In 2005, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) documented the killing in the line of duty of 150 media professionals, the largest annual number killed in recorded history. Added to the surge in the number of those killed, is the increasing number of those facing all sorts of threat and harassment, with at least 500 reportedly detained or imprisoned in 2005. Media professionals all over the world continue to face repressions ranging from death, kidnapping, arbitrary arrests, detentions and protracted prison terms, to varying forms of censorships.

It was in this context that the Exiled Journalists’ Network began the Press Freedom Forum Series. This project, which takes the form of an annual event, aims to bring together media professionals who have suffered persecution, press freedom campaigners, and other professionals from the legal and human rights spheres.

Members of the Exiled Journalists’ Network are journalists who have fled to the UK to escape persecution because of their media work. MediaWise supported the first two forums and co-published reports on the events.

2007 – Professionalism, peace reporting and journalists’ safety in Sri Lanka

2006 – Public order, state security and press freedom in Ethiopia: Towards finding a common ground