A journalist at the Voice of America (VOA) is suing the US government for ‘violating laws of freedom of the press’.
In an interview with DW, Patsy Widakuswara, said her colleagues were being silenced because their views didn’t match those of the administration.
“This is an overreach of the executive function as well as a violation of laws that protect the First Amendment. And in doing so, we believe that they are violating laws of freedom of the press, as well as laws that protect against executive overreach,” she said.
Widakuswara said the vacuum was being filled by extremist organisations such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS, and state-backed broadcasters out of Russia, China and Iran.
She said: “It’s not just about reinstating VOA, but reinstating VOA the way it was, where we can produce our journalism without fear or favour, and having that kind of editorial independence be protected by the VOA charter.”
Widakuswara added that journalists could find themselves sent back to places of danger including Russia and Myanmar.
Earlier this month the Trump administration announced it was cutting funding to US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the organisation that runs Radio Free Europe and the Voice of America.
