The Australian federal police obtained from Qantas Airways the personal travel records of a journalist, a revelation that alarmed the media industry on Monday after police raids on journalists last month raised questions about press freedoms in the country. A document obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald showed that the police approached the airline in March seeking travel records for a journalist who wrote a 2017 article alleging that the Australian military had committed possible war crimes against Afghan citizens. A Qantas officer then searched for details of two flights in 2016 at the request of the police, and “captured and printed” details of the trips, the paper said. “The feeling is that journalism is under attack in this country,” said Paul Murphy, chief executive of the Australian union for journalists, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance. “There is no regard for the important role journalists play in a functioning democracy.”

Source: International New York Times July 08, 2019 07:52 UTC