Bishop’s Myanmar call tacit support for Greste

Peter Greste’s campaign for global press freedom has received a boost from Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who has made her first public statement on Myanmar’s jailing of two Reuters journalists.

Ms Bishop spoke for the first time about the journalists’ plight after being contacted by The Australian, following Greste’s call for the Australian government to muster all of its diplomatic might to influence its regional neighbours on the issue.

The journalist and academic, whose work as a foreign correspondent landed him in an Egyptian prison for more than a year, has launched a new independent body devoted to fighting on behalf of reporters whose voices have been stifled by authorities around the world.

The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom was established last week with a mission to advocate for press freedom in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.