Caribbean Review: Dominica Under Scrutiny for Treatment of Journalist
Boris Zhitkov
Freedom of the press is one of the core tenets to any well-functioning and free democracy. As the press play the role of the essential watchdog over elected leaders, and pass legislation, their expected job is to ensure that the government maintains transparency and accountability to the public. If the flow of information is disrupted by censorship against the media to prevent ideas and culture to be cultivated then a democracy ceases to exist and is replaced by autocracy. Congruently, when police officers use the chaos of protest and exert excessive force and violence to repress the media as a means to avoid accountability, democratic ideals are threatened and the reemergence of justice must be sought.
In March 2025, Dominica police forces were deployed to keep protests directed at new electoral reform legislation passed, civil. As police officers employed more coercive measures against protesters to hold their line, one police officer harassed and verbally abused a journalist covering the protests from EmoNews. As bystanders took live videos with their personal devices, the police officer grabbed the reporter’s tripod and pushed the journalist to the side all while aggressively telling her to leave. According to EmoNews, journalists like Soana Benjamin in this case, have faced repeated, consistent ridicule and bitter treatment from those in the government creating a hostile environment for journalists.
As such, Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) or Reporters Without Borders, has called for the Dominica police force for a full-fledged investigation into the incident and a subsequent response. The non-profit press rights group based in Paris, says that Benjamin clearly identified herself as a journalist to police while covering the protests to ensure her protection amidst the chaos of the protests yet, they report the police did not respect her. Clearly demonstrated with videos from bystanders, Executive Director for RSF North America, Clayton Weimers stated, “in such situations, police need to take great care in distinguishing journalists and respecting their unique responsibilities,” in addition to defending Soana Benjamin’s work. A statement from Dominica police forces regarding the incident has yet to be released.
Led by officials in the Electoral Reform Commission and the country’s opposition leader, Thomson Fontaine, the protests were in direct reaction to three new electoral reform bills passed by the Dominica’s Parliament in March which include Registration of Electors Bill and Regulations (2024), House Assembly (Elections) and Registration Bill (2024) and the Electoral Commission Bill. The three bills aim to issue new voter identification cards, introduce a new electoral commission fund and integrate technology into the voting and record-keeping process but the opposition United Workers Party dating back to the end of last year, has accused the Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of “declaring war” on the Dominican people.
Given that the bills were introduced by the Speaker of the House and Prime Minister, who gave time for the ruling coalition to speak on the provisions of each bill, they concordantly denied the same speaking time for the opposition to review the bills and craft a response. The opposition, furious with this move, complained that the vote of Parliament on the bills was rushed and that the Prime Minister aimed to “fool the Dominican people that they were allowed time to amend His legislation,” in a press release issued on December 20th of last year. The opposition also clamored at the passage of the bill citing that the Electoral Reform Commission regards any legislation that fails to address campaign finance and the appropriate review of current voter identification records to be “unacceptable” which is absent from the legislation.
Apart from the fierce political battle and the subsequent protests which resulted in the encroachment of press freedom, Dominica has reported no previous record of violence or harassment of journalists. In response to the protests, the Prime Minister gave a national address to which he acknowledged the highly emotional reaction exhibited by protesters but also blamed the opposition for inciting the violence, United Workers Party of stoking the conditions for violent protest stating, “they do not want reform; they want chaos”. The Prime Minister has not yet issued a statement on the incident between the police officer and journalist.
While it seems quite unlikely for the Dominican government to pursue a full fledged investigation of the incident to provide answers and reestablish integrity, if there is one, it will be unprecedented. Regionally, Dominica ranks 42nd out of 180 countries in the Transparency International Index, a tool used to measure the corruption within a government, a rank consistent with other neighboring Caribbean states. Despite this, Soana Benjamin’s home outlet, does accuse the Dominican government and police forces of largely ignoring journalists’ rights to access and disseminate information consistent with Dominica’s principles of freedom of expression within the Constitution. Signs of a country on a pathway to making the ignorance of journalists’ rights a norm.
In regards to the incident involving Benjamin, a commentary published by Dominica News Online issued a statement stating, “The episode laid bare the vulnerability of independent journalism in an increasingly polarised environment” highlighting the impending dangers and political pressures imposed by the polarization of current politics in Dominica. While the RSF and other actors act as international whistleblowers to any injustice that arises within Dominica, virtually the only protection mechanism that is institutionalized within the nation is the freedom of expression enshrined in the Constitution. While this may seem adequate, implementation and the actual enforcement of these protections is somewhat ignored as the ruling party often sees the media as an adversary, pushing the agenda of the opposition.
Internationally, Dominica ranks 68th in the World Press Freedom Index, a data set compiled by the RSF. Dominica is also a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and follows the principles outlined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, both of which are landmark documents to the protection of freedom of expression that so many thriving democracies are built upon. Experts at the UN like Special Rapporteur David Kaye, remind the international community that, “The targeting of media workers with lethal or less-lethal force for doing their work is prohibited under international human rights law and contrary to best policing standards,” making the statement in the midst of the 2020 protests in the United States.
Dominica’s path forward is for the Prime Minister to review policing practices, open an investigation and to honor the sacred obligations enshrined in the Dominican Constitution. Considering the unlikelihood of such an action given the weakened political position the Prime Minister might view himself falling into, the law must be protected. As the RSF and ERC warn, if press freedom is not protected now then it will not be protected later.
