Justice For Journalists Act
Bill: H.R.9691 | Sponsor: Rep. Carson, Andre (D-IN)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Justice For Journalists Act
This bill requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct a criminal investigation of each nonnatural death of a U.S. journalist in a foreign country.

To require an investigation into all non-natural deaths of journalists 
   in a foreign nation, who are United States citizens or working on 
   behalf of a United States-based news media entity, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Justice For Journalists Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Without free speech and a free press, the United States 
        would not be the country it is. Along with diplomacy and 
        military strength, a free press, or the Fourth Estate, is 
        another avenue to challenge the status quo and be a voice for 
        the protection of the rule of law, civil society, and human 
        rights.
            (2) While journalists hold the most public facing position, 
        a free press is comprised of a breadth of ``media workers''. 
        Today, the fields associated with providing information about 
        current events or events of current interest to the public, 
        include photographers, videographers, publishers, editors, and 
        documentarians.
            (3) According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 60 
        journalists have been killed while reporting on wars and 
        humanitarian crisis around the world in 2022. Of the 60 
        journalists killed, 17 were murdered and the perpetrator had 
        complete impunity from the law. This number may rise as more 
        cases are solved.
            (4) The Geneva Convention protects journalists and media 
        workers in a variety of ways, under--
                    (A) the Fourth Geneva Convention, if they are not 
                nationals of the country holding them;
                    (B) Article 3 common to the four Geneva 
                Conventions, and by Additional Protocol II, and 
                customary international law, which protect journalists 
                in times of non-international armed conflict as 
                civilians; and
                    (C) Article 79 of Additional Protocol I, which 
                provides that journalists are entitled to all rights 
                and protections granted to civilians in international 
                armed conflicts. The same holds true in non-
                international armed conflicts by virtue of customary 
                international law.
            (5) As provided in Article 19 of the United Nations 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International 
        Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, all people enjoy the 
        right to freedom of opinion and expression, which includes the 
        right to seek, receive, and impart information.
            (6) The United Nations Plan of Action defines the safety of 
        journalists as encompassing not only physical attacks but also 
        prosecution, arrest, imprisonment, and denial of journalistic 
        access, as well as impunity for crimes against journalists.
            (7) According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific 
        and Cultural Organization, 455 journalists were killed while 
        doing their jobs between 2016 and 2021. These cases include 
        deaths as a result of extrajudicial killings, targeted 
        terrorist attacks, and in conflicts. In more than 8 out of 10 
        cases, the perpetrators have not been brought to justice.
            (8) According to the United Nations, silencing journalists 
        by killing them is the most egregious form of censorship. The 
        failure of the State to prosecute and punish serious crimes 
        against journalists denies justice to the victims' families, 
        emboldens perpetrators, and can deter other journalists from 
        reporting high-risk stories. Countries with high rates of 
        impunity also have high rates of journalist fatalities, 
        underscoring the correlation between impunity and the 
        perpetuation of such crimes.
            (9) Strong advocacy from civil society and growing 
        awareness of the problem have led the United Nations Security 
        Council and the Human Rights Council to adopt a series of 
        resolutions calling for prompt and effective investigations 
        into attacks on journalists. In 2021, for the first time in the 
        context of international efforts to combat crime, States 
        recognized the importance of ending impunity for crimes against 
        journalists in General Assembly Resolution 76/181.
            (10) The United States, as a force for good in this world, 
        must defend and protect those who are committed to raising 
        awareness of the casualties of war, humanitarian crises, human 
        rights abuses, and corruption around the world.
            (11) The United States must preserve and build upon the 
        leadership of the United States on issues relating to freedom 
        of the press, on the basis of the protections afforded the 
        American people under the First Amendment.
            (12) The United States must conduct prompt and effective 
        investigations into all non-natural deaths of journalists and 
        representative of the news media in a foreign nation, who are 
        United States citizens or working on behalf of a United States-
        based news media entity.
            (13) The United States must improve the rapid 
        identification, publication, and response by the United States 
        Government to threats against freedom of the press around the 
        world, no matter a foreign nation's status as ally or 
        adversary.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``journalist''--
                    (A) means an individual who--
                            (i) actively gathers information about 
                        current events or events that would be of 
                        current interest to a segment of the public;
                            (ii) uses its editorial skills to turn the 
                        raw materials into a distinct work; and
                            (iii) distributes that work to an audience; 
                        and
                    (B) includes--
                            (i) individuals working for a television or 
                        radio station that broadcasts the news who do 
                        not appear on-air;
                            (ii) individuals who work on a freelance 
                        basis who demonstrate a solid basis for 
                        expecting publication through a news media 
                        entity, based on publication record or an 
                        existing contract; and
                            (iii) individuals who work on documentaries 
                        who demonstrate a solid basis for expecting 
                        publication or broadcast, based on their 
                        history or an existing contract or grant.
            (2) The term ``covered journalist'' means a journalist 
        who--
                    (A)(i) is a national of the United States; or
                    (ii) is not a national of the United States and 
                works for a news media entity based in the United 
                States;
                    (B) suffers a non-natural death in a foreign 
                country; and
                    (C) is working as a journalist in the foreign 
                country at the time of their death.
            (3) The term ``death'' includes, with respect to an 
        individual, being declared dead after having been missing for 
        the requisite number of years applicable law.
            (4) The term ``news media entity'' means an entity engaged 
        in disseminating information to the general public through a 
        newspaper, magazine, other publication, radio, television, 
        cable television, or other medium of mass communication, and 
        includes publishers of periodicals and publishers of 
        documentaries.

SEC. 4. INVESTIGATIONS OF NON-NATURAL DEATHS OF JOURNALISTS IN FOREIGN 
              COUNTRIES.

    (a) Investigation Requirement.--The Director of the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation shall conduct an international criminal investigation 
on each non-natural death of a covered journalist in accordance with 
the protocol established under subsection (b).
    (b) Protocol.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 
coordination with the Secretary of State, and in consultation with the 
Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense, and the 
head of other relevant Federal agencies, shall develop a multi-agency 
investigative team protocol that includes defined responsibilities for 
each Federal agency involved, to--
            (1) identify non-natural deaths of covered journalists in 
        foreign countries;
            (2) conduct prompt and effective, investigations of all 
        such deaths, using the full investigative and forensic 
        capabilities of the United States; and
            (3) aggressively prosecute perpetrators who may be subject 
        to criminal liability under International or Federal law.
    (c) Reports to Congress.--The Director of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation shall submit to Congress reports, in accordance with this 
subsection, to ensure that Congress is informed about specific 
investigations, as well as trends of non-natural deaths of covered 
journalists in countries with a history of targeting journalists.
            (1) Specific individual investigation.--For each non-
        natural death of a covered journalist the Director of the 
        Federal Bureau of Investigation shall provide to Congress the 
        following reports:
                    (A) An initial report at the beginning of the 
                investigation containing basic information about the 
                covered journalist, which shall include the name of the 
                person, their country of citizenship, the name of the 
                news media entity for which the covered journalist was 
                working at the time of their death, the country in 
                which such news media entity is based, the location of 
                the covered journalist at time of their death, nature 
                of their death (if known), and the name and contact 
                information for the lead investigator at the Federal 
                Bureau of Investigation.
                    (B) An interim report that includes all elements of 
                the investigation and information about each person of 
                interest in the investigation.
                    (C) A final report, which shall include all 
                elements of the investigation, and the following:
                            (i) An identification of each person that 
                        carried out, participated in, or was otherwise 
                        complicit in, or responsible for the non-
                        natural death of the covered journalist.
                            (ii) A recommendation on how to hold each 
                        person identified under clause (i) accountable.
                            (iii) An identification of the possible use 
                        of defense articles provided by the United 
                        States in connection with a non-natural death 
                        of a covered journalist.
            (2) Annual reporting.--Not later than 30 days after the 
        first end of a fiscal year after the date of enactment of this 
        Act, and annually thereafter, the Director of the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation shall submit to Congress a report that 
        includes--
                    (A) the status of individual investigations of non-
                natural deaths of covered journalists opened, ongoing, 
                or closed during the reporting period, including, for 
                each investigation--
                            (i) the status, including the number of 
                        days for which each investigation has been or 
                        was open;
                            (ii) the location of the covered journalist 
                        at time of their death;
                            (iii) the nature of death of the covered 
                        journalist (if known);
                            (iv) whether each person responsible for 
                        the death has been identified; and
                            (v) whether the recommendation described in 
                        paragraph (1)(C)(ii) was implemented;
                    (B) for each investigation described in 
                subparagraph (A), the interim report described in 
                paragraph (1)(B) or the final report described in 
                paragraph (1)(C), as appropriate; and
                    (C) an analysis of whether the non-natural death of 
                a covered journalist in a foreign country is a part of 
                a larger trend of that country involving--
                            (i) a history of corruption or human rights 
                        violations;
                            (ii) intimidation or violence towards 
                        journalists; or
                            (iii) the general attitude of that country 
                        towards the United States.
            (3) Form.--The reports required under paragraphs (1) and 
        (2) shall be submitted in unclassified form and, at the time of 
        submission to Congress, shall be made publicly available on the 
        website of the Department of Justice. The reports required 
        under paragraph (1) shall be made publicly available on the 
        appropriate Department of State country website.
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