Former CNN Correspondent brings claims for unfair dismissal and discrimination
British presenter and international correspondent, Saima Mohsin, is suing CNN in the UK for unfair dismissal and discrimination. In a case which has huge implications for journalists and the media industry, and in particular foreign correspondents seeking to bring claims in England & Wales, Saima is taking her case for unfair dismissal and discrimination to the Employment Tribunal in London.
Saima is a well-known British Pakistani journalist who has been a familiar face on the BBC, GMTV, ITV & Channel 4 news in the UK. As the face of Pakistan’s first English news channel and having been CNN’s Pakistan correspondent, Saima was named one of the 50 most powerful Pakistani women in the world by The News newspaper & Top 100 women to shake Pakistan by Newsweek magazine.
Saima’s career went from strength to strength until she suffered a life-changing injury while on assignment for CNN in 2014 to report on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Her cameraman drove over her foot in a two-ton jeep, crushing her foot and leaving her with extensive soft tissue damage and a crippling neuropathic pain condition.
Saima continued to work in the job she loved, struggling to sit, stand and walk for any length of time. She alleges that she requested alternative duties or reduced hours and support for rehabilitation with an integrated back to work plan to adjust to her disability, but CNN refused. As an established and accomplished presenter, she asked CNN if she could present to reduce her time on the road. She contends that she was told “you don’t have the look we are looking for”. Instead, while she was on medical leave in 2017, CNN terminated her contract.
CNN denies her claims and is contesting her ability to seek justice in the UK by claiming the Employment Tribunal in England & Wales does not have international jurisdiction to hear her claim and that the Equality Act 2010 and Employment Rights Act 1996 do not apply on the grounds of territorial jurisdiction and of applicable law. A preliminary hearing to determine whether the Employment Tribunal has jurisdiction to determine her claims had been listed in London Central for 10-14 July 2023, Judgment is awaited.
Paras Gorasia and Jennifer Robinson are instructed to represent Saima Mohsin, assisted by Finnian Clarke.
A sample of press reporting can be found here:
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jul/10/former-reporter-suing-cnn-for-unfair-dismissal-and-racial-discrimination
The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cnn-journalist-saima-mohsin-court-b2372818.html
New York Post: https://nypost.com/2023/07/10/ex-cnn-
Daily Beast: https://www.thedailybeast.com/ex-cnn-reporter-saima-mohsin-suing-network-for-racial-discrimination-unfair-dismissal
New York Daily News: https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-saima-mohsin-cnn-claim-fired-disability-race-20230710-4bylmzrjj5fk7ai6tcab4jfqna-story.html
Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/former-cnn-reporter-saima-mohsin-lawsuit-racial-discrimination-dismissal-2023-7
Dawn: https://www.dawn.com/news/1763961
Please contact Callum Stebbing (c.stebbing@doughtystreet.co.uk) or Sam Cooper (s.cooper@doughtystreet.co.uk) for more details about this case and/or the practices of Paras, Jen and Finnian.
