I guess there many ways to try silencing journalists
PHOTO: Mimi Mefo. Photo credit: Mimi’s Facebook page.
Mimi Mefo, is a Cameroonian award winning Journalist who works for Deustche Welle. She has been reportedly denied a Visa by the Australian government because they believe she might want to stay.
The investigator Journalist was set to deliver a keynote address on Friday at the Integrity Conference in Brisbane, but has reportedly been denied visa. According to reports, her visa was denied because the authorities “were not satisfied that the applicant’s employment and financial situation provide an incentive to return” said Integrity 20.
Mimi who won the 2019 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award, was to due to travel from Australia to South Africa, to deliver a lecture at the African Investigative Journalism Conference. She said her flights were already paid to connect her Brisbane to Johannesburg.
For some insane reason, Australian ambassador to Germany, Lynette Wood’s team think that Australia where I will abandon my job in Germany, disappoint everyone at the #AIJC in south African, just to remain there illegally,” Mimi said on twitter.
I guess there many ways to try silencing journalists”
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Australia’s Department of Home Affairs said it didn’t comment on individual cases. A spoke man said vise decisions were made, “Only full and careful consideration of the information provided by the applicant and any other relevant information held by the department, and in accordance with Australian migration legislation”.
The decision-maker must be satisfied that, character, security and genuine temporary entry and stay requirements are met in order to grant visa.”
Jodie Ginsberg, the Chief Executive Officer of Index of Censorship, said the idea that Mimi would jeopardize her two year contract with Deustche Welle to seek asylum was “obviously nonsense”.
Is it conspiracy or cock-up? I suspect they didn’t perhaps take into consideration the documents which demonstrate her achievements and the fact that she was going straight on to talk in South Africa,” Ginsberg said.
If that is the case, it means many journalists or dissidents will find they aren’t able to enter Australia.”
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Australian Journalist Reacts
Australian Journalists and Chair of the Walkley Foundation, Kerry O’Brien, who will also speak at the Integrity 20, said that Mimi was a highly respected journalist who had been jailed for truthful reporting in Cameroon and awarded for her journalism. O’Brien further told The Guardian that he didn’t understand why the Australian government would think she represented a risk of overstaying her visa.
I think it is a very sad irony that the government would decide to stop Mimi from coming into Australia to participate in a serious forum in a discussion on the importance of a free press and freedom from censorship.” O’Brien said.
Given the ongoing debate and concern in this country about policy raids on journalism organizations, I would think the government would want to demonstrate that when it says it supports free press when it says it does, because this incident says otherwise. He added.
Read more about this on The Guardian.
