Mong Palatino

Velusami Raju, father of the Zion Church suicide blast victim Ramesh Raju, shows a photo of his son on a mobile phone at his house, in Kattankudy, Sri Lanka, 26 April 2019, LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images

Social media blackout, ‘Orwellian’ anti-fake news bill, and stoning to death for adultery

April in Asia: A roundup of key free expression news, based on IFEX member reports.

Pakistani civil society activists take part in a rally for women's rights on International Women's Day in Lahore, 8 March 2019, ARIF ALI/AFP/Getty Images

Women’s Day marchers attacked, Thai media restricted, and report on media killings in Afghanistan

March in Asia: A roundup of key free expression news, based on IFEX member reports.

Philippine journalist Maria Ressa (C) gives a statement after posting bail at a regional trial court in Manila, 14 February 2019, NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images

Journalists face growing persecution, an impunity win in Indonesia, and much more…

February in Asia: A roundup of key free expression news, based on IFEX member reports.

Students hold placards as they shout slogans during a protest at the state university grounds in Manila on February 14, 2019, in support of CEO of Rappler, Maria Ressa, who was arrested a day earlier for cyber libel case, TED ALJIBE/AFP/Getty Images

Global solidarity for Rappler and Maria Ressa who vow to fight for a free press

Rappler CEO and Executive Editor Maria Ressa was arrested on 13 February 2019 for cyber libel regarding an article that was published in May 2012, four months before the Philippine Cyber Crime Prevention Act was signed into law. She was released after posting bail on 14 February.

A cyclist rides past an electoral advertisement for Prime Minister Hun Sen, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 26 July 2018, MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images

Cambodia’s third UPR, Thailand’s ‘Twitter storm’, and Pakistan’s transgender Pride

January in Asia & Pacific: A roundup of key free expression news, based on IFEX member reports.

Two monks vote during the general election, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 29 July 2018, Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Cambodia’s human rights record under spotlight in third Universal Periodic Review

Cambodia is among the 41 states whose human rights records are under scrutiny at the ongoing 32nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s UPR Working Group. Cambodia’s report was delivered on 30 January.

Young women look at their smartphones, in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, 22 February 2018, Zhang Peng/LightRocket via Getty Images

Twitter crackdown, defamation surge, electoral attacks, encryption, and transgender bill opposition

A roundup of key free expression news in Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

Pakistani students in Karachi protest against the release of CIA contractor Raymond Davis, after blood money secured his release, 17 March 2011, ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images

How blood money is worsening impunity and media killings in Pakistan

So-called “blood money” laws and practices may offer a faster route to a minimum threshold of justice, but legal scholars warn they can also lead to grave abuses while enabling the cycle of killings to continue.

Female journalists stand to protest against the sexual harassment at the workplaces as part of the #MeToo campaign, New Delhi, India, 13 October 2018, Mohd Zakir/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

#MeTooIndia, Mother Mushroom, the disappeared Interpol chief and more

A roundup of key free expression news in Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

Supporters of detained journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo march during a rally in Yangon, Burma demanding for their release, 1 September 2018,  -/AFP/Getty Images

Outrage over jailed journalists and activists, two big wins for LGBTQI+, and more

A roundup of key free expression news in Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

Protesters form a human chain to call for the release of photographer Shahidul Alam, in front of the National Press Club, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2 September 2018, Khandaker Azizur Rahman Sumon/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Freedom and Fury: Tep Vanny, “Fake News” law repealed, LGBTQI portraits removed

A roundup of key free expression news in Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

A motorcyclist rides past a billboard featuring an image of Pakistan's cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan, head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) party, a day after the general election in Islamabad, 26 July 2018, AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images

Cheers and jeers: Tainted elections, Liu Xia’s release, and court rulings in the Asia-Pacific

A roundup of key free expression news in Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

Cambodia's National Election Committee official uses a bottle of indelible ink to mark a finger during a briefing on the voting process in Phnom Penh on July 17, 2018, TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/Getty Images

Lessons in Resistance: Defying repression and impunity in Cambodia

Cambodia will hold its sixth general election on 29 July – despite the dissolution of the main opposition party and concerns of a weakened democracy.

Current federal opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim waves a Malaysian flag during a rally after his release in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 16 May 2018, ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images

Malaysia’s election, Afghan attacks, defiant newspapers: Asia-Pacific in May

A roundup of key free expression news in Asia, based on IFEX member reports.