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The Journalists Association of Samoa (JAWS) is calling for an investigation after reports that a Samoa Observer journalist’s camera or memory card was taken and photographs were deleted while she covered a public event in Apia. The reported actions have not been independently established, and the legal basis for a claimed restriction on photographing the Prime Minister remains unresolved.
What was reported at the Apia event?
RNZ, in a report republished by Asia Pacific Report on October 3, 2026, said the incident was reported during a police event at the Government Building on Tuesday morning. ABC Pacific reported on October 1 that the Samoa Observer alleged the Prime Minister’s son removed an SD card from the reporter’s camera while she covered Police Remembrance Day. The reports describe the camera or card being taken and photographs deleted; they do not establish those details as independent findings. RNZ via Asia Pacific Report; ABC Pacific.
The RNZ account also said a member of the Prime Minister’s security personnel told the journalist that a law prevented the Samoa Observer from taking pictures of the Prime Minister. That is a reported assertion, not confirmation that such a law exists.
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JAWS says the circumstances should be properly investigated. It wants investigators to determine who took the camera, under whose authority, whether images were deleted, who authorized any deletion, and what legal or procedural basis was relied on. The association described the reported incident as serious if accurate. PINA, October 2, 2026.
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JAWS argues that journalists have a professional right and responsibility to observe, record and report public events, including events where senior officials or people connected to them are present. It says a genuine security concern should be handled through lawful, proportionate procedures. As RNZ reported on October 3, JAWS said: “Security cannot become a pretext for obstructing legitimate journalism.” RNZ via Asia Pacific Report.
Is the Samoa Observer banned from government press conferences?
RNZ reported that the government said on Friday it respected media freedom and free expression while maintaining a ban on the Samoa Observer. ABC Pacific described the newspaper’s exclusion from the Prime Minister’s press conferences as having begun almost a year earlier. That reported press-conference ban is distinct from the journalist’s coverage of a public police event: the available accounts do not establish that the press-conference restriction authorized taking equipment or deleting images at the event.
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RNZ said it had contacted the government for comment about the camera incident but had not received a response when its report was published. Its account of the government’s position on the existing ban should not be treated as a response to the incident itself. RNZ via Asia Pacific Report; ABC Pacific.
Does Samoan law prohibit photographing the Prime Minister?
The available reports do not establish that a Samoan law bars the Samoa Observer from photographing the Prime Minister. They report that a security member allegedly made that claim, while JAWS is asking for the legal or procedural basis for the reported actions to be identified. The sources cited here do not include an authoritative statute, court ruling, police record or government finding that resolves the question. It would therefore be premature to say either that the restriction exists or that a legal authority has definitively ruled it out.
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JAWS’s position is that media do not need special permission merely because the people being photographed are senior officials or are connected to them. That is the association’s stated view, not a court ruling on the incident. PINA, October 2, 2026.
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