Amal blasts Trump over press threat
BY CRAIG SIMPSON AMAL Clooney has warned that Donald Trump is creating a global hostility towards journalists which is undermining democracy.
The human rights lawyer spoke as a Foreign Office special envoy on media freedom at a conference in London, at the invitation of Conservative Party leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt.
Amal said there were widespread threats to journalists and the flames of press distrust were being stoked by the US president.
She said Trump, as leader of the world’s most powerful democracy, was eroding trust in a pillar of democratic society. Amal also criticised the ineffectiveness of the global response to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, and claimed the international system is “broken”.
She also said the UK had a colonial legacy of legislation used to repress press freedom.
The human rights advocate was addressing delegates in London at the Global Conference for Media Freedom and said Trump had worsened hostility towards members of the press.
She said: “If we don’t turn things around, democracy will not survive.
“The global decline in press freedom is being hastened by rhetoric from the leader of the world’s most powerful democracy.
“It will not be reversed without strong leadership from others.”