Tell Priti Patel: Stop your attack on journalistic freedom
Journalists who share leaks of official information should not face life imprisonment for doing their job
Ken Saro-Wiwa was a noted Nigerian literary figure, activist for the rights of his indigenous Ogoni people, organiser against Shell's activities in the Niger Delta and campaigner for human rights and democracy. His organisation MOSOP, Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, which saw 60% of the population join a single protest against Shell, was the target of brutal repression by the then military regime, including mass killings and destruction of villages. Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists were convicted on trumped-up charges and executed by the then military dictatorship on November 10 1995 in the face of an international outcry. Shell recently settled with the families of those executed for $15.5 million.
No, Shell are merely hoping that the government will succeed in “pacifying” the Ogoni and then they will move in...