European
human rights chiefs order the British press NOT to reveal when
terrorists are Muslims in crackdown on freedom of speech
- Report out from the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
- Blames increase in hate crimes and racism in UK on the 'worrying examples of intolerance and hate speech in newspapers'
- Claims Islamophobia rises when media reports when terrorists are Muslim
12
April, 2018
European
human rights chiefs have told the British press it must not report
when terrorists are Muslim.
The
recommendations came as part of a list of 23 meddling demands to
Theresa May’s government on how to run the media in an alarming
threat to freedom speech.
The
report, drawn up by the Council of Europe's human rights watchdog,
blamed the recent increase in hate crimes and racism in the UK on the
'worrying examples of intolerance and hate speech in the newspapers,
online and even among politicians', although the research was done
before the EU referendum campaign had even begun.
The
suggestions sent to Downing Street urging the UK Government to reform
criminal law and freedom of the press and in a brutal criticism of
the British press, the report recommends ministers 'give more
rigorous training' to journalists.
But
UK ministers firmly rebutted the remarkable demands, telling the
body: 'The Government is committed to a free and open press and does
not interfere with what the press does and does not publish, as long
as the press abides by the law.'
The
report, from the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
(ECRI) body, said there had been an increase in hate speech and
racist violence in Britain between March 2009 and March 2016.
In
an audacious move, the report recommends the British media be barred
from reporting the Muslim background of terrorists.
And
it comes after multiple terror atrocities by Muslim extremists across
Paris, Brussels, Munich and other German cities over the last year.
Over
the same period, there have been no major terror attacks in Britain
The
83-page report states: 'ECRI considers that, in light of the fact
that Muslims are increasingly under the spotlight as a result of
recent ISIS-related terrorist acts around the world, fuelling
prejudice against Muslims shows a reckless disregard, not only for
the dignity of the great majority of Muslims in the United Kingdom,
but also for their safety.
'In
this context, it draws attention to a recent study by Teeside
University suggesting that where the media stress the Muslim
background of perpetrators of terrorist acts, and devote significant
coverage to it, the violent backlash against Muslims is likely to be
greater than in cases where the perpetrators' motivation is
downplayed or rejected in favour of alternative explanations.'
Theresa
May's government firmly rebutted the remarkable demands, telling
Brussels: 'The Government is committed to a free and open press and
does not interfere with what the press does and does not publish, as
long as the press abides by the law'
The
ECRI regularly assesses incidents of racism, xenophobia,
anti-Semitism and intolerance across the EU's 28 member states.
It
bases its analysis on 'a great deal of information gathered from a
wide variety of sources'.
ECRI
Chair Christian Ahlund, said: 'It is no coincidence that racist
violence is on the rise in the UK at the same time as we see worrying
examples of intolerance and hate speech in the newspapers, online and
even among politicians.'
The
report also claimed that June's Brexit vote 'seems to have led to a
further rise in 'anti-foreigner' sentiment, making it even more
important that the British authorities take the steps outlined in our
report as a matter of priority.'
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