Germany

“The policeman suddenly attacked me from behind. He punched me twice in the face before pushing me to the ground with his knee behind my back. I kept shouting that I was a journalist” – Ignacio Rosaslanda

“Germany should immediately explain why it has denied Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah entry and imposed this far-reaching ban on a leading health professional to speak in Berlin, Paris, and The Hague about what he witnessed in Gaza” – HRW

“German authorities are using increasingly illiberal measures to curtail pro-Palestine activism. Under the guise of combatting Israel-related antisemitism, civic space for freedom of expression and assembly is shrinking.”

In a historic decision, a German court convicted a former member of Gambia’s hit squad for his role in the murder of journalist Deyda Hydara.

An appeal against an injunction granted against the book “The Compatriots: The Brutal and Chaotic History of Russia’s Exiles, Émigrés and Agents Abroad” will be heard in Germany on 8 December.

“As the humanitarian catastrophe continues to unfold in Gaza, and increasingly in the West Bank, there must be freedom to voice opinions and to protest everywhere” – ARTICLE19

Literary institutions must remain neutral platforms and enable equitable debate, says PEN International.

“German and Georgian authorities should treat these allegations with the utmost seriousness and do all they can to safeguard the lives of journalists living in exile” – CPJ

SCM welcomes the court’s decision as a step toward justice and redress for the victims of grave violations committed in Syria since 2011.

New amendments allow the use of spyware to hack into phones and computers circumventing encryption used by messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Signal, raising concerns about the right to privacy.

The reported German inquiry does not stem from the recent forced rerouting of Raman Pratasevich’s flight but is likely the result of a criminal complaint filed in May on behalf of individuals alleging torture at the hands of Belarussian law enforcement.

The complaint details a litany of crimes against humanity committed against 35 journalists in Saudi Arabia, including that of murdered Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

While police impeded journalists’ work, protesters – which included members of the far right and Covid-19 conspiracy theorists – abused, threatened, chased and physically attacked members of the press.

Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court has put an end to the groundless mass surveillance of global internet traffic by the foreign intelligence service. The ruling, the most far-reaching in this field in the past 20 years, sends an important signal for the protection of press freedom in the digital age.