ABC raid: Outcry as Australian police search public broadcaster

A police raid on Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) has drawn fire from broadcasters and rights groups.

Officers arrived at the public broadcaster's Sydney headquarters with search warrants naming two reporters and the news director. The ABC has protested over the raid.

The leading journalists' union in the country said the two raids represented a "disturbing pattern of assaults on Australian press freedom". Other unions and human rights groups also condemned the actions.

The police action is related to articles about alleged misconduct by Australian forces in Afghanistan.

According to the ABC, Wednesday's search is about the 2017 investigative series known as The Afghan Files which "revealed allegations of unlawful killings and misconduct by Australian special forces in Afghanistan."

At: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-48522729

ABC editorial director Craig McMurtrie speaks to the press following today's unprecedented police raid on the Australian public broadcaster's offices.

McMurtrie says the raids by the federal police on the ABC's Sydney offices are an uncomfortable development with serious implications for press freedom.