Free Expression & the Law

The report explores in detail the 756 media freedom violations recorded by the MFRR partners in the first half of 2024. These violations affected 1,212 media-related persons or entities. 474 of these alerts were recorded in EU Member States while 282 took place in candidate countries.

The report documents increasing violations, as well as a rise in attacks against journalists, activists, media outlets, students, clergy, artists, and political opponents, among other actors.

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. 

This new study from 7amleh reveals how online harassment and cyber surveillance of young Palestinians has sparked a chilling rise in self-censorship.

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.

“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

ARTICLE 19 examines how the Iranian regime is strengthening its hold over the internet through its Supreme Council of Cyberspace (SCC), with ever-increasing powers and under a new hardline leadership.

ARTICLE 19 reviews the draft Right to Information Act prepared by the Government of Iraq and finds that in its current form, it is incompatible with international standards on the right to information.

7amleh reveals how the EU legislation contains significant loopholes that could exacerbate human rights violations against Palestinians.

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.

In the first quarter of 2024, at least 210 journalists and media workers stood trial in 123 court cases. Nineteen journalists were sentenced in 16 of the 37 cases that concluded during the reporting period, while at least 10 new cases were filed against journalists.

Politically Motivated Crackdown on Human Rights Lawyers in Belarus

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.

SMEX examines platform content moderation policies for sexual and reproductive health and rights in the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region.

A new study examines discrimination and censorship concerns within the EU, affecting both Palestinians and global advocates for Palestinian human rights.

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.

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.

The report raises concerns about the use of spyware, SLAPPs and journalists in exile.

An overview of the threats and dangers posed by AI tech on Palestinians and advocates.

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.

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.

The Hungarian government’s interference with media freedom and pluralism, part of its systematic attack on the rule of law, obstructs the work of independent journalists in holding the authorities to account and prevents the public from accessing information.

This report examines media capture in Greece through the four indicators of media capture: capture of private media, capture of public media, capture of the system of funding media and capture of media regulators.

“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.”

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.

Journalists living in exile face assault, harassment, and unlawful deportation at the hands of the governments they fled.

In this report, EFF explores a new approach to tackling online harms leaving behind strategies based on ill-conceived bills and censorship-driven solutions.

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.”

The report noted that the government’s crackdown on fundamental freedoms hindered public participation and undermined the advancement of democracy in Cambodia.

Freedom House has found that while innovations in AI contributed to the 13th consecutive year of global decline in internet freedom, older forms of digital repression continued to proliferate.

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.

PEN America warns that social media blowback and societal outrage are imposing new moral litmus tests on books and authors, chilling literary expression and fueling a dangerous trend of self-censorship that is shrinking writers’ creative freedom and imagination.

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.

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.

A report from Bytes for All showed that Pakistan faced 24 network shutdowns in 2022, which is 58% higher than in 2021.

Survey finds that 90% of fact-checking outlets in Europe have been the target of online harassment and smear campaigns.

The Unfreedom Monitor report provides insights into the current state of freedom in Venezuela and highlights challenges faced by journalists and media in the country.

The report traces this form of censorship done through blocking of websites, applications, and social media accounts in India.

A methodology for tracking digital authoritarianism around the world.

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.

Analysis of selected court decisions from across the globe.

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.

Marking 50 years in the struggle for democracy

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.

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.

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.

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.

CPJ has worked with local partners to compile this directory of resources providing different types of legal aid to help connect journalists in Brazil in need of legal support with the initiatives and organizations that can support them.

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.

This report diagnoses the state of digital freedoms, and outlines the most prominent patterns of digital rights violations and their trends during 2022.

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.

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.

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.

BAJ’s review of 2022 highlights 33 journalists in prison, 17 heavy prison sentences, and nine media outlets classified as “extremist organisations”.

Press freedom violations in Bangladesh, April-September 2022.

With the advancement of access to the internet and the consequent manifold increase in using the internet as a platform for exercising speech and expression, there has also been an increase in censorship of expression. The report traces this form of censorship carried out through the blocking of websites, applications, and social media accounts in India.

A New Model for Global Leadership on Human Rights

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.

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.

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.

This report documents cases of how repressive laws were used to curtail the right to speech, expression and assembly in Malaysia this past year.

Summary of IPI Africa Press Freedom Monitoring: October 2022

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.

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.

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.

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.

A report published by the Gulf Centre for Human Rights to mark the International Day to End Impunity

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.

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.

Countering an authoritarian overhaul of the internet

Bahrain death sentences follow torture, sham trials.

In a new report, Privacy International explores the human rights implications of end-to-end encryption, and rejects proposals by governments, intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies for access to the content of or the banning of this type of communication.

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.

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.

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.

In July 2022, ARTICLE 19 documented a number of concerning cases in which individuals were prosecuted for allegedly blasphemous speech. Malaysian authorities have investigated individuals under Section 298A of the Penal Code, Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, and the Sedition Act.

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.

New survey demonstrates an urgent need for comprehensive privacy and data protection Palestinian legislation that can protect all citizens’ right to privacy and ensure accountability.

This report sheds light on the issue of privacy and data protection in Palestine, examining the extent to which Palestinians’ privacy is respected and personal data protected.

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.

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 Forum published its annual World Press Freedom Day report which highlighted the attacks against journalists in Nepal over the past year.

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.

Efforts to Ban Gender and Sexuality Education in Brazil

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.

The Centre for Independent Journalism has published a brief about the state of media in Malaysia, the impact of the pandemic, and its recommendations to the Malaysian government on upholding freedom of expression.

TRUTH versus DISINFORMATION — The Challenge for Public Interest Journalism is MEAA’s annual report into the state of press freedom in Australia in 2022.

This report looks at whether the laws and policies in Thailand make it possible for children to access their environmental rights.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This report analyzes 100 judgments on cybercrime cases made by local courts in Nepal.

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.

Ahead of April’s general election, IPI’s new report finds that the Fidesz government has continued to systematically erode media pluralism, muzzle the independent press and manipulate the market to further entrench a pro-government narrative.

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.

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.

This report looks at whether the laws and policies in Fiji make it possible for children to access their environmental rights.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This 82-page report from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) details Beijing’s strategy to control access to information within and beyond its borders.

While privacy has become ever more crucial in the world where digital technologies are key to livelihoods and rights, there are insufficient protections for the right to privacy in many African countries.

The report highlights digital rights violations of Palestinians and pro-Palestinian advocates online, at the hands of the three authorities, as well as different social media companies in relation to the escalations and developments on the ground.

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.

The internet plays a vital role in the realisation of human development and facilitates the enjoyment of several human rights and freedoms, including the right to freedom of expression and information, the right to education, the right to assembly and association. Over the last few years, Africa has experienced exponential growth in internet access spurred by mobile internet, which stood at 28% penetration in 2020.

PEN America’s report explores the creative response to the February 2021 coup in Myanmar and the brutal retaliation by the military.

The specific focus of this report is on the intersections between freedoms of speech, expression and press, the right to privacy and governments’ responses to the pandemic.

MISA has produced this special publication to commemorate 25 years of sterling work by its Zimbabwe chapter in helping to promote access to information, in defending press freedom and developing a plural media environment to serve the needs of the public in the region.

This report focuses on the progress made regarding the state of broadcasting and digital migration in Angola, Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

This brief explores the repressive elements of media and technology-related laws in Sudan and how they have been used to undermine freedom of expression and other civil liberties in the aftermath of president Omar al-Bashir’s April 2019 overthrow.

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.

Between January and September 2021, 24 legislatures across the United States introduced 54 separate bills intended to restrict teaching and training in K-12 schools, higher education, and state agencies and institutions. The majority of these bills target discussions of race, racism, gender, and American history and appear designed to chill academic and educational discussions and impose government dictates on teaching and learning.

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.

Worryingly, many African countries have passed legislation that limits anonymity and the use of encryption, purportedly to aid governments’ efforts to combat terrorism and crime. Other governments limit the use of encryption to enable them to monitor the communications of critical journalists, human rights defenders, and opposition politicians.

Surveillance has become a principal threat to digital rights in Africa, a weakening force to civil society and independent voices, and ultimately a driver of authoritarianism.

Ministerial Regulation 5 governs the functioning of private electronic systems operators (ESOs) accessible in Indonesia which include social media platforms, search engines, ecommerce platforms, games, and communications services.

This report by the Free Media Movement provides an overview of the state of media freedom in Sri Lanka in 2020.

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.

In this analysis, ARTICLE 19 reviews the Ministerial Order the Ministerial Order for its compliance with international freedom of expression standards. The Order was approved by the National Security Council of Spain and published on 30 October 2020 by the Minister of the Presidency.

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.

This study seeks to identify the reality of privacy and protection of digital personal data in Palestine1 in terms of the collection, processing and use of Palestinian users’ data. It addresses some of the human rights violations faced by Palestinian users as well as the key parties that violate their data privacy.

The report describes the types of violence and threats journalists encounter, along with the nature and frequency of different types of violations.

Around 80 cases of political and civil rights violations were documented by Globe International Center in its latest media freedom report in Mongolia.

Today, governments across the globe are arguing for new powers to regulate the internet within their countries’ borders for national security, economic health, and other fundamental reasons.

The Public Prosecution needs to stop monitoring internet users out of respect for the privacy of citizens. The decision to establish the Monitoring and Analysis Unit (MAU) contradicts a number of laws and legal principles, not to mention the lack of transparency about the way it conducts its work.

In Hungary, Poland and Turkey, increasing control of ruling parties over state-controlled companies, advertising agencies, media regulators, competition watchdogs and even the courts, has allowed for a steady intensification and diversification of campaigns against critical press.

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.

Over the years, many African countries have enacted laws and adopted policies that impact on privacy, including those that facilitate surveillance and the collection of biometric data, and others that limit the use of encryption. This has facilitated increased state surveillance across the continent that is accelerating interference with various rights and freedoms.

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.

The Hong Kong press industry faced increasing threats in the past 12 months. Suppression from the authorities is felt across different forms of media; freedoms have seriously deteriorated under a repressive government.

This briefing paper first explains internet restrictions that the NLD-led government put in place before the coup. It then sets out a timeline of the implementation of internet restrictions since 1 February.

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.

In the five years since the coup attempt, dozens of writers, artists, and other creatives have been targeted, prosecuted, and jailed by Turkish authorities.

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.

If implemented responsibly, AI has the potential to promote the enjoyment of human rights. However, there is a real risk that commercial and state use has a detrimental impact on human rights

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.

Privacy International (PI) welcomes the call for submissions by the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression to inform the Special Rapporteur’s report on ‘disinformation’ and freedom of expression. The issues highlighted in the call for submissions are ones that PI with its global network of partners3 has been investigating as part of its work on the use of personal data, and the hidden ecosystem involved, in the online political campaigning context.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

IFEX member Globe International Center has released its annual report which details the activities, campaigns, and programs it implemented in 2020.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda has dealt a blow to the promotion and preservation of human rights in the region. Moreover, the outbreak of COVID-19 could not have come at a worse time, as the countries were preparing for their respective general elections.

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).

Assessing the Legal Framework concerning device seizures in Lebanon.

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.

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.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has tallied 50 cases of journalists killed in connection with their work in 2020 (from 1 January to 15 December).

While EFF hopes to work with President Biden on a wide range of policies that affect digital rights in the coming years, it focuseshere on the ones that need his immediate attention and ask that he change course on the previous policies and practices discussed below.

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.

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.

Six months ago, the Court of Justice of the EU condemned Hungary for the violation of EU law and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights on grounds of its restrictive legislation on the financing of NGOs. To date, no steps have been taken by Hungary to comply with the judgment.

The mission was organised in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the sharp rise in targeting of media by regulators, increased physical attacks on journalists and a new restrictive law on social media with the potential to impose further limitations on the remaining spaces for independent reporting and public commentary.

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.

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.

The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating a dramatic decline in global internet freedom. For the 10th consecutive year, users have experienced an overall deterioration in their rights, and the phenomenon is contributing to a broader crisis for democracy worldwide.

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.

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.

This report details the critical challenges faced by Malaysian journalists and media workers this year.

The aim of this report is to present a series of abuses identified by our organisation during the state of emergency during the COVID-19 crisis. We have identified and exposed in this period actions of state actors that have threatened, affected or directly attacked fundamental rights such as the right to freedom of expression, the right to information and, implicitly, media freedom.

From 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020, the monitoring report showed that the space to exercise fundamental freedoms continues to be restricted in Cambodia.

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.

As individuals have mobilized, state legislatures across the country have begun introducing bills meant to suppress, restrict, or criminalize the right to protest at an ever-increasing rate.

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.

In responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, many governments have taken measures that limit access to information held by public bodies relating to the pandemic and other crucial areas of public interest.

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.

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.

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.

Since the release of ANHRI’s first report in 2004 tackling the Internet and Arab governments, which is published every two years, the fight is still going on. The issue has not been resolved for either of the conflicting parties: whether the governments with their various institutions or the Arab peoples who are using the Internet and seek change in the world.

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.

The launch of the European Rule of Law Mechanism in July 2019 marks the renewed opportunity for 1 the European Union (EU) to uphold democracy and overcome the limits of the Article 7 procedure.

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.

This document provides an overview of human rights concerns posed by the coronavirus outbreak, drawing on examples of government responses to date, and recommends ways governments and other actors can respect human rights in their response.

Freedom of expression has been one of the casualties of the epidemic, as some governments have used censorship, arrests and the application of repressive laws to address these challenges and control public narratives about the crisis.

This briefing paper sets forth recommendations for countering ‘hate speech’ in Myanmar, with a focus on draft legislation currently being considered by the Myanmar government.

A brief reading of human rights trends in the Arab region.

Online media at receiving end; press freedom violation highest in seven years according to the 2019 report of Freedom Forum

IMPUNITY, JOURNALIST SAFETY AND WORKING CONDITIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA

JOINT INTERNATIONAL PRESS FREEDOM MISSION TO TURKEY (SEPTEMBER 11–13, 2019)

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.

A report documenting human rights violations committed by the regime in 2018.

Once a year the PEN International produces a case list (covering the previous year) of individuals around the world who are detained or otherwise persecuted for their peaceful political activities or for the practice of their profession.

There are concerns about how the secret warrant system is run. The flaws in administration give no comfort to journalists who remain fearful that the warrants are being used to identify their confidential sources.

In his inauguration speech on 24 November 2017 following Mugabe’s ouster, President Mnangagwa, said he would strengthen and ensure the pillars of democracy are respected in Zimbabwe. This raised hope that he would move with speed and implement outstanding socio-economic and political reforms ahead of the 2018 elections. It is common cause that the elections came without implementation of the envisaged reforms.

The MISA Annual report for 2018 focuses on the lobby and advocacy work MISA carried out on critical issues throughout 2018.

Annual Report 2019 by the Partner Organisations to the Council of Europe Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists

Given the unprecedented number of journalists in prison in Turkey at the moment and the increas- ing number of freedom of expression trials, trial monitoring has become an important activity for Turkish civil society over the past few years.

In its report, the Center examines Bahrain’s laws and legislation restricting the freedom of press work and shows the extent of its non-conformity with the international treaties, covenants and agreements. The report also documents violations of media workers since the popular protests beginning in 2011.

The level of internet freedom declined due to the new cybersecurity law which strengthened repressive restrictions on online activities.

Laws passed since Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency in May 2012 have dramatically strengthened the Russian authorities’ control over the flow of information online and offline. Much of this crackdown has been fuelled by Russia’s foreign policy, in particular its role in the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine and its armed intervention in Syria.

The report is based on the study of Bahraini laws and legislation related to the prosecution of civilians in military courts and shows the compatibility of Bahraini laws with the International Bill and international laws.

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.

Journalists say they will be wary until Moreno fulfills his promises to scale back the Communications Law and scrap the regulator that enforced it.

BCHR analyses how the Bahraini judiciary uses the language of ‘anti-terrorism’ law to justify suppressing dissent. They also do a comparative study of the relevant local and international anti-terror legislation, and the extent to which Bahrain is in line with international law, international conventions and human rights treaties.

In Egypt you can be detained, interrogated and tried in the same place without leaving or seeing a court.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) accuses the Eritrean government of a complete denial of reality in its first-ever report to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and announces that it has submitted an alternative “shadow report” with a much darker assessment of the state of press freedom in Eritrea.

The general trend over the past 10 years has been bleak, with an overall negative trajectory for press freedom. The major turning point was the election of Xi Jinping as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China in 2012 and President of China in 2013.

In 2014, Cameroon enacted a broad anti-terror law as part of its effort to counter the extremist group Boko Haram, but authorities are using it to arrest and threaten local journalists who report on the militants or unrest in the country’s English-speaking regions.

MFWA has identified lack of effective internet-specific legal frameworks, inadequate infrastructure and high cost of data as major challenges in the internet sector in West Africa.

Globe International registered a total of 519 freedom of expression violations in Mongolia

According to Freedom Forum, anti-press incidents have declined in Nepal since April 2017 but the policy environment is still regressive.

Since 2013, law enforcement authorities in Bangladesh have illegally detained scores of opposition activists and held them in secret without producing them before courts, as the law requires. In most cases, those arrested remain in custody for weeks or months before being formally arrested or released. Others however are killed in so-called armed exchanges, and many remain “disappeared.”

This study examines the existence of criminal defamation and insult laws in the territory of the 57 participating States of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In doing so, it offers a broad, comparative overview of the compliance of OSCE participating States’ legislation with international standards and best practices in the field of defamation law and freedom of expression.

READ AND DOWNLOADThis study analyses current trends in civil defamation and privacy cases in Hungary involving the media and summarises key challenges for freedom of the press and expression. Written by Hungarian media lawyer Bea Bodrogi, the study examined 250 court decisions related to civil protection of ‘personality rights’, an area in Hungarian law that includes defamation, privacy and personal image.

In this report, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) examines the contributions of ACPRA within the larger context of the movement for civil and political reform in Saudi Arabia.

With populist and nationalist forces making significant gains in democratic states, 2016 marked the 11th consecutive year of decline in global freedom.

Freedom Forum has issued a review of Nepal’s National Mass Communications Policy 2016. Among others, FF says the policy fails to articulate constitutional provisions relating to freedom of expression and mass communication. The policy, they said, also seems to promote centralided regulation, instead of self-regulation.

The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in 2016 maintained its control over all public affairs and punished those who challenged its monopoly on power. Authorities restricted basic rights, including freedom of speech, opinion, association, and assembly. All religious groups had to register with the government and operate under surveillance. Bloggers and activists faced daily police harassment and intimidation, and were subject to arbitrary house arrest, restricted movement, and physical assaults.

Malaysia’s human rights situation continued to deteriorate in 2016, with human rights defenders, activists, political opposition figures, and journalists facing harassment and politically motivated prosecution. Those criticising the administration of Prime Minister Najib Razak or commenting on the government’s handling of the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption scandal have been particular targets.

Authorities continue to use sedition and criminal defamation laws to prosecute citizens who criticise government officials or oppose state policies. In a blow to free speech, the government in 2016 argued before the Supreme Court in favour of retaining criminal penalties for defamation. The court upheld the law.

Four senior staff members of the Cambodian Human Rights have been detained in Phnom Penh since April 2016. 

After already cracking down on freedom of information in recent years, President Erdoğan has taken advantage of the abortive coup d’état and the state of emergency in effect since 20 July to silence many more of his media critics, not only Gülen movement media and journalists but also, to a lesser extent, Kurdish, secularist and left-wing media.

This publication presents the findings of the media development assessment in Mongolia that began in 2012 to determine the state of the media in the country. The assessment was based on the UNESCO/IPDC Media Development Indicators (MDIs), an internationally recognized analytical tool used to provide detailed overviews of national media landscapes and related media development priorities.

“After the initial optimism during the Euromaidan movement, many journalists have become disillusioned. They are faced with the triple challenge of the war in the Eastern part of the country, the economic crisis and the digitalization of mass media.”

An officer of the Myanmar army recently filed a criminal complaint against two journalists for allegedly sowing disunity among the military. Even though mediation by the Press Council caused the military to withdraw the case, this incident demonstrates how the military continues to throw its weight to get back at what it perceives as negative publicity.

The government uses draconian laws such as the sedition provisions of the penal code, the criminal defamation law, and laws dealing with hate speech to silence dissent. These laws are vaguely worded, overly broad, and prone to misuse, and have been repeatedly used for political purposes against critics at the national and state level.

Comparative Study of Criminal Defamation Laws in the Americas

Media under the chilling effect of political unrest

In recent years, the space afforded to civil society to operate freely has been shrinking dramatically across the world, presenting a serious threat to democracy and human rights. Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) have been especially badly affected by this shrinking political space.

The report is a frank assessment of the recent regime of online censorship and mass surveillance against a backdrop of longstanding, serious abuses of the judicial process and attacks on freedom of expression by Turkish authorities.

The report surveys the rocky landscape for media and public discourse since the ruling military junta lifted the curtain on the southeast Asian nation in 2012 after five decades of isolation from the modern world.

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.

The EU has made press freedom imperative in negotiating with candidate countries, but has been accused of failing to take strong action when member states renege on their press freedom commitments.

A Climate of Fear for LGBT People in Kazakhstan

The Pakistani government has significantly expanded its communication interception activities. This Privacy International report covers the intelligence services plan to capture all IP-traffic in Pakistan and other initiatives, pointing to gaps in the laws governing surveillance.

This report scrutinizes legislation covering freedom of expression and religious freedom in the Balkans, and whether satire and blasphemy are in any way regulated in these countries.

The need to regulate the transfer of surveillance technologies that pose a risk to human rights has been largely recognised by EU institutions and some EU member states. It is no longer a question of if the EU should do more in this area, but how.

In this report, ARTICLE 19 seeks to outline the implications of anonymity and encryption for the right to freedom of expression in the digital age.

Defamation and insult remain criminal offences in Portugal punishable by up to two years behind bars despite the fact that a number of international human rights bodies have found criminal defamation to be a disproportionate restriction on freedom of expression.

Despite its Constitutional commitment to free speech, India’s legal system makes it surprisingly easy to silence others. Routine corruption, inefficiency, and the selective enforcement of vague and overbroad laws allow individuals, or small groups, to censor opinions they find distasteful. – See more at: http://www.pen-international.org/the-india-report-executive-summary-and-key-findings/#sthash.TIIM2xbu.dpuf

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.

The year 2014 saw Malaysians standing up to exercise the rights guaranteed under the Federal Constitution, including freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. This continues a growing trend of facing up to state oppression. Unfortunately, this has been met with increasing repression. Malaysia has seen a concerted crackdown on the freedom of expression in the year 2014, which has escalated even further in 2015.

As Globe International Center (GIC) reported, from 2012-2014, violations against journalists and the media increased compared to previous years and journalists faced external threats and intervention in their professional work, different types of pressures, threats, censorship in distribution, demands to reveal their information sources, to question and give testimony in mass by law enforcement bodies, especially by the General Intelligence Agency, use of criminal defamation law by politicians and public bodies or public officials censoring the media.

Discarding Democracy: Return to the Iron Fist

Cambodian Internet users overwhelmingly see the country’s Internet as increasingly becoming more accommodating of free expression but remain concerned about the effects of recently proposed government actions related to Internet surveillance and controls, according to the results of a study by CCIM, which surveyed almost 1,000 Cambodian Internet users from 22 provinces.

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.

While media freedom in Spain remains robust and certainly comparable to its European neighbours, at such a critical moment for the Spanish public there is a need to ensure maximum access to the free flow of information.

Legal regulation in the field of freedom of expression became more stringent as a result of abrupt introduction of amendments to the already undemocratic law ‘On Mass Media’ in December 2014.

The goal of this report is to provide African governments, civil society, researchers and other stakeholders with a tool that will guide and support the development and advancement of the right to information in Africa.

This report was submitted by Globe International for the second cycle of Mongolia’s UPR (Universal Periodic Review)

Internet intermediaries – such as internet service providers, search engines and social media platforms – play a crucial role in enabling people around the world to communicate with each other. Because of their technical capabilities, internet intermediaries are under increasing pressure from governments and interest groups to police online content.

Global press freedom has fallen to its lowest level in over a decade, according to the latest edition of Freedom House’s press freedom survey. The decline was driven in part by major regression in several Middle Eastern states, including Egypt, Libya, and Jordan; marked setbacks in Turkey, Ukraine, and a number of countries in East Africa; and deterioration in the relatively open media environment of the United States.

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue

This Outcome Report summarizes the issues raised and the recommendations of participants during the Workshop for Youth on Electoral Reform held on 20-21 June 2014 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

This legal analysis examines the compliance of the 2014 News Media Law of Myanmar with international standards on freedom of expression and media freedom.

CCHR has released a Briefing Note on freedom of information and legislative transparency in Cambodia, where laws are almost always drafted in secrecy, without the inclusion of relevant stakeholders.

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.

International human rights law provides a clear and universal framework for the promotion and protection of the right to privacy, including in the context of domestic and extraterritorial surveillance, the interception of digital communications and the collection of personal data. Practices in many States have, however, revealed a lack of adequate national legislation and/or enforcement, weak procedural safeguards, and ineffective oversight, all of which have contributed to a lack of accountability for arbitrary or unlawful interference in the right to privacy.

Persistent failures of the Bahraini justice system since the BICI report

Which companies stand with their users, embracing transparency around government data requests? Which companies have resisted improper government demands by fighting for user privacy in the courts and on Capitol Hill? In short, which companies have your back?

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

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

By their very nature, libraries are poised to become forces for social change and using this exhibit as an example, libraries themselves can show the life of their communities by putting their responses on display to support their involvement in social movements, engage others, and document for the future

Privacy International’s report identifies recent accomplishments from around the world, and highlights significant challenges ahead for this right

This Briefing Note addresses the increasing practice of forcing human rights defenders, protesters and everyday citizens to sign written statements agreeing to not partake in future demonstrations or illegal activities, as a condition of their release or to avoid charges

IFJ’s report documents the continued deterioration of press freedoms in Mainland China, as well as Hong Kong and Macau. It takes its title in direct response to Chinese authorities adopting more repressive measures in 2013 reminiscent of the Mao era four decades ago, including direct censorship, Internet surveillance, abuse of legal process, harassment and intimidation, and televised confessions of journalists and bloggers without trial.

An update on the Ampatuan Massacre trial by CMFR Executive Director Melinda Quintos de Jesus

The Balkan Media Barometer is an analytical exercise to measure the media situation in a given country which at the same time serves as a practical lobbying tool for media reform. The BMB consists of a set of 45 indicators derived from European standards referenced in European Union and Council of Europe documents.

A new bill provides for the immediate blocking of websites with content regarded by the prosecutor’s office as extremist. Inciting hatred or terrorist acts are already grounds for blocking. Now, urging people to participate in unauthorized protests would also be viewed as “extremist.”

Charges against dozens of protesters in connection with the protest on the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s 2012 inauguration are “inappropriate” and “disproportionate,” according to a panel of independent experts. Twenty seven people are facing “mass rioting” charges in connection with the protest on May 6, 2012.

This publication provides an overview of the main international standards relevant to the protection of the right to freedom of expression in relation to Information Communication Technologies. It identifies international and regional standards for the protection of key areas of concern, including content regulation, the rights of citizen journalists and bloggers, and access to information

This publication is a component of the National Endowment for Democracy, (NED) funded project that has unearthed a dismal level of denial to disclose information in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government in Liberia.

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, Access, English PEN and PEN International welcome the opportunity to contribute to the second cycle of the UPR process of Viet Nam.

The media landscape in Burma is more open than ever, as President Thein Sein releases imprisoned journalists and abolishes the former censorship regime. But many threats and obstacles to truly unfettered reporting remain, including restrictive laws held over from the previous military regime. The wider government’s commitment to a more open reporting environment is in doubt.

ARTICLE 19 calls on the State Duma of the Russian Federation to reject the concept of defamation of religions proposed in the Draft Law.

Check out this interactive timeline to learn about the case of Enoh Meyomesse, a Cameroonian poet, writer, and politician and Honorary Member of PEN American Center.

In 2012, journalists and rights organisations worldwide called on the Turkish government to release journalists and abolish the Anti-Terror Law.

Mission to UAE investigates crackdown on free expression in which 64 activists have been detained