TheCable

The International Press Institute (IPI), world congress, has called for the freedom of over 250 detained journalists worldwide.

Scott Griffen, IPI deputy director, made the call while speaking at the ongoing IPI congress on Friday in Abuja.

Griffen said the detained journalists hailed from different countries including China, Egypt, Iran and Turkey.

He expressed worry over the way journalists have been victims of violations of press freedom and were being detained, killed, harassed, and violated in the world.

“Some of these journalists have been detained for over a decade, in some cases one or two years, it has been very difficult for the profession,” he said.

He advised journalists to strive to build international human rights connections to salvage the situation, saying that IPI was focused on tackling the insecurity in journalism through strategic partnership and networking.

The IPI deputy director appealed for public liberties and respect for human rights around the world to enhance the profession.

Among the detained journalists are Mahmoud Hassan of Aljazeera, who has been detention for over 365 days and also Abiri from Nigeria; he has been in detention for over two years.