Former International Press Institute (IPI) Executive Board Member Piotr Stasinski, deputy editor-in-chief of the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, today joined editors around the world in condemning an article in Britain’s Daily Mail slamming The Guardian as “The paper that helps Britain’s enemies”.

The article, which appeared yesterday in The Daily Mail, accused The Guardian of acting with “lethal irresponsibility” in publishing articles on the eavesdropping activities of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence agencies.

The Guardian today responded by publishing statements of support it received from editors around the world, including Stasinski, who spoke for Gazeta Wyborcza. IPI Executive Board Members Alexandra Föderl-Schmid, editor-in-chief of the Austrian newspaper Der Standard, and Markus Spillmann, editor-in-chief of Switzerland’s Neue Zürcher Zeitung, also contributed statements of support.

Stasinski provided IPI with a copy of his statement, which appears in full below.

In defence of The Guardian
From Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland

It is with abhorrence that we have read today’s editorial in The Daily Mail attacking The Guardian‘s coverage of Edward Snowden’s revelations and accusing its competitor of “aiding Britain’s enemies”. It effectively amounts to the accusation of treason.

We fully support The Guardian‘s relentless disclosures of secret services’ abuses of power and widespread spying on citizens, domestically as well as abroad. For many months now, The Guardian has been subject to unprecedented pressure by the British government, in order to discourage its reporters and editors from pursuing such stories. We are convinced that, in this case, the national security argument is largely overused; since the revealed massive surveillance of people cannot be justified by the war on terror.

We fully support The Guardian‘s devotion to freedom of speech and civil rights and liberties; even if The Daily Mail does not subscribe to these values.

Piotr Stasinski
Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Gazeta Wyborcza, Warsaw, Poland; former Board Member of the International Press Institute (IPI), Vienna

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of IPI.