “Covering North Korea from South Korea is extremely challenging. First and foremost, communicating with our contacts in North Korea is very difficult”, says Mun. The North Korean authorities strictly monitor, track, and severely punish the use of international calls and as a result, it is challenging to exchange large amounts of information at once.
URSZULA Kifer, poland
“RUSSIAN INFLUENCE IS THE MOST PRESSING ISSUE IN POLAND THAT NEEDS INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM ATTENTION”
Interview with Urszula Kifer who shares her experience as investigative journalist in Eastern Europe. “Russian influence is something that we monitor closely and frequently write about, and we still feel that not everyone in the media is aware how much Russian influence there is”, says Urszula. Poland has dealt with it for many years, but since the full scale war in Ukraine, we are on the forefront of these attacks.
Victor Muchnik, Russia
“We were blocked because we called war a war”
Interview with Victor Muchnik, exiled Russian journalist. He spent 30 years of his life working at TV2, an independent media outlet in Siberia that was later closed by the Russian government. “We left because we didn’t have any wish to breathe the same air with people who support the war“, he says.
Joseph Poliszuk, VenezuelA
“People trust our work because they know we paid the price with exile”
Interview with Joseph Poliszuk, awarded journalist from Venezuela, founder and director of Armando.info. “We are the site where people don’t want to appear; our archive portrays the elite that has engaged in business at the expense of hunger and human rights violations”, he says. Armando.info’s editorial team left Venezuela in early 2018, due to a criminal lawsuit filed by Colombian businessman Alex Saab.
Nway Oo Tha Pyay, MyanmaR
“We, the people, will win and the military rule will end”
Interview with Nway Oo Tha Pyay, a veteran journalist from Myanmar. Nway talks about the political situation, censorship, the persecution of journalists and how they avoid monitoring by the military junta. Nway is now in exile as one of the few remaining independent journalists in Myanmar: “There are a lot of restrictions and barriers to our work”, he says.
Abdalle Mumin, SOMALIA
“All of those attacks in the refugee camp where I grew up gave me the ambition to become a journalist”
Interview with Abdalle Mumin, Secretary-General and co-founder of Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), reporting on press freedom and corruption in Somalia. “We are very active defenders of human rights, that is why the Somali government is attacking us”, says Abdalle who has been tortured and almost killed because his work.
Milton NyakundI, KENYA
“I want to give journalists in Kenya the opportunity to express themselves”
Interview with Milton Nyakundi, Kenyan journalist, founder of Kurunzi News, a platform for those willing to run a story that other media are not able to run. Kurunzis reporters have exposed some of the biggest corruption and bad governance stories of the past five years in Kenya. Nyakundi now became the target for intimidation, threats and blackmail. He lives in exile: “Unless we have brave men and women who are willing to speak out against the oppressive signals from the current government, we are likely to slide back to the years in the 1990s, and media risk being controlled and gagged”.
Justyna WydrzyńskA, POLAND
“I am an abortion activist, an abortion doula.”
Interview with Justyna Wydrzyńska, Polish abortion activist who has been sentenced to 30 hours community service a month for a year for aiding a woman to do an abortion. “I decided to risk my freedom because Ania, the person who I sent pills, was living in violent relationship and it was in the beginning of the Pandemic”. The case is appealed and Justyna has no regrets: “You have to help other people, because there is no other choice than just getting help”.
Gustavo GorritI, PERU
“Democracy in the world is in the greatest process of crisis since the 1930:s”
Interview with Gustavo Gorriti, Peruvian investigative journalist who has investigated terrorism, drug trafficking, political and economic corruption: “My life has been in danger several times”. Gorriti is the director of IDL-Reporteros: “Investigative journalism is a lot of work, very arid, but if you decide to do it, and you cross the river, there’s no turning back and you have to strive for the highest standards”. [Castellano]
Rawan DameN, JORDAN
“Our journalists suffer reprisals all the time”
Interview with Rawan Damen, Director General of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ). In three years she has doubled the team and the budget of the foundation and opened two platforms, for fact checkers and whistleblowers: “Investigations do not stop when there’s no access to information and suppression of freedom of expression – on the contrary – the exposure of the wrong doing is more important when it is really difficult.”
Ruslan MyatieV, TURKMENISTAN
“We report about things no one in Turkmenistan dares to tell”
Interview with Ruslan Myatiev, founder and director of the independent news outlet Turkmen.News: “Media in Turkmenistan is under full control of the government”, he says. Three Turkmen.News reporters have spent time in prison and the rest of the reporters and sources inside the country are at great risk: “Sometimes we lack audio-visual materials, but that’s a safety issue: even if we get photos from scene, we can’t publish them right away because there are security cameras everywhere. The police could easily identify our sources and cause trouble for them”.
Ezequiel BarrerA, EL SALVADOR
“They tapped my phone nine times”
Interview with Ezequiel Barrera, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the independent digital media GatoEncerrado in El Salvador. At least three journalists from his newsroom discovered in September 2021 that their mobile phones had been infected with the Pegasus software: “There are reasons that make us quite certain that the government of El Salvador is behind it. They are also using government institutions to prosecute journalists and we receive waves of attacks, especially against our female journalists, on social networks”, says Ezequiel. [Castellano]
Nora YouniS, EGYPT
“We always expect the police to come back to our office”
Interview with Nora Younis, the executive director at the Egyptian Al Manassa, a miracle of independent journalism in one of the world’s most repressive countries. Their office was raided in 2020 and Nora was arrested and later released on bail: “The charges against me were never dismissed. They still stand but the case was never moved to court, yet. This is a way of keeping human rights defenders in limbo or gray areas. We always expect the police to come back, because as far as we know, nothing has changed. Our reporting is still the same and the repression in Egypt is still the same”, says Nora.
Samuel OgundipE, NIGERIA
“It’s very rare in Nigeria to find a journalist that does not take bribes”
Interview with Samuel Ogundipe, a Nigerian investigative journalist, founder of the independent media outlet Peoples Gazette. For Samuel, journalism is a way to fight corruption and injustice: “We are not entrenched in the Nigerian political and economic circle, so we are able to be independent, we don’t have the kind of tentacles that all these other newspaper publishers have. What makes Peoples Gazette different is that we are able to do any story about anybody. If you are corrupt, if you are into injustice, we will expose you”.
Liam RivkiN, RUSSIA
“We are the only trans* initiative in the post-Soviet space”
Interview with Liam Rivkin, information coordinator at Trans* Coalition, a feminist initiative advocating for the depathologization of transgender people and the decriminalization of sex work. Trans* Coalition acts in the post-Soviet space, where “trans* people are persecuted by the same forces as LGBT people: the state, law enforcement agencies, ultra-right groups, religious figures openly expressing homophobia and trans phobia, individual politicians and deputies”.
John GithongO, KENYA
“We are in a global democratic recession”
Interview with John Githongo, Kenyan journalist, activist and thinker against corruption. He has been close enough to power to reveal the dishonesty of the elite, who later organized a plot to assassinate him. He says: “The most insidious impact of corruption in society is not the money that is lost but the trust it undermines among people in their leaders, institutions, politics and sometimes even among themselves”.
Arzu GeybullA, AZERBAIJAN
“They call me traitor because I advocate for democratic reforms in Azerbaijan”
Interview with Arzu Geybulla, freelance journalist and columnist working for human rights and freedom of expression in Azerbaijan. This has resulted in her being called a traitor and she has suffered a long campaign of online harassment for her work. She says: “I still believe in peace and reconciliation. I believe in fair reporting. I’m no traitor. I never was. And I will keep holding my values above anything else”.
Orus VillacortA, EL SALVADOR
“The president of El Salvador responds to our questions with mockery”
Interview with Orus Villacorta, journalist and codirector of Revista Factum, an investigative online magazine that reports corruption and malpractice from the part of officials who control the government in El Salvador. He says: “In our country anti-democratic practices routinely undermine the rule of law and there’s corruption, social violence, extreme poverty, organized crime, inequality and lack of transparency”. [Castellano]
Tor MadirA, SOUTH SUDAN
“Government officials kill at will, embezzle public funds at will”
Interview with Tor Madira, journalist and co-founder of Sudans Post, an investigative media outlet that reports political corruption and malpractice by most senior government officials in Sudan and South Sudan. He says: “Citizens always have a role to play in a society and I choose to take the role of journalism despite the risk because I believe that every effort in the interest of the society and the innocent citizen has what it takes to achieve”.
Rinat TuhvatshiN, KYRGYZSTAN
“When corruption becomes too difficult and risky, we will win!”
Interview with Rinat Tuhvatshin, journalist and co-founder of Kloop Media Foundation, an investigative news outlet and youth school of journalism from Kyrgyzstan, a country in Central Asia where corruption is present at all levels of society. He says: “We have chosen to focus on corruption and human rights because it literally kills people and we think it is the most important topic to cover”
Diana SalinaS, COLOMBIA
“Those who want to do investigative journalism have to leave fear at home”
Interview with Diana Salinas, co-founder of “Cuestión Pública”, one of the few digital media in Colombia that dares to practice investigative and counter-power journalism. Diana has won many prizes and also risked her life with her investigations. All because, she says: “I love to put my finger on the score spot, to irritate with the truth”. [Castellano]
Vi TraN, VIETNAM
“We are trying to help people that want political pluralism in Vietnam”
Interview with Vi Tran, lawyer and activist that advocates for a democratic movement in Vietnam. Co-founder of the independent magazine Luat Khoa and the newspaper The Vietnamese, that are blocked in Vietnam. Her mission is “to speak for those that can’t”.
Albertine Watchdog, UGANDA
“In case our identities were discovered, the risks include assassinations”
Interview with Albertine Watchdog, an anonymous group of environmental activists fighting against the oil and gas exploration in the Lake Albert region (Uganda) and its consequences on the population. Additionally, the group provides training to activists that fight against human rights abuse and environmental degradation as a result of the oil and gas exploration. Tens of thousands of people and more than 500 species of animals, including some threatened, are affected.
Uvindu KurukulasuriyA, SRI LANKA
Going into exile is a big decision
Interview with Uvindu Kurukulasuriya, founder of Colombo Telegraph. Exiled to London in 2009. Colombo Telegraph is one of the most read news websites in Sri Lanka, with thousands of people writing their opinions and one million visitors per month: “We have a lot to do to make Sri Lanka better”.
Khalid IbrahiM, LEBANON
Human rights defenders are treated like criminals in MENA region
Interview with Khalid Ibrahim, co-founder of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, an independent non profit that operates in MENA region, a risky place for human rights defenders. His closest colleagues are in prison and the situation is only getting worse, specially for women that defend human rights.
Ronalyn V. OleA, PHILIPPINES
The tyrants in cyberspace are shutting down critical and independent voices
Interview with Ronalyn V. Olea, managing editor of Bulatlat, Philippines’ top alternative online news site. Bulatlat has been labeled as “enemy of the state” by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and cyber attacked with hard Distributed Denial of Service attacks during three months. Ronalyn talks about it without fear.
Ganimat ZahiD, AZERBAIJAN
Officials treat journalists as outcasts in Azerbaijan
Interview with Ganimat Zahid, editor-in-chief of the online newspaper Azadliq.info and founder of Turan.TV, with 2 million viewers, the most popular TV show in Azerbaijan. Ganimat is listed by Reporters Without Borders as one of “100 Information Heroes” for his continuous effort to keep the Azerbaijani people informed.
Rafael Marques de MoraiS, ANGOLA
For press freedom I have had to fight to free the Angolan people from fear
Interview with Rafael Marques de Morais, prominent political activist, winner of numerous journalistic prizes and awards, and founder of Maka Angola, a anti-corruption watchdog focusing on social injustice in Angola.
Khalid “Kali” Abdel-HadI, JORDAN
My.Kali brings hope to MENAs queer youths and challenges the narrative in the region
Interview with Khalid “Kali” Abdel-Hadi, founder of My.Kali, one of the first queer magazines in the MENA region.