SADC 'Journalists Under Fire' fund established

The new SADC Journalists Under Fire fund will not replace existing national media defence funds or other regional initiatives. It will instead seek to provide rapid but limited financial assistance in severe or exceptional cases ranging from assassination to physical assault or arrest, and other serious infringements of media freedom.

The fund will also provide emergency legal assistance in cases that have the potential to establish far-ranging regional legal precedents, and will seek to serve as an African interface for other global media safety bodies.