Investigative journalist Mark Bassant was forced to leave Trinidad and Tobago last week after receiving death threats, the International Press Institute (IPI) informed.
Bassant, a journalist with TV channel CCN TV6, reported the threats directly to a high-level national security official. In a recently published video, Bassant explained that the same official alerted him that about $20,000 had been offered to kill him and advised him to arrange around-the-clock security measures.
The threats appear to stem from Bassant's investigation into the May 3 killing of congresswoman Dana Seetahal. According to The Economist, Seetahal was one of the leading advocates calling for a reform to the country's criminal justice system. The Caribbean nation has one of the highest murder rates in the region and a post colonial justice system that takes an average of 10 years to reach a verdict.
"I move from location to location just to ensure piece of mind," Bassant said in the video. "This has me angry; that journalists who work on behalf of people can be threatened like this."
IPI called authorities to take the necessary measures to guarantee the safety of Bassant and other journalists so they can do their job without fear of reprisals.
“We condemn the threats made against Mr. Bassant, which have highlighted the dangers that journalists face when attempting to reveal information that is in the public interest, even in a country like Trinidad and Tobago, where this form of harassment is unusual,” IPI Executive Director Alison Bethel McKenzie said.
The Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute (TTTI) said it was "gravely concerned" over the death threats against Bassant, which represented an attack on freedom of the press that should be "condemned in the strongest possible term."
Wesley Gibbings, general secretary of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers, said he hoped authorities prioritize the case and that the perpetrators are soon brought to justice. He also called on every sector of civil society to defend press freedom and recognize the value of the work of Caribbean journalists.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
