ACRI's Statement on NAZA and Freedom of Expression
ACRI condemns the attacks by senior State officials against the creators of the film "NAZA" and the threats to take action against them in response to the film. Using the power of the State to threaten or intimidate filmmakers, or to try to uncover confidential sources, is illegitimate and infringes on freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are intended precisely to protect reporting that is critical, controversial, and/or troubling, and the legal system has continually emphasized the importance of being able to protect the identities of confidential sources as necessary for a free press. Threatening filmmakers and seeking to identify their sources work to intimidate and deter journalists and their current or potential sources, and undermine the public’s right to know.
State officials can dispute what is presented in the film and present additional facts, but they cannot threaten the filmmakers or their sources. Instead, the State should address the claims raised in the film, investigate the military’s conduct in Gaza, look into the number of civilians affected by the war, respond to suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity, and provide the public with an accounting of the impact on civilians in Gaza. The public has a right to know how decisions that result in the loss of life are made, and how the State examines its own conduct.
Transparency, investigative journalism, and critical reporting are not a threat to the State. Rather than focus on going after the filmmakers and their sources, it should instead use its energies to investigate the film’s allegations, publish their findings, and provide the public with substantive answers.
