The South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) is outraged at the abuse of BBC reporter Jonathan Fisher by ANCYL president Julius Malema at the league's press conference today (see video).

It is totally unacceptable to treat a journalist that way for doing his job of asking a pointed question. Expelling journalists who ask uncomfortable questions from press conferences amounts to censorship.

Sanef takes strong exception at the reporter being sworn at in an attempt to humiliate him. Fisher was a guest at the press conference and could expect to be treated with courtesy.

In the light of this scandalous abuse of an internationally accepted method of communicating with the media, Sanef is concerned that journalists might, in future, be forced to decline invitations to press conferences of the youth league, with dire consequences for their historical duty of informing the public.

Statement issued by Thabo Leshilo, Sanef media freedom committee chairperson and Raymond Louw, Sanef media freedom committee deputy chairperson, April 8 2010

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