United Kingdom: CFWIJ welcomes the imprisonment of the online assailant targeting journalist Amy Fenton

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February 16, 2021, Barrow – A man was sentenced to six months in prison for sending online death threat messages to journalist Amy Fenton. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) welcomes the conviction of the online assailant. We reiterate that these malicious threats can manifest severe consequences. We demand similar sanctions be applied to all offenders who target journalists with vicious death threats.

According to HTFP, Amy Fenton, a former regional reporter for The Mail, was targeted with online death threats for more than six months. After the onslaught of threats, the police investigated the attackers. Amy was reportedly forced to move closer to her family over security concerns following the sexual and physical abuse threats. 

As a result of the investigation, a 50-year-old man was sentenced to prison for six months on February 9, found guilty of sending a series of menacing messages and sharing posts on Facebook. He is also bound by a two-year restraining order that restricts him from contacting the journalist, directly or indirectly. 

Amy announced the abuser’s charge on her Twitter account. She said, “The sentence and the restraining order is welcome; glad it’s now been concluded.”

The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the court decision against the online offender. We demand authorities to take these organised troll campaigns seriously as these threats could have severe consequences. These intimidations can lead to physical attacks, home invasions and even murder. We applaud the United Kingdom’s initiative to take action against the attackers and urge them to impose similar and deterrent sanctions to all abusers who target journalists with vicious threats.