Amal Clooney criticises Donald Trump for "misinformation" in the media

Amal Clooney says Donald Trump's rhetoric could endanger journalists around the world

London:

Countries that abuse journalists must pay a "diplomatic price", British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said on Wednesday at a conference on media freedom, adding that liberal democracies must also"put into practice what we preach".

Hunt, who is battling Boris Johnson to become the next UK leader, spoke of the murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the imprisonment of activists in China and Vietnam, and the killing of journalists in Mexico.

"If we act together, we can put the spotlight on abuses and impose a diplomatic price on those who want to harm journalists or lock them up to do their work," he said.

The London conference, organized jointly with Canada, brought together 60 ministers and about 1,500 journalists, activists and academics from 100 different countries.

The organizers hope for promises of actions concerning the protection of press freedom and cooperation between states to respond to specific cases.

Britain and Canada want to create a group of" like-minded countries to lobby in unison when media freedom is under attack, " Hunt said at a press conference.

"It's easier to talk when you're not alone," said Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Britain has also pledged £ 3 million ($3.75 million) to launch a global fund to provide legal advice and security training to journalists, as well as an additional £ 15 million to support independent media.

However, Hunt acknowledged that his own country needed to "do better" itself, after being ranked 33rd in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) campaign group.

"Those of us who believe in public societies must put into practice what we preach," he said.

When asked about US President Donald Trump's attacks on the media for "false information," Hunt said, "I would not agree with that."

"We need to remember that what we say can have an impact in other countries where they cannot take Press Freedom for granted."

Speaking at the same event, Amal Clooney, an international human rights lawyer named Special Envoy for media freedom by Hunt, went further, suggesting that Trump's speeches could endanger journalists around the world.

"Today, the country of James Madison has a leader who disparages the media, making honest journalists around the world more vulnerable to abuse," she said.

Clooney also noted that an American indictment against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who was being held in a British prison pending his possible extradition, had " alarmed newspaper journalists around the world."