In this report, PEN America will provide an in-depth analysis of the countries that detain and imprison the largest numbers of writers and intellectuals and explore the impact of the pandemic on the freedom to write; the role of these individuals in protest movements; and the continued threats to writers and intellectuals working in languages subject to political repression.
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No Way In or Out: Authoritarian Controls on the Freedom of Movement
Authoritarian governments around the world are restricting freedom of movement in retribution for political activism and dissent, subjecting people to a variety of repressive tactics, including travel bans, revocation of citizenship, confiscation of passports.
Freedom House — 23 August 2024 -
Digital Security Among Palestinian Youth: A Study on Threats and Challenges in Light of the War on Gaza
This new study from 7amleh reveals how online harassment and cyber surveillance of young Palestinians has sparked a chilling rise in self-censorship.
7amleh – Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media — 21 August 2024 -
The political influence industry In Canada
OpenMedia’s research report sheds light on dozens of secretive businesses that handle people’s sensitive voting behaviour data on behalf of federal political parties in Canada – with few effective rules limiting their actions.
OpenMedia — 15 August 2024 -
Russia’s Legislative Minefield: Tripwires for Civil Society since 2020
“The Russian government’s dismantling of civic freedoms since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 is a dramatic escalation of its sustained assault on fundamental rights spanning more than a decade” – HRW
Human Rights Watch — 8 August 2024 -
The European Union’s AI Act and its Implications for Palestinian Digital Rights
7amleh reveals how the EU legislation contains significant loopholes that could exacerbate human rights violations against Palestinians.
7amleh – Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media — 24 July 2024 -
“Why Do They Hate Us So Much?” Discriminatory Censorship Laws Harm Education in Florida
Since 2021, Florida has issued laws and policies that censor and distort the curriculum and educational environment of K-12 classrooms in ways inconsistent with international human rights standards on education, access to information, and discrimination.
Human Rights Watch — 20 June 2024 -
“I Swear to Fulfill the Duties of Defense Lawyer Honestly and Faithfully”
Politically Motivated Crackdown on Human Rights Lawyers in Belarus
Human Rights Watch — 28 May 2024 -
State of Online Blasphemy Cases and Unfolding Legal Saga
The report highlights that the rise of the internet has led to an increase in blasphemy prosecutions in Pakistan. The misuse of blasphemy laws has a chilling effect on freedom of expression online. Religious minorities are particularly vulnerable to blasphemy accusations.
Bytes for All — 25 April 2024 -
War, Censorship, and Persecution: PEN International Case List 2023/2024
On World Poetry Day, PEN International released this report, highlighting challenges for writers in global conflicts and emphasizing the need to safeguard freedom of expression, especially in war-torn regions.
PEN International — 21 March 2024 -
Mexico: Protect the Press
A new joint report found that Mexico’s Federal Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists failed to adequately evaluate risks journalists are facing, implements at times ineffective protective measures and lacks specialized knowledge of challenges to press freedom in Mexico.
Committee to Protect Journalists / Amnesty International — 8 March 2024 -
Press freedom in Europe: Time to turn the tide
The report raises concerns about the use of spyware, SLAPPs and journalists in exile.
Council of Europe Safety of Journalists Platform — 6 March 2024 -
Racism and Incitement Index
An average of 23 violent or hateful pieces of content were published against Palestinians every minute after 7 October, reports 7amleh.
7amleh – Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media — 26 February 2024 -
Impacts of AI Technologies on Palestinian Lives and Narratives
An overview of the threats and dangers posed by AI tech on Palestinians and advocates.
7amleh – Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media — 22 February 2024 -
Israel-Gaza war brings 2023 journalist killings to devastating high
More than three quarters of the 99 journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2023 died in the Israel-Gaza war, the majority of them Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza. The conflict claimed the lives of more journalists in three months than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year.
Committee to Protect Journalists — 20 February 2024 -
Climate and Environmental Journalism Under Fire
Journalists who cover climate and environmental stories are targeted by powerful private and state actors who are willing to go to great lengths to protect their lucrative interests linked to environmentally harmful activities.
International Press Institute — 13 February 2024 -
WORLD REPORT 2024: HRW Annual Review Of Human Rights Around The Globe
“The international system that we rely on to protect human rights is under threat as world leaders look the other way when universal principles of human rights are violated.”
Human Rights Watch — 11 January 2024 -
Economic slump takes toll on sustainability of free media
A total 52 incidents of press freedom violations were recorded in 2023, while Freedom Forum’s annual media report shows the severe impact of the economic downturn on Nepali media.
Freedom Forum — 2 January 2024 -
Israel’s Surveillance Industry and Human Rights: Impact on Palestinians and Worldwide
The report provides an overview on the reality of the Israeli surveillance systems industry, outlines its impact on the human rights of Palestinians and implications worldwide.
7amleh – Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media — 19 December 2023 -
2023 ROUND-UP Journalists killed, detained, held hostage and missing
In the year to 1 December 2023, RSF recorded 45 journalists killed worldwide in the course of their work, the lowest number since 2002.Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 14 December 2023 -
A Light That Cannot Be Extinguished: Exiled Journalism and Transnational Repression
Journalists living in exile face assault, harassment, and unlawful deportation at the hands of the governments they fled.
Freedom House — 11 December 2023 -
Privacy First: A Better Way to Address Online Harms
In this report, EFF explores a new approach to tackling online harms leaving behind strategies based on ill-conceived bills and censorship-driven solutions.
Electronic Frontier Foundation — 15 November 2023 -
Challenges Facing Journalists in the MENA Region
As we publish the investigations from this project, GCHR’s Journalists’ Protection Coordinator Zaynab Al-Khawaja says, “While working on this project I have been overwhelmed by how much my colleagues on the ground have to face and overcome, and I have been very scared for them.”
Gulf Centre for Human Rights — 3 November 2023 -
Toxic Narratives: Silencing Expression in the Western Balkans
PEN International — 29 October 2023 -
Shouting into the void: Why reporting abuse to social media platforms is so hard and how to fix it
When PEN America and Meedan asked writers, journalists, and creators about their experiences reporting online abuse to social media platforms, thet heard again and again, over the past three years, about the deep frustration, exasperation, and harm caused by the reporting mechanisms themselves.
PEN America — 25 October 2023 -
Murdered, surveilled, and sued: Decisive action needed to protect press freedom in Greece
Joint press freedom mission to Greece concludes with a call on the government to show political courage and take specific measures to improve the climate for independent journalism.
Media Freedom Rapid Response — 1 October 2023 -
“Scorched lands of journalism in the Amazon” – RSF report
The report contains previously unpublished data on the obstacles to press freedom, particularly for local journalists, in the Brazilian Amazon, a region at the heart of the global climate challenge.
Reporters Without Borders — 22 September 2023 -
Sustainable Development Goals: On or off track? Assessing the progress through freedom of expression and information
As London hosts the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit, ARTICLE 19 releases a new briefing assessing the progress made towards meeting the SDG on freedom of expression and access to information.
ARTICLE 19 — 25 July 2023 -
MÉTODO CUBA: Independent artists’ testimonies of forced exile
Two years after historic July 11 Demonstrations in Cuba, the plight of writers and artists forced Into exile underscores the drastic deterioration of artistic freedom on the island.
PEN International — 12 July 2023 -
An Analysis of Israeli Inciteful speech against the Village of “Huwara” on Twitter
This report outlines the volume, nature, and patterns of inflammatory and violent speech in Hebrew directed at the village of Huwara on Twitter between the beginning of the year and the end of March, which contributed to the implementation of a number of attacks by settlers on the villagers and their properties and causing harm to them.
7amleh — 9 June 2023 -
Harassment of fact-checking media outlets in Europe
Survey finds that 90% of fact-checking outlets in Europe have been the target of online harassment and smear campaigns.
International Press Institute — 7 June 2023 -
The Unfreedom Monitor: El Salvador country report
This report analyses two major incidents: the disclosure that Pegasus spyware has been used against journalists from independent media outlets and representatives of civil society, and Bukele’s legal advisor’s threats against two women journalists for not revealing anonymous sources included in a news story.
Global Voices Advox — 24 May 2023 -
The Unfreedom Monitor – Ecuador Country Report
A methodology for tracking digital authoritarianism around the world.
Global Voices Advox — 16 May 2023 -
Deadly Pattern: 20 journalists died by Israeli military fire in 22 years. No one has been held accountable
The May 11, 2022, killing of Al-Jazeera Arabic correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh is part of a deadly, decades-long pattern. Over 22 years, CPJ has documented at least 20 journalist killings by members of the Israel Defense Forces.
Committee to Protect Journalists — 15 May 2023 -
Fragile Progress: The struggle for press freedom in the European Union
The European Union is facing numerous challenges as it seeks new ways to uphold its commitment to press freedom. This special report examines the EU’s response to threats such as murders of journalists, pandemic-related media controls, spyware, and the war in Ukraine.
Committee to Protect Journalists — 27 April 2023 -
How are courts responding to SLAPPs?
Analysis of selected court decisions from across the globe.
ARTICLE 19 — 20 April 2023 -
Still Not Safe: Transnational Repression in 2022
Perpetrators from a total of 20 states were responsible for 79 incidents of physical transnational repression last year, including the first documented cases originating in Djibouti and Bangladesh.
Freedom House — 10 April 2023 -
Freedom in the World 2023
Marking 50 years in the struggle for democracy
Freedom House — 13 March 2023 -
War in Europe and the fight for the right to report
The report reveals a continued degradation of press freedom across the continent. Throughout 2022, the Platform documented 289 alerts concerning 37 countries, with journalists being murdered, imprisoned, physically attacked, legally harassed, and subjected to smear campaigns.
EFJ and Partner Organisations of the CoE Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists — 7 March 2023 -
Sexual Violence Against Indonesian Female Journalists
The study showed that Indonesian female journalists have experienced various forms of sexual violence in the workplace and in the course of fulfilling their duties in the field.
Aliansi Jurnalis Independen/Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) — 4 March 2023 -
‘All This Terror Because of a Photo’: Digital Targeting and Its Offline Consequences for LGBT People in the Middle East and North Africa
The report examines the use of digital targeting by security forces and its far-reaching offline consequences – including arbitrary detention and torture – in five countries: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia.
Human Rights Watch — 27 February 2023 -
MFWA report: Press freedom in the Fourth Republic of Ghana
Media Foundation for West Africa — 21 February 2023 -
‘This Is Why We Became Activists’: Violence Against Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Women and Non-Binary People
Lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ+) women and non-binary people around the world face violence from security forces, family members, and others, along with widespread discrimination that prevents them from building relationships, homes, and families, Human Rights Watch said in the report.
Human Rights Watch — 14 February 2023 -
Safety of female journalists in West Africa and Nigeria
Research carried out by the IPC and the MFWA indicates that the challenges faced by women journalists in doing their work include harassment, sexual advances, threats, and prejudice.
International Press Centre, Media Foundation for West Africa — 14 February 2023 -
MFRR’s annual overview of media freedom violations in Europe
140 media freedom violations were recorded in Ukraine alone, which amount to 17.2% of the total registered in all analysed countries. The war in Ukraine also accounted for nine of the 10 killings of journalists during the year.
International Press Institute (IPI) — 8 February 2023 -
Living in Agony: The Long Term Effects of Torture in Bahrain
In Bahrain, much attention is paid to the victims of torture immediately after the event, but those same victims can sometimes be forgotten when new, equally horrible treatment against equally innocent people comes to light.
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) — 1 February 2023 -
Violations of media freedoms in Palestine – Annual Report 2022
A rise in serious violations against journalists last year included the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh and Ghufran Warasneh, documents a new report from Mada Center.
Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) — 1 February 2023 -
A Crisis by Design: The Systematic Nature of Human Rights Violations in Egypt
The human rights crisis in Egypt has persisted and even worsened over the last three years, as confirmed by the mid-term report submitted by the Egyptian Taskforce for Human Rights{1} to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism at the United Nations.
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) — 25 January 2023 -
Privacy and Protection: A children’s rights approach to encryption
This report aims to capture the full complexity of how encryption affects children’s lives. It sets out principles for an approach to encryption that recognises and respects the full range of their rights.
Child Rights International Network (CRIN) — 20 January 2023 -
Bangladesh: Attacks and authoritarian laws stifle press freedom
Press freedom violations in Bangladesh, April-September 2022.
International Press Institute — 18 January 2023 -
WORLD REPORT 2023 – HRW’s Annual Review Of Human Rights Around The Globe
A New Model for Global Leadership on Human Rights
Human Rights Watch — 13 January 2023 -
Challenges to Nepali media unabated
Freedom Forum’s annual media report for 2022 states that in total 45 incidents of press freedom violations occurred in Nepal, and 120 journalists were directly affected. Compared to the previous year, the number of violations declined, but the number of affected journalists increased, which the report has noted is a worrying trend.
Freedom Forum — 5 January 2023 -
Press Freedom in Pakistan 2022: A flurry of cases, a high-profile murder and political rhetoric targeting the media
In a country where the press routinely remains under threat and faces attacks from many fronts, the media in Pakistan operated on slippery grounds in 2022 with a flurry of cases against journalists, television channel closures, charged political rhetoric enabling attacks against the media, overreach by media regulatory bodies and the killing of two journalists, including he brutal murder of one journalist on foreign soil that shook the nation.
Pakistan Press Foundation — 1 January 2023 -
The IPI Database of Killed Journalists
This database contains information about journalists who have been killed in connection with their work. This could mean journalists who in IPI’s assessment have been directly targeted in retaliation for their work or journalists who have been killed while reporting, including while covering armed conflict.
International Press Institute — 29 December 2022 -
Thailand: Denying the demand for democracy
The Thai government’s treatment of pro-democracy protesters has been discriminatory and violated their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, ARTICLE 19 found. Thai authorities exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to enact repressive emergency measures and aggressively and expansively deployed Section 112 of the Criminal Code against protesters.ARTICLE 19 — 19 December 2022 -
ROUND-UP OF JOURNALISTS DETAINED, KILLED, HELD HOSTAGE AND MISSING IN 2022
A record total of 533 journalists are currently detained worldwide, according to the annual round-up of violence and abuses against journalists published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The number of those killed has increased again this year – to 57– while 65 journalists are being held hostage and 49 are missing.
Reporters Without Borders — 14 December 2022 -
Journalists in Somalia, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria faced increasing attacks in October
Summary of IPI Africa Press Freedom Monitoring: October 2022
International Press Institute (IPI) — 5 December 2022 -
Human Rights Watch Briefing Note for the Twenty-First Session of the International Criminal Court Assembly of States Parties
To build on the current momentum, while advancing support for the international justice system worldwide, Human Rights Watch has set out a “checklist” of five areas for action that all governments can take.
Human Rights Watch — 5 December 2022 -
Guidelines for Documenting and Confronting Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
The report tracks gaps in the judicial process for the murder of journalists in Pakistan. PPF found that of the 76 cases where journalists were killed — either in targeted killings or while on assignment — since 2002, there have been convictions in only five instances.
Pakistan Press Foundation — 5 December 2022 -
Ukrainian Culture Under Attack: Erasure of Ukrainian Culture in Russia’s War Against Ukraine
Widespread destruction of Ukraine’s museums, theaters and libraries, the persecution of writers and artists, and other attacks against Ukrainian heritage expose the breadth of Russia’s attempts to erase the country’s cultural identity as a tactic of war, according to this report by PEN America and PEN Ukraine.
PEN America — 5 December 2022 -
To Sleep the Law: Violence Against Protesters and Unaccountable Perpetrators in Iraq
This report takes stock of progress made towards accountability for the killing and injuring of protesters and activists committed during, and in the wake of, the 2019-2020 uprising across central and southern Iraq.
Human Rights Watch — 29 November 2022 -
Violating Network. Gender-Based Violence against Palestinian Women in the Digital Space
Gender-based violence has seen a dramatic increase in the Palestinian digital space over the last several years, reveals this new report from 7amleh.
7amleh – Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media — 29 November 2022 -
Unfreedom Monitor
The Unfreedom Monitor is a project to analyze, document, and report on the growing use of digital communications technology to advance authoritarian governance around the world.
Global Voices Advox — 16 November 2022 -
An uphill battle: From impunity to justice for journalists’ murders
This report was written against the backdrop of the need to better understand the dynamics of impunity and the factors that contribute to solving cases of journalist murders on the domestic level. Although cases of full justice are scarce, they demonstrate that justice can be achieved.
Free Press Unlimited — 2 November 2022 -
End Impunity, Protect Journalists
A report published by the Gulf Centre for Human Rights to mark the International Day to End Impunity
Gulf Centre for Human Rights — 1 November 2022 -
Killing with Impunity: Vast majority of journalists’ murderers go free
No one has been held to account in nearly 80% of journalist murders during the last 10 years, CPJ’s 2022 Global Impunity Index found, and governments show little interest in tackling the issue.
Committee to Protect Journalists — 1 November 2022 -
Connecting the Dots: Artist Protection & Artistic Freedom in Asia
The report captures growing anxiety among artists and creative practitioners across South, Southeast, East, and Central Asia around stringent security laws, the lack of unencumbered spaces for free expression, and the impact of authoritarian measures to crack down on artistic production and criminalize free expression.
PEN America — 22 October 2022 -
Special report: When spyware turns phones into weapons
How zero-click surveillance threatens reporters, sources, and global press freedom
Committee to Protect Journalists — 19 October 2022 -
“The Court is Satisfied with the Confession”
Bahrain death sentences follow torture, sham trials.
Human Rights Watch — 11 October 2022 -
Beijing’s global media influence 2022
A new report from Freedom House highlights the Beijing government’s global campaign to shape public opinion and secure both its hold on power in China and its policy priorities abroad.
Freedom House — 14 September 2022 -
OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China
The report by the outgoing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, contains victim accounts that substantiate mass arbitrary detention, torture, cultural persecution, forced labor, and other serious human rights violations, and recommends that states, businesses, and the international community take action with a view to ending the abuses, and advancing justice and accountability.
Human Rights Watch — 4 September 2022 -
2022 Elections: Defending Freedom of Expression.
ARTICLE 19 points out various aspects of the Brazilian electoral process, analyzing the many challenges the country faces from now until October 2022, and then after the elections and the transition, with the recurring threats to the reputation and integrity of the elections made by government officials and members of the armed forces.
ARTIGO 19 — 1 September 2022 -
“Through The Looking Glass: Digital Safety and Internet Freedom in South and Southeast Asia
With almost all independent media institutions eradicated, Cambodian people have been forced to rely largely on social media and other online platforms to access news and information.
Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM) — 16 August 2022 -
They’ll Get You No Matter What: Morocco’s Playbook to Crush Dissent
Human Rights Watch documents a range of tactics that, when used together, form an ecosystem of repression, aiming not only to muzzle dissenting voices but to scare off all potential critics.
Human Rights Watch — 9 August 2022 -
President Sisi’s puppets, TV presenters used to wage war on journalism
The report shows how leading pro-government TV anchors and state-controlled media in Egypt are used to launch and then amplify smear campaigns against the few journalists still critical of the government.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 4 July 2022 -
How Ukrainian journalist Maks Levin was executed by Russian forces
Following a visit to Ukraine from 24 May to 3 June to investigate Ukrainian photojournalist Maks Levin’s death, RSF is releasing a report with information and evidence indicating that Levin and his friend and bodyguard were executed by Russian soldiers in a forest near Kyiv on 13 March, possibly after being interrogated and even tortured.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 22 June 2022 -
‘Nothing Called Freedom’: A Decade of Detention for Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State
Drawing on interviews with Rohingya and humanitarian workers from 2012 to the present, Human Rights Watch documents how the authorities have capitalized on the ethnic cleansing campaign launched in June 2012 to segregate and confine a population they had long sought to remove from daily life in the predominantly Buddhist country.
Human Rights Watch — 15 June 2022 -
Defending Democracy in Exile: Policy Responses to Transnational Repression
Physical transnational repression is only the tip of an iceberg. Digital threats, spyware, and coercion by proxy means that – for millions of people around the world – transnational repression has become a common and institutionalised practice.
Freedom House — 11 June 2022 -
Nepali media still in crisis
Freedom Forum published its annual World Press Freedom Day report which highlighted the attacks against journalists in Nepal over the past year.
Freedom Forum — 8 June 2022 -
The Survival Toolkit for Journalists: How to protect yourself against Digital Surveillance
The guide was developed in response to the growing threat of digital surveillance and cyber security legislation, used by governments and others to track and monitor journalists in their efforts to harass and muzzle journalists from carrying out their work.
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) — 23 May 2022 -
“I Became Scared, This Was Their Goal”
Efforts to Ban Gender and Sexuality Education in Brazil
Human Rights Watch — 16 May 2022 -
They Will Not Shoot Down Our Dream: Challenges faced by human rights defenders in Iraq following the “October Popular Movement”
A mission to Iraq found that human rights defenders, journalists and activists still hold onto hope for an end to the extreme human rights violations, but urgently need international support to help promote human rights, press freedom and accountability.
Gulf Centre for Human Rights — 8 May 2022 -
Deceit, denials, delays: How Iran keeps its public in the dark
The report examines how Iranian authorities systematically violate people’s right to protest and assemble, deceive and lie about the violations they commit, and unlawfully keep people seeking transparency and accountability in the dark.
ARTICLE 19 — 27 April 2022 -
Media Monitoring on Gender and Elections Monthly Report
Maharat Foundation and Madanyat Association work with UN Women to monitor television and social media1 concerning violence against women in politics in the period prior to the 2022 parliamentary elections. This summary provides a quick overview of the findings during the months of February and March.
Maharat Foundation — 27 April 2022 -
Cambodia: State of freedom of expression 2020-21
This report from the Cambodian Center for Human Rights outlines the state of freedom of expression, press freedom, and access to information in Cambodia during the first year of the pandemic.
Cambodian Center for Human Rights — 23 April 2022 -
‘I Could Have Been Next’: Stymied Reforms in the Maldives
The government has repeatedly bent to pressure from powerful interest groups, including those who advocate the use of violence on the basis of religion, and in doing so has not protected freedom of speech and religion, and the rights of at-risk communities. Police investigations into targeted attacks have stalled, largely because those responsible enjoy political protection.
Human Rights Watch — 20 April 2022 -
Freedom to Write Index 2021
Writers and public intellectuals have been unjustly locked up for their exercise of free expression; dozens are currently serving sentences of 10 years or more for their words.
PEN America — 19 April 2022 -
West Africa: Freedom of Expression Monitor, Oct-Dec 2021
The democratic revolution in West Africa over the past three decades has come under a strain in the past few years with serious implications for press freedom and the civic space.
Media Foundation for West Africa — 18 April 2022 -
Women Seizing the World, The Participation of Women Writers in Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua
While the presence of women writers and columnists in literature and journalism continues to be a minority in these countries, this reality is changing: new generations of women writers, whether poets, short story writers, journalists or novelists, are making their voices heard more day by day.
PEN International — 13 April 2022 -
Bahrain 2021: Stagnation and No Signs of Change
According to the BCHR Annual Report, the human rights situation did not improve in 2021. The authorities are still intolerant to dissent and criticism and restrict Bahrainis’ exercise of internationally-guaranteed fundamental rights.
Bahrain Center for Human Rights — 12 April 2022 -
Controlling the Message: Challenges for independent reporting in Greece
Report of the 1-15 December 2021 joint fact-finding mission. The partner organisations conclude that challenges to the independence of the media and the safety of journalists are systemic in the country. While the problems are not unique, their intensity is highly problematic and sets it apart from most other EU Member States.
Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR)/Reporters Without Borders — 29 March 2022 -
Iraq: Torture in Iraqi prisons… Pain behind bars
This report issued by the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) documents over a dozen cases of torture in Iraqi prisons, which are described as some of the most horrific prisons in the world, where continuous torture practices take place in the absence of any effective government measures to prevent or at least limit them.
Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GC4HR) — 21 March 2022 -
Challenges for independent media in Cambodia in 2021
The 2021 report recorded 51 recorded cases of harassment against 93 journalists (including 5 women); 32 journalists were arrested, 10 journalists face other legal actions and 18 experienced violence and harassment.
Cambodian Center for Independent Media — 18 March 2022 -
Gender violence against journalists
This report, supported by UNESCO’s Global Media Defense Fund, provides an overview of violence against women journalists and gender-based attacks on communicators in Brazil in 2021.
Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) — 9 March 2022 -
The murder of Gerry Ortega: Justice delayed; justice denied
A Safer World For The Truth investigation. The murder of Gerry Ortega is indicative of structural problems concerning the safety of journalists in the Philippines; while the hitmen are often arrested, the powerful masterminds behind the killings of journalists often evade justice.
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 2 March 2022 -
Protection Paradigm – Making protection mechanisms work for Latin American journalists
The report is the outcome of an unprecedented comparative analysis of the protective mechanisms in four countries – Mexico, Honduras, Colombia and Brazil – where 90% of the murders of journalists in the past decade took place.
Reporters Without Borders — 1 March 2022 -
A Guide to the Untold Darkness: The Realities of Syria’s Disappeared, Arbitrarily Detained, and Their Families
The guide takes readers on a journey all too familiar to many Syrians, from the immediate aftermath of a loved one’s disappearance – and the frantic search for answers – through the painful process of settling the disappeared person’s affairs.
Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) — 1 March 2022 -
Mapping media freedom – Monitoring Report 2021
Attacked while covering demonstrations, harassed online for reporting on COVID�19 and measures to fight it, or sued by private companies trying to avoid publication of damaging information. These are just some examples of the threats received by journalists and media workers in Europe in 2021.
Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR)/International Press Institute — 23 February 2022 -
“In a Legal Black Hole”: Sri Lanka’s Failure to Reform the Prevention of Terrorism Act
This report documents the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration’s misuse of the PTA against the minority Tamil and Muslim communities, and to suppress civil society groups.
Human Rights Watch — 13 February 2022 -
Patterns of torture in the United Arab Emirates
“This report, which is rich with documented facts and detailed case studies, confirms that torture in the UAE is systematic. Furthermore, as a totalitarian state, torture is carried out on direct instructions from the highest authorities in the country.”
Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) — 11 February 2022 -
Indonesia: Situation of media in 2021
The Alliance of Independent Journalists releases its annual report on the state of media freedom in Indonesia. It documented 43 cases of violence against journalists throughout 2021.
Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) — 5 January 2022 -
‘Stolen Freedoms: Creative Expression, Historic Resistance, and the Myanmar Coup’
PEN America’s report explores the creative response to the February 2021 coup in Myanmar and the brutal retaliation by the military.
PEN America — 3 January 2022 -
Hostility continues against Nepali media
In 2021, Freedom Forum recorded a total of 59 press freedom violation incidents which directly affected 83 members of the media.Freedom Forum — 2 January 2022 -
RSF 2021 Round-Up: Journalists detained, killed, held hostage and missing
According to the RSF annual round-up published today, a record number of journalists – 488, including 60 women – are currently detained worldwide, while another 65 are being held hostage.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 16 December 2021 -
Cosmetic Reforms: Assessing Bahrain’s implementation of the BICI recommendations ten years later
Ten years on, the pro-democracy movement leaders are still behind bars, the major opposition political parties are outlawed, and the only independent newspaper in the country is indefinitely suspended. The Government of Bahrain’s (GoB) crackdown on free expression is in full force, as well as attempts to intimidate its critics into silence.
Bahrain Center for Human Rights — 23 November 2021 -
No to Impunity: Murders & other serious violations continue against MENA journalists
Journalists in most MENA countries continue to face all forms of repression, intimidation, and harassment, including the use of the judiciary to prevent them from carrying out their professional journalistic work. The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) has documented many cases of journalists murdered or abused, most carried out with total impunity.
Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) — 3 November 2021 -
Attacks on the media in Pakistan, January-October 2021
The space for free expression in Pakistan continues to shrink with the media facing attacks on all fronts. Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) has observed an alarming trend during 2021 where not only did physical attacks against the media continue with impunity but the state level push to restrict free expression also grew.
Pakistan Press Foundation — 1 November 2021 -
Online harassment of the media in Pakistan in 2021
The media in Pakistan works within an increasingly repressive environment with the attacks on press freedom coming from all fronts. While physical attacks including abductions, manhandling, arrests and in some instances killings of journalists for their work continue, as online spheres such as social media platforms are of growing importance to the work of media professionals, journalists become the subject of attacks online.
Pakistan Press Foundation — 1 November 2021 -
Killers of journalists still get away with murder
No one has been held to account in 81% of journalist murders during the last 10 years, CPJ’s 2021 Global Impunity Index has found.
Committee to Protect Journalists — 28 October 2021 -
Hateful Network: Hate Speech on Social Media Platforms Among Palestinians and its Impact on Their Digital Rights
The study indicates a noticeable increase in the use of hate speech among Palestinians on social media platforms, influenced by events and tensions in regional politics, as well as by global events generally. Hate speech is influenced by internal disturbances and changes in the Palestinian scene, particularly at the social and political levels, whether In the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, or in the 1948 territories.
7amleh – Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media — 30 September 2021 -
Sri Lanka: Media freedom report 2020
This report by the Free Media Movement provides an overview of the state of media freedom in Sri Lanka in 2020.
Free Media Movement — 24 September 2021 -
Under Attack. A report on the security and judicial campaigns targeting human rights defenders and independent human rights organizations in Egypt
Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) — 24 September 2021 -
Freedom on the Net 2021: The global drive to control big tech
In the high-stakes battle between states and technology companies, the rights of internet users have become the main casualties. A growing number of governments are asserting their authority over tech firms, often forcing the businesses to comply with online censorship and surveillance.
Freedom House — 23 September 2021 -
Internet landscape of Pakistan 2020
This Bytes for All report maps Pakistan’s internet landscape highlighting digital trends and their impact on socio-economic developments, as well as challenges and threats in the digital age during 2019-20.
Bytes for All — 9 September 2021 -
Chasing Justice. Study on impunity for crimes against journalists
The report describes the types of violence and threats journalists encounter, along with the nature and frequency of different types of violations.
Maldives Journalists Association (MJA), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) — 24 August 2021 -
Mongolia: Media Freedom Report 2020
Around 80 cases of political and civil rights violations were documented by Globe International Center in its latest media freedom report in Mongolia.
Globe International Center — 22 August 2021 -
‘Where No Sun Can Enter’: A Decade of Enforced Disappearances in Bangladesh
Despite credible and consistent evidence that Bangladesh security forces routinely commit enforced disappearances, the ruling Awami League has ignored calls by donor governments, the UN, human rights organizations, and civil society to address the culture of impunity.
Human Rights Watch — 18 August 2021 -
Freedom of Expression and the Press Agenda, May-June 2021
Throughout the reporting period of May-June 2021, the government continued its verbal commitment to reform and introduced a set of legislative changes. But in practice, thanks to repressive government policies combined with discriminatory practices of politicized public institutions and judicial violations, the situation of freedom of expression and the media deteriorated further.
Expression Interrupted / P24 Platform for Independent Journalism — 27 July 2021 -
State of Media Freedom in Nigeria
The last six years have been extremely repressive for the media in Nigeria as impunity reached a new high under President Muhammadu Buhari. About 300 press freedom violations including the unresolved killings of seven journalists were recorded over the period.
Nigeria Union of Journalists, Media Foundation for West Africa — 21 July 2021 -
Study: Sexual Harassment In The Media – Africa Report
• Almost half of women respondents had been sexually harassed at work (47%). • Women were twice as likely to experience sexual harassment at work than men. • Only 30% of cases of sexual harassment were ever reported to management.
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers — 21 July 2021 -
Press Freedom Deteriorating in Slovenia under Latest Janša Government
The Slovenian government of Prime Minister Janez Janša is overseeing an increasingly systematic effort to undermine critical media, a coalition of press freedom organisations and journalism groups warn in this report.
International Press Institute/Media Freedom Rapid Response — 30 June 2021 -
Cracking Down on Creative Voices: Turkey’s Silencing of Writers, Intellectuals, and Artists Five Years After the Failed Coup,
In the five years since the coup attempt, dozens of writers, artists, and other creatives have been targeted, prosecuted, and jailed by Turkish authorities.
PEN America — 29 June 2021 -
“‘My Life is Not Your Porn’: Digital Sex Crimes in South Korea”
Digital sex crimes are crimes involving non-consensual intimate images. These crimes are a form of gender-based violence, using digital images that are captured non-consensually and sometimes shared, captured with consent but shared non-consensually, or sometimes faked.
Human Rights Watch — 20 June 2021 -
Freedom of Expression and the Press Agenda
As the Expression Interrupted platform, which has been operating as part of the Platform for Independent Journalism (P24) since 2017, we present our first periodic report with the aim of sharing the results of our efforts to track violations of freedom of expression and the press in Turkey with the general public more effectively.
P24 Platform for Independent Journalism (Expression Interrupted) — 26 May 2021 -
2020 Annual Report – Media Foundation for West Africa
The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 further threatened the already precarious safety of journalists and media sustainability challenges in West Africa. Despite the obvious risks and challenges, journalists and other media workers navigated partial and full lockdowns to gather news about the coronavirus disease and filed reports often using unstable internet connections, to keep the public informed.
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) — 17 May 2021 -
Indonesia: Press freedom deteriorates amid the pandemic
A new report by Aliansi Jurnalis Independen Indonesia looks into the impact of the pandemic on the welfare of journalists. The report also explored the state of press freedom in Papua.
Aliansi Jurnalis Independen/Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) — 16 May 2021 -
Defective and Deficient: A Review of Bahrain’s National Human Rights Bodies
This report looks into the legal status, structure, formation mechanisms, and performance of four bodies to determine their shortcomings and to explain why they have not been able to achieve a noticeable improvement in the human rights scene in Bahrain – namely, the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission (PDRC), the Office of the Ombudsman at the Ministry of the Interior (MOI Ombudsman), and the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR).
Bahrain Center for Human Rights — 12 May 2021 -
Truth in a Time of Contagion: The Viral Frontline
The 19th Annual South Asia Press Freedom report goes inside the key media issues of the Covid-19 pandemic and documents the stories of struggle, courage and resistance of a media industry in crisis and under attack on economic and political fronts in almost every country of the region.
International Federation of Journalists — 11 May 2021 -
Syria: A black hole for media work
The report reviews ten years of violations against media and media professionals (from March 2011 until the end of 2020), and presents the implications of the conflict for media freedom and the impact on the work of the media.
Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) — 3 May 2021 -
Globe International Center annual report 2020
IFEX member Globe International Center has released its annual report which details the activities, campaigns, and programs it implemented in 2020.
Globe International Center — 1 May 2021 -
Nations in Transit 2021: The Antidemocratic Turn
Attacks on democratic institutions are spreading faster than ever in Europe and Eurasia, and coalescing into a challenge to democracy itself.
Freedom House — 28 April 2021 -
PEN America’s Writers at Risk Database
PEN America’s Writers at Risk Database is a searchable catalog of the writers, journalists, artists, academics, and public intellectuals under threat around the world. The database includes historical cases PEN America has worked on from 1987 onwards; non-active cases are color-coded black.
PEN America — 21 April 2021 -
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World Press Freedom Index 2021
Reporters without Borders — 20 April 2021 -
Waiting for you; 78 prisons, including 35 built after the January Revolution – “On the difficult conditions of prisoners and prisons in Egypt”
The Ministry of the Interior, through the prison administration, continues to discriminate among prisoners, based on the prisoner’s background and the reasons for imprisonment.
Arabic Network for Human Rights Information — 13 April 2021 -
Online hatred pushing minorities to the periphery: B4A report ‘online hate speech’
Hate speech has long been pervasive in Pakistani society, especially directed towards individuals and groups belonging to minority faiths (and those of no faith). Those not following the majority’s Sunni faith, are given different titles and labels while several stereotypes are associated with different faiths, sects and religions, including Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis, Sikhs and Shias. However, when it comes to online spaces where more and more people are joining different social media platforms to express their views and share their opinions (or those of others whom they support), these labels, titles and stereotypes get hugely amplified, attracting widespread attention across whole communities.
Bytes for All — 3 April 2021 -
Patterns of torture in Bahrain: Perpetrators must face justice
Drawing on first-hand witness statements by survivors of torture, the report is a comprehensive study on the specific ways and means by which torture is perpetrated in Bahrain, with a particular focus on the period since the 2011 popular movement and the violent crackdown that followed.
Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) — 28 March 2021 -
New aspects of human rights crises during the Covid-19 pandemic – Annual Report 2020
The Arab Spring erupted a decade ago, yet the reasons behind this wave of uprisings remain unaddressed. The Arab Spring’s aftermath continues to ripple across the region, even in Tunisia, the only country that had progressed to democratic transition. These ripple effects have coalesced into unique forms, depending on the country. In countries such as Egypt, political repression has deepened, while the struggle over societal values are simply surface indicators of deeply entrenched issues. Meanwhile, armed conflict prevails in Yemen, Libya, Syria, and Iraq, where civil society has embraced a heroic role in its traditional and modern forms of organization. In Tunisia, Sudan, and Lebanon, where there is relative freedom, the political frontlines are clearer.
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) — 28 March 2021 -
Human Rights In the Gulf Region and Neighbouring Countries in the Face of Lockdowns and more Layers of Restrictions
In this annual report, GCHR presents a summary of our e#orts in advocating for HRDs, activists, journalists and citizens in exercising their human rights and freedoms and protecting these rights in the region.
Gulf Centre for Human Rights — 26 March 2021 -
Challenges for independent media in Cambodia
This paper by the Cambodian Center for Independent Media surveys the challenges facing journalists in Cambodia and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on media reporting.
Cambodian Center for Independent Media — 10 March 2021 -
Sexism’s Toll on Journalism
To mark International Women’s Day, RSF has published this report that reveals the extent of the dangers of sexist and sexual violence for women journalists, and its impact on journalism.
Reporters Without Borders — 9 March 2021 -
Democracy Declining: Erosion of Media Freedom in Poland
The conclusions outlined in this report reflect the findings of the recent joint press freedom mission to Poland carried out between November and December 2020 by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR).
International Press Institute — 11 February 2021 -
Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach
The Global Scale and Scope of Transnational Repression
Freedom House — 9 February 2021 -
The Persecution of Ahmed Mansoor: How the United Arab Emirates Silenced its Most Famous Human Rights Activist
The information presented in this report is the first public account of Mansoor’s trial proceedings. It is based on statements from a source with direct knowledge of Mansoor’s case and it demonstrates the gross unfairness of both Mansoor’s trial and his appeal hearing– and how little the rule of law matters in the UAE when the country’s powerful state security agency is involved.
Human Rights Watch — 27 January 2021 -
A Safety Guide for Artists
In creating this manual, ARC aspires to offer concrete recommendations and provide a comprehensive tool kit to help artists navigate, counter, and overcome threats and persecution.
PEN America — 27 January 2021 -
Round-up 2020: Journalists killed
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has tallied 50 cases of journalists killed in connection with their work in 2020 (from 1 January to 15 December).
Reporters Without Borders — 26 January 2021 -
Freedom Forum annual press freedom report – 2020
Freedom Forum recorded a total of 96 press freedom violations during 2020. Although the number of violations declined slightly compared to the previous year (111 in 2019), the country still awaits an improvement in the press freedom atmosphere.
Freedom Forum — 13 January 2021 -
MEDIA AND PRESS FREEDOM IN PAKISTAN 2020: Annual report by Pakistan Press Foundation, January 2021
In 2020 Pakistani media was confronted with unique new challenges, both in terms of content to cover as well as in the nature of the measures restricting press freedom and the free flow of information in the country.
Pakistan Press Foundation — 3 January 2021 -
Women in Bahrain: Silence Allows Violence
On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, celebrated on 25 November, BCHR issued this report which seeks to address the deterioration of the human rights situation in Bahrain, particularly concerning women.
Bahrain Center for Human Rights — 28 November 2020 -
No to Impunity – A report published by the Gulf Centre for Human Rights To mark the International Day to End Impunity
Journalists in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region continue to face grave violations of their civil and human rights, including murder by governments or armed groups, usually with total impunity. Countries such as Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen continue to be classified among the most dangerous places for journalists.
Gulf Centre for Human Rights — 5 November 2020 -
Getting Away with Murder: CPJ’s 2020 Global Impunity Index
Incremental progress toward reducing the murders of journalists worldwide is fragile and could be thwarted by legal appeals and lack of political leadership, CPJ found in its latest report on impunity in retaliatory media killings.
Committee to Protect Journalists — 28 October 2020 -
#WhatsHappeningInThailand: Government crackdown on the right to protest
The protesters’ complaints about the government’s anti-democratic nature have been underscored by the authorities’ response to the protests. The government has harassed and obstructed protest organisers at every turn. At least 173 individuals have been charged because of their role in protests this year.
ARTICLE 19 — 28 October 2020 -
Democracy under lockdown
The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled a crisis for democracy around the world. Since the coronavirus outbreak began, the condition of democracy and human rights has grown worse in 80 countries.
Freedom House — 3 October 2020 -
The impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Media
Media networks have faced closing operations, job losses, and a weakened watchdog role for independent media. This report details the adverse impact of COVID-19 on the state of media in Nepal.
Freedom Forum — 15 September 2020 -
Urgent appeal concerning Internet service disruptions in Belarus in the context of the presidential elections of 9 August 2020
More than 50 human rights groups have written to the UN’s Special Rapporteurs on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and human rights in Belarus over disruptions to the internet that took place during the presidential elections.
ARTICLE 19 — 11 August 2020 -
Violations of media freedoms in Palestine during the first half of 2020
The first half of the year 2020 witnessed a decrease in the total number of violations against media freedoms in Palestine compared to what it reached during the same period last year 2019.
Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms "MADA" — 22 July 2020 -
Mongolia Media Freedom Report, May 2019-April 2020
GIC’s recurrent report on the state of media freedom in Mongolia, prepared on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (WPFD), which is celebrated annually on May 3.
Globe International Center — 16 June 2020 -
The war on journalism: The MEAA report into the state of press freedom in Australia in 2020
Press freedom has clearly become a key issue for Australians. MEAA’s third annual press freedom survey has found that when asked if press freedom in Australia had got better or worse over the past decade, an overwhelming 98% of respondents said it had got worse, compared to 90.9% in 2019.
Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) — 6 June 2020 -
COVID-19, Gender and Media
The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented lockdown to protect citizens in almost all countries in the world is enormous. Apart from the economic, political and societal consequences, it exposes and exacerbates all inequalities that existed before and it discriminates more against those who were already marginalized.
Free Press Unlimited — 20 May 2020 -
PEN America’s Freedom to Write Index
Writers and intellectuals are often among the canaries in the coal mine who, alongside journalists and human rights activists, are first targeted when a country takes a more authoritarian turn.
PEN America — 19 May 2020 -
“If Not Now, When?” Queer and Trans People Reclaim their Power in Lebanon’s Revolution
The October 17 uprising in Lebanon – fueled by rampant corruption and the country’s worst economic crisis since the end of the civil war in 1990 – has sparked a newfound collective consciousness where the rights and identities of marginalized groups are part and parcel of the protests.
Human Rights Watch — 7 May 2020 -
The future of media freedom in Malaysia
Given the emergence and spread of COVID-19, it is all the more critical that we have access to news and information that we trust and can help in understanding the crisis and what is required to protect ourselves, as well as independent information on how our government is responding to the pandemic.
Centre for Independent Journalism — 6 May 2020 -
Media safety and press freedom in Pakistan
Between January 2019 and April 2020, journalists in Pakistan worked under increasing restrictions with little accountability of those who limit freedom of expression, continue to target journalists and aim to discredit the work of the media through a range of tools from attacking journalists to placing financial constraints on media outlets as a pressure tactic.
Pakistan Press Foundation — 6 May 2020 -
States of control: Covid, cuts and impunity in South Asia
A s the novel coronavirus made a deadly sweep across the globe from the beginning of 2020, governments in South Asia tightened their iron grip over the media and democratic institutions.
International Federation of Journalists — 6 May 2020 -
The PEN International Case List 2019
This report firstly provides a global analysis of the cases monitored by PEN International between January to December 2019, providing a summary of the wider context under which both journalists and writers are challenged.
PEN International — 3 May 2020 -
Research on the obstruction of the work of journalists during the coronavirus pandemic in Hungary
- It is the restrictions on information that are most detrimental to independent media that provide daily news.
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union — 28 April 2020 -
Bahrain prisons: Is there a solution?
A study on the conditions of prisons in Bahrain from 2011 to 2020, and it includes a commentary on the violated rights of prisoners, the most dangerous of which is the denial of treatment.
Bahrain Center for Human Rights — 28 April 2020 -
CPJ calls on UN to demand jailed journalists’ release amid pandemic
The Committee to Protect Journalists submitted a call to several U.N. special mandate holders encouraging them to join CPJ’s effort to secure the release of all jailed journalists globally in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Committee to Protect Journalists — 11 April 2020 -
MONITORING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA DURING THE REVOLUTION
In this study, incidents related freedom of opinion and expression are documented in three categories: oppression campaigns against freedom of opinion and expression; freedom of expression is the weapon of the revolution; and, media institutions amidst the revolution
Maharat Foundation — 24 February 2020 -
Roll Call of Deaths and Tragedies – Journalists and Media Staff Killed in 2019
For the first time since 2000, journalists’ killings dipped below 50 to 49 deaths which were confirmed by the IFJ and its affiliates around the world as work-related incidents leading to the loss of lives of media professionals.
International Federation of Journalists — 4 February 2020 -
Mongolia: Media freedom monitoring report 2019
This report analyses Mongolian law and practice, including the safety and security of journalists, in comparison with international standards relating to freedom of expression. Although Mongolia has made key steps forward in terms of respect for freedom of expression, information, and media, much remains to be done to ensure full consistency with international law.
Globe International Center — 15 January 2020 -
Evocations of the Arab Spring Amid Newly Drawn Armed Conflicts
A brief reading of human rights trends in the Arab region.
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) 6 January 2020 — 6 January 2020 -
Rule by law: huge threat to Nepali media
Online media at receiving end; press freedom violation highest in seven years according to the 2019 report of Freedom Forum
Freedom Forum — 2 January 2020 -
WORLDWIDE ROUND-UP of journalists killed, detained, held hostage, or missing in 2019
RSF has registered 49 cases of journalists killed in connection with their work in 2019 (from 1 January to 1 December). This is low compared with the average in recent decades, a trend which above all is due to a fall in the number of journalists killed in armed conflicts.
Reporters Without Borders — 21 December 2019 -
Conclusions of the joint international press freedom mission to Hungary
Since 2010, the Hungarian government has systematically dismantled media independence, freedom and pluralism, distorted the media market and divided the journalistic community in the country, achieving a degree of media control unprecedented in an EU member state.
International Press Institute (IPI), ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPFM), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 3 December 2019 -
Holding the Line: South East Asia Media Freedom Report 2019
IMPUNITY, JOURNALIST SAFETY AND WORKING CONDITIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA
International Federation of Journalists — 24 November 2019 -
“They Were Shouting ‘Kill Them'”: Sudan’s Violent Crackdown on Protesters in Khartoum
The use of disproportionate, excessive force to disperse protests in violent repeated crackdowns, without ensuring that security operations pose a minimal risk to life, according to many people Human Rights Watch interviewed, was a deliberate attempt to intimidate the movement and break the resolve of protesters.
Human Rights Watch — 18 November 2019 -
End Impunity
Identify, Expose and Hold Accountable those responsible for past crimes to prevent future crimes and protect journalists in the region
Gulf Centre for Human Rights — 6 November 2019 -
Writing toward freedom: Politics and digital rights in Africa
Across Africa, governments and nongovernmental political actors repeatedly deploy tactics to interfere with users’ rights to freedom of expression and access to information online, particularly during events of major political significance.
Global Voices Advox — 31 October 2019 -
The Universal Periodic Review of the Arab Republic of Egypt – 3rd Cycle Joint-submission on the Right to be free from torture and ill-treatments
This report has been prepared by a network of national civil society organisations and international NGOs focused on the prevention of torture and access to justice, including redress for the victims and the prevention of enforced disappearances.
Cairo Institute for Human Rights — 31 October 2019 -
DON’T READ THE COMMENTS: Enhancing Online Safety for Women Working in the Media
The “Mates Over Merit” report highlighted that a significant proportion of women journalists had experienced online harassment, trolling and stalking during the course of their work, but only 16 per cent of those surveyed were aware of their workplace having existing policies to address online abuse.
Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance — 26 October 2019 -
The newspapers that never arrive
According to a survey by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in more than 90 countries, 68% of cases of obstruction in the circulation of newspapers are attributable to governments and state authorities, while 41% of cases of newspaper censorship take place at the point of sale.
Reporters Without Borders — 24 September 2019 -
Analytical Report on the Safety of Journalists in Cameroon – Jan. 2017 and July 2019
Between January 2017 and January 2019, about a dozen journalists in Cameroon were arrested, intimidated or threatened by state and non-state actors in the country. This was largely as a result of ongoing unrests in the country’s Anglophone regions who have accused the government of discrimination with regard to state policies and infrastructure.
African Freedom of Expression Exchange — 23 September 2019 -
10 Most Censored Countries
Repressive governments use sophisticated digital censorship and surveillance alongside more traditional methods to silence independent media. A special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Committee to Protect Journalists — 11 September 2019 -
Breaking the Silence: Bahraini Women Political Prisoners Expose Systemic Abuses
Targeted for their human rights activism, and in some cases, for the activism of their male rela- tives, the nine women featured in this report have been subject to Bahrain’s escalating repression.
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain — 11 September 2019 -
Hong Kong media in 2019: ‘Red Line Stifles Freedoms’
The annual report of the Hong Kong Journalists Association documents events in the past 12 months related to freedom of expression and the press in the city.
Hong Kong Journalists Association — 13 July 2019 -
Bahrain: Repression of speech and deprivation of rights
A report documenting human rights violations committed by the regime in 2018.
Bahrain Center for Human Rights — 1 July 2019 -
Albania: Preliminary findings of joint freedom of expression mission
The mission sought to gather information about challenges to freedom of expression and press freedom in Albania and bring concerns directly to Albanian government representatives.
International Press Institute — 24 June 2019 -
Nepal: Regressive laws and mounting press freedom violations
Freedom Forum’s press freedom report from May 2018 to April 2019
Freedom Forum — 7 June 2019 -
The Anatomy of a Police State: Systematic Repression, Brutality, and Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior
A comprehensive look at the core security agency driving Bahrain’s human rights crisis, Anatomy of a Police State is the first full study of the Ministry of Interior (MOI) police force’s integral role in the kingdom’s repression of dissent.
Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain — 6 April 2019 -
Prensa acorralada: un juego de violentos y poderosos
Informe sobre el estado de la libertad de prensa en Colombia 2018
Foundation for Press Freedom - FLIP — 8 February 2019 -
Democracy in Retreat: Freedom in the World 2019
In 2018, Freedom in the World recorded the 13th consecutive year of decline in global freedom. The reversal has spanned a variety of countries in every region, from long-standing democracies like the United States to consolidated authoritarian regimes like China and Russia. The overall losses are still shallow compared with the gains of the late 20th century, but the pattern is consistent and ominous. Democracy is in retreat.
Freedom House — 5 February 2019 -
Nepal: Sharp increase of press freedom violations in 2018
Freedom Forum recorded a total of 98 press freedom violations that directly affected at least 223 journalists in 2018.
Freedom Forum — 7 January 2019 -
List of journalists killed by country in 2018
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) — 31 December 2018 -
Journalists: the bête noire of organized crime
Organized crime knows no borders, scorns the rule of law in democracies, and leaves little choice to journalists, who have limited resources and are extremely vulnerable. The only choice for reporters is often to say nothing or risk their lives.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 26 November 2018 -
West Africa Freedom of Expression Monitor July-September 2018
Thirty-five violations were recorded in 12 countries with Nigeria recording the highest number. The findings show a slight reduction in the cases of violations compared to the previous quarter (April June, 2018) which recorded 40 violations.
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) — 30 October 2018 -
Two Authorities, One Way, Zero Dissent
Arbitrary Arrest and Torture Under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 23 October 2018 -
Aiding Repression in Egypt: Why the United States Needs to Keep Human Rights Conditions on Military Aid
Civil society leaders in Egypt are urging the U.S. government to continue to condition and withhold military aid to Egypt until the Egyptian government makes meaningful reforms to its human rights practices.
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) — 20 September 2018 -
Indonesia: Violence against women journalists
The Indonesian press has not been free from violence and abuse against journalists. There were more than 60 cases recorded from 2017 to March 2018, with at least 20 percent of the cases involving women journalists.
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) — 4 May 2018 -
Press freedom under threat: International Press Freedom Mission to the United States May 2018
In recent years, press freedom organizations have become increasingly concerned by the challenges faced by the media in the United States (US).
ARTICLE 19, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), IFEX, Index on Censorship, International Press Institute (IPI) , Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 3 May 2018 -
Nepal annual press freedom report – May 2018
Hostility against the press continues to rise.
Freedom Forum — 3 May 2018 -
RSF World Press Freedom Index 2018
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 25 April 2018 -
Audacity in Adversity: LGBT Activism in the Middle East and North Africa
Despite state-sponsored repression and social stigma, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the Middle East and North Africa are finding ways to speak out. They are telling their stories, building alliances, networking across borders, developing national and regional movements, and finding creative ways to combat homophobia and transphobia.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 16 April 2018 -
Media freedom violations in Palestine, March 2018
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) documented during March 2018 a total of 46 violations against media freedom in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) — 14 April 2018 -
Alternative Report on the Situation of Freedom of the Press and Violence against Journalists in Guatemala
In view of the examination of Guatemala before the Human Rights Committee in March 2018, the Centre for Informative Reports on Guatemala (CERIGUA), with the support of IFEX and the International Network for Human Rights (RIDH), produced an alternative report on the aforementioned issues covering the time- period between 2012 and February 2018, the month in which this report was completed.
IFEX — 12 March 2018 -
Challenges for Independent Media 2017
Cambodia’s facade of media freedom collapsed in 2017. Authorities shut- tered 32 radio stations carrying opposition, U.S.-funded or independent content,1 hit often-critical media outlets with tax investigations that closed down newsrooms, and threatened and arrested journalists for “incitement” and “espionage” amid heated rhetoric that claimed foreign agents were attempting to topple the government.
Cambodian Centre for Independent Media (CCIM) — 7 March 2018 -
Women’s rights: Forbidden subject
Covering women’s issues does not come without danger. A female editor was murdered for denouncing a sexist policy. A reporter was imprisoned for interviewing a rape victim. A woman reporter was physically attacked for defending access to tampons, while a female blogger was threatened online for criticizing a video game. For International Women’s Day, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) wants to turn the spotlight on violence against journalists covering these issues. This report does not address the status of women journalists, equal employment of women in journalism or sexist (or non-sexist) attitudes in the media. These issues have been widely covered and debated elsewhere. This report focuses specifically on threats and violence against both men and women reporters covering women’s rights.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 1 March 2018 -
Nepali media facing alarmingly hostile atmosphere
Freedom Forum recorded a total of 66 press freedom violations during this passing year 2017, which is a sharp rise compared to the previous year, 2016. Only 25 incidents were recorded in 2016.
Freedom Forum — 21 February 2018 -
A crime outside coverage: Report monitoring grave violations in supressing Al Duraz peaceful assembly in Bahrain
Bahrain Center for Human Rights — 17 December 2017 -
Prevent-protect-prosecute: Acting on UN Human Rights Council Resolution 33/2 2017
ARTICLE 19 — 26 September 2017 -
Free Expression Newsletter, April-June 2017: Anti-Press Incidents Decline; Policy Environment Still Regressive
According to Freedom Forum, anti-press incidents have declined in Nepal since April 2017 but the policy environment is still regressive.
Freedom Forum — 12 July 2017 -
Report on violations of freedom of expression and opinion during the first round of local elections
Freedom Forum monitored FoE during the elections as it concerns citizens’ freedom of expression through the ballot box. Therefore, any action creating an unfavourable atmosphere for the elections is also a violation of freedom of expression.
Freedom Forum — 19 June 2017 -
Press freedom shows slight improvement, but remains abysmally low
A recent HKJA survey indicates a slight rise in the Hong Kong Press Freedom Index after two consecutive years of decline. Journalists on the ground believe that the situation has worsened in 2016, compared to the year before. HKJA chairperson Sham Yee-lan explained that the slight increase in the Press Freedom Index was likely to be related to the emergence of online media, which has led to some diversity in the industry.
Hong Kong Journalists Association — 6 April 2017 -
Track, capture, kill: Inside communications surveillance and counterterrorism in Kenya
This investigation focuses on the techniques, tools and culture of Kenyan police and intelligence agencies’ communications surveillance practices.
Privacy International — 15 March 2017 -
Online harassment of journalists in Hungary: Forms, coping mechanisms and consequences for press freedom
This report presents the findings of a three-month study focused on mapping, observing and analysing online harassment of journalists in Hungary. The study aimed to identify the types of harassment journalists are subject to, which journalists are typically harassed, who the harassers are, and how journalists cope with harassment.
International Press Institute (IPI) — 9 March 2017 -
Libertades de resistencia. Libertad de expresión y derecho a la información en México 2016
Cuando hablamos de libertades en este in- forme no nos referimos solamente a valo- res abstractos que por lo general se nos ha dicho que debemos defender. Más bien, lo que narramos son historias de trabajo que se desenvuelven en el día a día y que están resistiendo a esas condiciones permanentes de marginación, opacidad y agresión.
ARTICLE 19 — 6 March 2017 -
The Battle for China’s Spirit Religious Revival, Repression, and Resistance under Xi Jinping
Combining both violent and nonviolent methods, the Communist Party’s policies are designed to curb the rapid growth of religious communities and eliminate certain beliefs and practices, while also harnessing aspects of religion that could serve the regime’s political and economic interests.
Freedom House — 28 February 2017 -
Annual Report: Bahrain 2016
A series of repressive attacks against rights and human rights defenders
Bahrain Center for Human Rights — 10 February 2017 -
Pakistan HRW Report: Events of 2016
Many journalists increasingly practice self-censorship, fearing retribution from security forces, military intelligence, and militant groups. Media outlets in 2016 remained under pressure to avoid reporting on or criticising human rights violations in counterterrorism operations. The Taliban and other armed groups threatened media outlets and targeted journalists and activists for their work.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 16 January 2017 -
China HRW Report: Events of 2016
Chinese authorities’ enforced disappearance of critics from Hong Kong and other countries in 2016 garnered headlines globally. Beijing’s decision to interfere in a politically charged court case in Hong Kong in November undermined judicial independence and the territory’s autonomy. In the ethnic minority regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, Beijing continued its highly repressive rule, curtailing political activity and many peaceful expressions of ethnic and religious identity.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 16 January 2017 -
Bangladesh HRW Report: Events of 2016
Bangladesh witnessed a spate of violent attacks against secular bloggers, academics, gay rights activists, foreigners, and members of religious minorities in 2016. Several laws were proposed during the year to increase restrictions on freedom of expression.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 16 January 2017 -
Afghanistan HRW Report: Events of 2016
2016 was the bloodiest year for journalists since 2001; 12 were killed in the first nine months of the year. Access to information has yet to be implemented satisfactorily.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 16 January 2017 -
Annual Media Report 2016
Freedom Forum observed a relatively peaceful atmosphere for the media this year (2016) with a significant decline in the number of press freedom violations. FF recorded only 25 incidents of press freedom violations during 2016 versus 83 in 2015.
Freedom Forum — 30 December 2016 -
2016 Report on Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists in Pakistan: Justice delayed AND justice denied
Pakistan is among the countries that do not properly investigate and prosecute crimes against media professionals. Because of the near absolute level of impunity, most of the people who attack, injure or even murder media journalists in Pakistan remain free.
Pakistan Press Foundation — 2 November 2016 -
Freedom of Expression in Nepal, June-September 2016
Freedom Forum — 28 October 2016 -
Discrimination against transgender women in Cambodia’s urban centres
This research report documents human rights issues faced by transgender women in Cambodia’s urban centres, and recommends actions to secure their rights to equality, dignity, health and security.
Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) — 21 September 2016 -
Democracy Under Threat 2016: Fulfilling the Promise of the Paris Agreements, 25 Years On
2016 is a highly significant year for Cambodian democracy. Looking back, 2016 marks 25 years since the conclusion of the Paris Peace Agreements (the “Paris Agreements”), which brought an end to 20 years of conflict in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”) and laid the framework for a political settlement based on human rights and liberal democracy; looking forward, 2016 marks the unofficial start of the lead‐up to the local and national elections in 2017 and 2018, respectively, as political actors across the spectrum begin to position themselves.
Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) — 16 September 2016 -
SPECIAL REPORT Dangerous pursuit: In India, journalists who cover corruption may pay with their lives
In the 27 cases of journalists murdered for their work in India since CPJ began keeping records in 1992, there have been no convictions. More than half of those killed reported regularly on corruption. The cases of Jagendra Singh, Umesh Rajput, and Akshay Singh, who died between 2011 and 2015, show how small-town journalists face greater risk in their reporting than those from larger outlets, and how India’s culture of impunity is leaving the country’s press vulnerable to threats and attacks
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) — 29 August 2016 -
A Deadly Shade of Green: Threats to Environmental Human Rights Defenders in Latin America
Latin America is, by far, the most dangerous region of the world for environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs). The lack of effective guarantees of human rights protection in Latin American States has created this dire situation.
ARTICLE 19 — 10 August 2016 -
Journalists caught in the middle: Protests turn violent from France to Finland
Violence against journalists in Europe increased in the second quarter of 2016, reports submitted to Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom platform show, as a government crackdown in Turkey intensified and protests turned violent in countries from France to Finland.
Index on Censorship — 2 August 2016 -
Free expression in Nepal, January-May 2016
Freedom Forum — 5 July 2016 -
Media freedom yet to gain pace – 3 May Nepal report
Freedom Forum — 3 May 2016 -
2015: Press freedom under siege in Somalia
Somalia’s journalists have long been forced to work under difficult and dangerous circumstances, and the year 2015 offered them no respite.
Unknown author — 1 February 2016 -
Free expression in Nepal, Nov-Dec 2015
Freedom Forum — 28 January 2016 -
Nepal Media Freedom Report 2015
Media under the chilling effect of political unrest
Freedom Forum — 12 January 2016 -
Free expression in Nepal, Aug-Oct 2015
Freedom Forum — 27 November 2015 -
Environmental journalism in an increasingly hostile climate
With the environment now recognized as a major challenge for humankind, Reporters Without Borders believes that particular attention should be paid to the journalists who take greats risk to investigate sensitive, environment-related subjects. The report highlights a steady deterioration in the situation for environmental reporters, who are increasingly exposed to many kinds of pressure, threats and violence.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 26 November 2015 -
Free expression in Nepal, April-July 2015
Freedom Forum — 30 August 2015 -
Challenges for independent media in Cambodia in 2014
In 2014 Cambodian journalists increasingly found themselves in the news, as reporters faced injury and even death for covering the news. 2014 proved the deadliest year for Cambodian journalists since the political turmoil of 1997, with two Cambodian journalists confirmed murdered in relation to their work and a third, foreign journalist found dead under suspicious circumstances.
Cambodian Centre for Independent Media (CCIM) — 8 May 2015 -
Free expression in Nepal, January-March 2015
Freedom Forum — 8 May 2015 -
[Philippines] Press freedom’s persistent issues
Press freedom in the Philippines continued to be under attack from 2014 to 2015. The killing of journalists is continuing, with four journalists killed from May 2014 to May 2015. The trial of the accused masterminds of the Ampatuan (Maguindanao) Massacre and their supposed henchmen is continuing, but with a primary accused was released, while a witness in the same case was killed.
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) — 6 May 2015 -
[Cambodia] Using violence and rules to suppress the media
The first months of 2014 saw a continuation of the political unrest that rocked the capital city of Phnom Penh in the months following the disputed July 2013 national elections. Political protests continued throughout the city in 2014 as the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) boycotted its National Assembly seats over alleged widespread irregularities in the previous year’s election, which maintained control of the legislative body under the Cambodian People’s Party, and its long-ruling leader Prime Minister Hun Sen, who in 2014 marked 30 years as head of state.
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) — 4 May 2015 -
[Burma] Media reform falters at a critical juncture
As the election looms for later this year, incidents in 2014 and in early 2015 involving the press raises serious questions on the genuineness of media freedom in Burma. The situation is alarming as the state seems to have heaped all the faults and fines on the media in the past year, which has seen a media worker being killed in October on the pretext of national security. International assistance has poured into the country to develop the media aimed at lifting and sustaining the state of media freedom. However, a viable press freedom environment seems unlikely to materialise in Burma before the end of this administration.
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) — 4 May 2015 -
Freedom of the Press 2015: Harsh laws and violence drive global decline
Freedom House — 3 May 2015 -
Freedom of Expression in Bangladesh 2014
Among other developments, civil society organisations remained deeply concerned at the lack of protection provided by authorities for activists and journalists
ARTICLE 19 — 30 April 2015 -
Journalism safety: Threats to media workers and measures to protect them
IFEX — 30 April 2015 -
Attacks on the Press, 2015 edition
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) — 28 April 2015 -
Attacks on the Press (2015 Edition)
Highly publicized murders of journalists heighten awareness of the grave dangers that reporters and photographers face around the world. Less widely known are the myriad other risks to journalists, including imprisonment, cyberattacks, harassment, frivolous lawsuits, and censorship.
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) — 27 April 2015 -
Media In India’s North East: Tripura
The media in Tripura is still dependent on the government for financial help, giving them an unprecedented upper hand to control press freedom in the state. As long as the political party in power is satisfied, the media is deemed to be okay otherwise there is an incredible pressure on the journalists as they have to not only endure insults but also face demotion in rank as well as being refused accreditation. – See more at: https://samsn.ifj.org/media-in-north-eastern-state-of-tripura/#sthash.0GypROMb.dpuf
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) — 1 April 2015 -
The situation of human rights defenders in Cambodia in 2014
Despite protecting human rights defenders (“HRDs”) falling under the protection of legally binding international instruments, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (“ICCPR”), many HRDs in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”) remain at high risk of a plethora of threats including arbitrary arrest and detention, physical violence and murder, and threats and intimidation and harassment.
Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) — 1 April 2015 -
Trail of Violence: Journalists and Media Staff Killed in 2014
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) — 4 March 2015 -
Newsletter on free expression in Nepal, Sept-Dec 2014
Freedom Forum — 18 January 2015 -
Press Freedom at Risk in Somalia 2014: Murder, Imprisonment, Censorship and Bad Laws
Unknown author — 13 January 2015 -
Annual media report, 2014: Gradual shift in the freedom of expression challenges facing Nepal
Journalists reporting on corruption were prone to more threats in 2014, Freedom Forum found
Freedom Forum — 4 January 2015 -
Impunity in Cambodia: CCHR Briefing Note
Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) — 2 November 2014 -
SPECIAL REPORT The road to justice: Breaking the cycle of impunity in the killing of journalists
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) — 28 October 2014 -
Free expression in Nepal, May – August 2014
Freedom Forum — 28 September 2014 -
State of Free Expression Violations in West Africa: January-April, 2014
Political intolerance, activities of fundamentalists and drug trafficking groups, government impunity, and the continued existence and application of repressive speech laws, continue to limit FoE rights in many countries of the region.
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) — 31 July 2014 -
PRESS FREEDOM UNDER SIEGE Grave threats to freedom of expression in Hong Kong
The year under review has been the darkest for press freedom for several decades, with the media coming under relentless assault from several directions. There have been attacks on journalists, sackings and personnel changes affecting critical personalities and the withdrawal of advertising, which places pressure on the editorial integrity of publications.
Hong Kong Journalists Association — 29 July 2014 -
Palestinian journalists caught between three sides
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 27 June 2014 -
Free expression in Nepal, January – April 2014
Freedom Forum — 9 June 2014 -
Punished for Protesting Rights Violations in Venezuela’s Streets, Detention Centers, and Justice System
This report documents 45 cases from Caracas and three states, involving more than 150 victims, in which security forces have abused the rights of protesters and other people in the vicinity of demonstrations.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 5 May 2014 -
Nepal World Press Freedom Day report
There has been some improvement in the state of press freedom, reports Freedom Forum. At the same, the State’s strict vigilance of new media is disappointing
Freedom Forum — 3 May 2014 -
#PressFreedom: Media under attack in Bahrain
Bahrain Center for Human Rights — 3 May 2014 -
The Campaign for Justice: Press Freedom in South Asia 2013-14
Journalism in South Asia is far from an easy profession, as the 12th annual review of journalism in the region “The Campaign for Justice: Press Freedom in South Asia 2013-14” portrays. But this year’s report also tells the story of the courage of South Asia’s journalists to defend press freedom and to ensure citizens’ right to information and freedom of expression in the face of increasing challenges to the profession and personal safety.
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) — 2 May 2014 -
Democracy in the Crossfire: Opposition Violence and Government Abuses in the 2014 Pre- and Post- Election Period in Bangladesh
The report details violent protests by opposition activists who called for an election boycott. In response, the government unleashed a brutal crackdown.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 29 April 2014 -
“No Answers, No Apology”: Police Abuses and Accountability in Malaysia
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 2 April 2014 -
World trends in freedom of expression and media development
Unknown author — 25 March 2014 -
“Presidential election in Afghanistan: local media on the front line”
RWB report is being published ahead of the presidential election scheduled for 5 April. It is the fruit of a fact-finding visit to the northern provinces of Parwan, Kapisa and Panjshir in September 2013
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 17 March 2014 -
The Gezi Park Protests: The impact on freedom of expression in Turkey
The Turkish authorities severely restricted the right to freedom of expression of journalists and writers during and after the Gezi Park protests in 2013, English PEN and PEN International said in their joint report.
PEN International — 14 March 2014 -
THE STORIES WOMEN JOURNALISTS TELL: Women in Media in South Asia
The report is the first created by the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN) looking specifically at the experience of women journalists in the South Asia sub-region
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) — 13 March 2014 -
Media freedoms violations in Palestine in 2013
Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) — 5 March 2014 -
CCHR Factsheet – Rubbish collectors’ protests
This factsheet provides an overview of the recent rubbish collectors’ protests and subsequent negotiations with garbage collection company CINTRI. The strike for an increased minimum wage and improved working conditions went ahead in spite of the current ban on all demonstrations, assemblies and marches, and remained peaceful, despite heavy military police presence
Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) — 23 February 2014 -
Workers’ rights are human rights: The garment industry in Cambodia
Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) — 18 January 2014 -
The Russian Federation: Journalists under attack
New investigations are needed into cases of violence against journalists and those at risk need immediate protection, according to a new ARTICLE 19 report.
ARTICLE 19 — 12 December 2013 -
Violence ‘the easiest way’ to deal with journalists in Russia
Russia is the sixth deadliest country in the world for journalists in the last 16 years. Moreover, as impunity for attacks on journalists in Russia remains the general rule and the vast majority of cases remain unsolved, the true tally could be even higher.
International Press Institute (IPI) — 23 November 2013 -
Journalism in Syria, impossible job ?
The report examines the growing perils of journalism in Syria, analyzing the evolution in the dangers and identifying the origins of the threats and difficulties that Syrian and foreign news provider have encountered during the 32 months of the conflict.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 6 November 2013 -
A life-threatening career: Attacks on journalists under Yemen’s new government
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 20 September 2013 -
Free Expression in Nepal, April-June 2013
Freedom Forum — 1 August 2013 -
Journalists’ safety: Involving media owners
CMFR has issued a monograph report on the issues of journalists’ safety, from the perspective of owners/their representatives. The report included discussions on how the owners see their responsibilities and their capacity to provide protection, the problems and what they perceive to be the most serious challenge to the protection of journalists
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) — 26 July 2013 -
Dark Clouds on the Horizon – Hong Kong’s freedom of expression faces new threats
Hong Kong Journalists Association — 7 July 2013 -
Media Sector in Mali Witnesses Steady Recovery After Devastation by Conflict
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) — 30 June 2013 -
Nepal World Press Freedom Day Report: Press Freedom at Receiving End of Political Instability
Freedom Forum — 25 June 2013 -
Syria: Detention and Abuse of Female Activists
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 24 June 2013 -
Cambodia: Joint submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review
This joint submission by ARTICLE 19, IPA, SEAPA, PEN International and others focuses on Cambodia’s compliance with its international human rights obligations in respect to freedom of expression
ARTICLE 19 — 24 June 2013 -
Defending the defenders: Security for Cambodian human rights defenders
The report by ARTICLE 19 and the Cambodian Center for Human Rights is part of the larger CCHR Human Rights Defenders Project, which aims to complement and reinforce the existing civil society network in support of human rights defenders at risk
ARTICLE 19 — 19 June 2013 -
Media Freedom in Romania: 2012
ActiveWatch – Media Monitoring Agency — 31 May 2013 -
Free Expression in Nepal, January-March 2013
Freedom Forum — 16 May 2013 -
Freedom of the Press 2013 – Middle East Volatility amid Global Decline
Freedom House — 3 May 2013 -
Building Resistance, Organising for Change: Press Freedom in South Asia 2012-13
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) — 3 May 2013 -
Pakistan Press Freedom Report 2013
Pakistan Press Foundation — 3 May 2013 -
Abuse of state power obstructed work of the press during Venezuelan elections
Instituto Prensa y Sociedad de Venezuela — 25 April 2013 -
Slideshow: Is Bangladesh spiraling out of control?
As political turmoil continues between Islamists and secularists in Bangladesh, the climate for press freedom is rapidly deteriorating. The tensions stem from an ongoing war crimes tribunal tasked with prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity, and other crimes dating back to the 1971 war of independence.
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) — 19 April 2013 -
Covering or seeking cover? The curious cases of blocktimers in Negros Occidental
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) — 18 April 2013 -
Press Freedom Violations in China: 2008 – Present
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) — 26 March 2013 -
Cut off from the world: Systematic reprisals against human rights defenders in the Gulf region for engaging with the UN
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) — 12 March 2013 -
PEN International Writers in Prison Committee Caselist July – December 2012
PEN International — 20 February 2013 -
Attacks on the Press: Journalism on the Front Lines in 2012
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) — 15 February 2013 -
Once thriving, Afghan media now endangered
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) — 14 February 2013 -
Africa’s Media-Savvy Insurgents Pose New Dangers
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) — 14 February 2013 -
Those Who Take Us Away: Abusive Policing and Failures in Protection of Indigenous Women and Girls in Northern British Columbia, Canada
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 13 February 2013 -
Two years of deaths and detentions in Bahrain
Documenting human rights abuses during the pro-democracy movement
Bahrain Center for Human Rights — 11 February 2013 -
Free Expression in Nepal, September-December 2012
Freedom Forum — 10 February 2013 -
Human Rights Watch World Report 2013
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 31 January 2013 -
World Report 2013: South Sudan
South Sudan’s government should investigate and prosecute attacks on protesters, activists, and journalists, Human Rights Watch says.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 31 January 2013 -
World Report 2013: Croatia
Incidents of verbal and physical harassment of journalists were some of the human rights abuses recorded by Human Rights Watch in Croatia in 2012.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 31 January 2013 -
World Report 2013: Serbia
Incidents of verbal and physical harassment of journalists were some of the human rights abuses recorded by Human Rights Watch in Serbia in 2012.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) — 31 January 2013 -
No gains: Press freedom still fragile in Uganda
Human Rights Network for Journalists - Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda) — 31 January 2013 -
2013 World Press Freedom Index
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) — 30 January 2013 -
CCHR Policy Brief following Roundtable Discussion on Human Rights Defenders and Freedom of Expression in Cambodia
Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) — 14 January 2013 -
Nepal media 2012 round-up: physical security still key challenge for Nepali media
Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) — 7 January 2013 -
Nepali media under hostile atmosphere in 2012
Freedom Forum — 2 January 2013 -
Al-Ittihadiyya: “Presidential Palace” Clashes in Cairo, 5 and 6 December 2012
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) — 26 December 2012 -
Impunity in Southeast Asia 2012
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) — 20 November 2012 -
A Death Threat to Freedom: A Report on Violence Against Mexico’s Press
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers — 4 September 2012 -
Palestinian Territories: media freedom violations in the first six months of 2012
Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) — 8 August 2012 -
Journalists in Exile 2012
Crisis in East Africa
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) — 19 June 2012
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MFWA demands release of abducted Burkinabé journalist
Just days after the Superior Council for Communication (CSC) suspended “L’Évènement”, Atiana Serge Oulon, editor-in-chief of the paper, was abducted from his home.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/united-kingdom-usa-julian-assange-freed-canberra-airport-waves-getty-768x512.jpeg)
Julian Assange freed after five years in high security prison
“We are hugely relieved that Julian Assange is finally free – a long overdue victory for journalism and press freedom. He never should have spent a single day deprived of his liberty for publishing information in the public interest” – RSF
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UK: New government must prioritise freedom of expression
Ahead of the UK’s general election on 4 July, ARTICLE 19 outlines key policy areas for the incoming government to set free expression priorities.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ecuador-drug-gangs-police-journalist-in-exile-threats-getty-768x512.jpeg)
Drug-related violence fuels an exodus of Ecuador’s press
“The longer journalists remain in exile, the harder it can be for them to remain in the profession” – CPJ.
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Pakistan Press Foundation alarmed by the brutal murder of journalist Khalil Jibran
Authorities were urged to ensure that the targeted killing of the journalist is investigated swiftly and effectively.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/united-states-florida-book-bans-lgbtq-black-rights-protest-getty-768x512.jpeg)
“Why do they hate us so much?” Discriminatory censorship laws harm education in Florida
The state’s actions have created an environment of censorship and discrimination in classrooms that harms education for all Florida students but is especially hostile in its impact on Black Floridians and LGBTQ Floridians.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/malaysia-phone-diversity-integration-chinese-cultural-centre-getty-768x512.jpeg)
Malaysia: Adopt positive measures to counter hate speech in society
ARTICLE 19 reiterates that hate speech, as a form of discriminatory expression, is a severe human rights concern.
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Syrian journalists threatened with arrest and deportation by neighbouring states
“If sent back to Syria, one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, they risk imminent arrest and even death.” – RSF
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Licenses of 6 independent broadcasters revoked in Guinea
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges ECOWAS to press Guinean authorities to stop censoring the media.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/drcongo-ituri-police-vote-attack-journalists-getty-768x512.jpeg)
Church members assault journalists in Ituri province
After refusing to be interviewed over a land dispute, church congregants then attacked reporters Esaïe Mbusa and Néhémie Paluku.
![](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/niger-internet-cafe-tuareg-cybercrime-law-getty-768x512.jpeg)
Media freedom in danger in Niger
Nigerien authorities have criminalised journalism through an amendment to the cybercrime law, reversing the previous government’s 2022 decision to replace prison sentences with fines.
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Turkey: Human rights report shows increasing torture against Kurds and LGBTQI+
In 2023, the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey received 781 reports of torture or ill-treatment. There was a spike in reports in June and July, correlating with increased police interventions during Pride Week events.
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ICC member countries declare “unwavering support” for the court
Ninety-three member countries of the International Criminal Court (ICC) have declared their “unwavering support” for the court in the face of recent threats emanating from the US and Israel.
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EC study on journalist safety lacks solutions while security deteriorates
Press freedom groups point to “a disconnect between the report’s findings and on-the-ground realities”.
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Jordanian reporter gets one year in prison under draconian new cybercrime law
Jordan has seen a surge in harassment of journalists, including arrests, censorship and intimidation since December 2023.
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Yemen: Houthis must immediately release civil society and UN staff members
“It is appalling to see that the Houthis are now accusing NGOs of spying instead of recognizing their role in protecting and helping citizens.”
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