The Institute of Journalists has urged reporters to relay to them any instances of threats and pressures they receive as they try to do their job. They also urged journalists to file any cases of intimidation to the police.

Without referring to any specific case, the IGM said journalists were being disrupted from their job on a number of occasions, thus constituting a threat to press freedom.

Journalists are sometimes being threatened with libel in an attempt to muffle their voice. In other instances, journalists are being asked to reveal their sources.

"In a democratic country, there is no space for threats and pressures on journalism, and any attempt to undermine this should be condemned," the statement said.

The IGM urged the government to remove criminal libel without further delay, since it was meant to have been resolved by the end of 2015.