Thousands of journalists have fled homelands due to repression, threats and conflict, UN expert says

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. independent investigator says thousands of journalists have fled their home countries in recent years to escape political repression, save their lives and escape conflict. But Irene Khan said that in exile they are often vulnerable to physical, digital and legal threats. She said in a report to the U.N. General Assembly circulated Wednesday that the number of journalists in exile has increased as the space for independent and critical media has been “shrinking in democratic countries where authoritarian trends are gaining ground.” Today, Khan said, free, independent and diverse media supporting democracy and holding the powerful to account are either absent or severely constrained in places where most of the world’s people live.