Papua New Guinea journalist assaulted over prison reporting

Media watchdogs are demanding a full independent investigation into the matter

Originally published on Global Voices

Veteran Papua New Guinea journalist Rebecca Kuku said she was assaulted by correctional service officers at the Bomana remand facility after she reported on the living conditions of inmates residing there. The incident has alarmed local media groups, which called for an immediate investigation as they urged authorities to uphold press freedom.

Kuku and other local journalists reported that more than 50 prisoners were attacked by jail guards at the prison facility, but correctional service officers disputed this and insisted that they were merely trying to respond to a jailbreak attempt.

In response to the news report, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said prisoners must be treated humanely.

Even in prison, human rights must be respected and those responsible for managing detainees must act within the law. Allegations of excessive force or mistreatment must be fully and independently examined.

When Kuku visited the Correctional Service Office on February 27 in Port Moresby, she said she was verbally attacked, then punched from behind, and threatened by officers because of her reporting.

The National, the online news outlet where Kuku works, said authorities must discipline the officers who attacked the journalist.

For warders to now assault a journalist is reprehensible and does nothing to improve the image of the service. We are fully supporting our journalist in filing a criminal assault case. We are calling on the Correctional Service command to look into this and discipline the officers responsible. We have lodged a complaint with the Correctional Service management.

Kuku called out the attempt to besmirch her reputation on social media and insisted that she did nothing wrong in reporting the facts of the incident.

The pictures and videos were sent to all media houses [by inmates]. Similar reports were published/reported by all media houses.

Instead of blaming the media for doing our job, you should instead carry out an internal investigation and find out how these prisoners have access to mobile phones in the first place

Mainstream media is not a PR, we are not here to report the good only or write however way you want us to write news.

Our job is to tell it as it is. Whether it’s good or bad!

The Media Council of Papua New Guinea is demanding a full independent investigation by police into the attack against Kuku. Its president, Neville Choi, has condemned the attack and threat against one of its own members and said reporters in Papua New Guinea “must be respected for the work that they do in informing and educating the public of what is happening around them.”

He added that if and when a citizen is unhappy with a news report or has evidence that a reporter was compromised while writing a story, they can simply inform the Media Council by filing a formal written complaint.

Pacific Freedom Forum chair Robert Iroga from the Solomon Islands described the assault as “a shocking attack on press freedom and the safety of journalists doing their jobs.”

No journalist should ever face intimidation or physical harm for reporting on matters of public interest.

Ms Kuku has filed a statement to Police and authorities must act swiftly to identify those responsible. This will demonstrate that such behaviour has no place within state institutions.

We also commend the National team and all editors and publishers who take swift action and call out these threats to their front line staff, particularly women journalists who are often targeted with specific verbal abuse, shaming and sexualised threats in ways that men do not suffer.

As of May 2025, Papua New Guinea ranks 78th out of 180 countries on the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index. RSF reported that journalists in the country “faced with intimidation, direct threats, censorship, lawsuits and bribery attempts, making it a dangerous profession.”

#PNG: CPJ calls on authorities in Papua New Guinea to thoroughly investigate and hold accountable the correctional service officers who allegedly assaulted journalist Rebecca Kuku. Attacks on the media undermine the public’s right to information.https://t.co/hTTWdP8vbS… pic.twitter.com/0FKNH3tTp7

— CPJ Asia (@CPJAsia) March 2, 2026