Namibia: When State Spies Potentially Target Journalists, They Target the Press, the Public and You

The possible targeting of journalist Marianne Thamm by state intelligence highlights a serious threat to press freedom and democratic accountability in South Africa.

A free press is not a courtesy the state extends to journalists. It is a constitutional load-bearing wall.

When journalists investigate the police — the institution society arms and empowers to protect its citizens — they do the work the Constitution anticipates and democracy requires. Any suggestion that state intelligence…