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67 articles

Your mental health is precious, but it’s for sale

Privacy International reveals how popular websites about depression in France, Germany and the UK share user data with advertisers, data brokers and large tech companies, while some depression test websites leak answers and test results with third parties.

Members of the UN Security Council gather for a meeting on North Korea, at the United Nations in New York, 27 September 2018, DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images

Germany should use UN Security Council role to promote press freedom

Germany has played a strong role in defending journalists over the years and should continue to do so when it takes its non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in 2019.

A journalist looks at job offers during the inauguration of a new jobs counseling center for migrants and refugees at the former Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, 27 January 2016 , JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images

German initiative brings refugee reporters into local journalism

The “Newscomer” project’s mentorship scheme partners a refugee or foreign journalist with a local journalist in Germany, enabling them to collaborate on stories.

Turkish journalist Can Dündar (L) reacts before being made a Paris citizen of honour by mayor Anne Hidalgo (R) at the Paris town hall, France, 8 November 2016, REUTERS/Charles Platiau

Exiled Turkish journalist Can Dündar threatened with Interpol red notice

RSF reiterates its call for an urgent overhaul of Interpol because of the growing tendency for it to be exploited by repressive governments such as Turkey’s.

Photographers walk through tear gas during an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela, 2 March 2014, REUTERS/Jorge Silva

German parliament backs RSF initiative

Germany’s parliament has put its weight behind Reporters Without Borders’ initiative for the creation of a United Nations Special Representative for the Safety of Journalists, the first parliament worldwide to do so.

People attend a special event at the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, 13 November 2016, AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

Fighting back against the criminalisation of German whistleblowers

An alliance of German civil rights organisations, journalists and bloggers lodges an appeal against a new law that criminalises handling leaked data.

People attend a special event at the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, 13 November 2016, AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

Fighting back against the criminalisation of German whistleblowers

An alliance of German civil rights organisations, journalists and bloggers lodges an appeal against a new law that criminalises handling leaked data.

In this 14 May 2015 file photo, Bahraini anti-government protesters hold up images of jailed human rights activist Nabeel Rajab during a solidarity protest outside his home in Bani Jamra, Bahrain, AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File

A letter to France and Germany from an imprisoned Bahraini activist

“France and Germany, it’s time to assert your values”, stresses Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab, currently on trial for criticising the Saudi bombing of Yemen and exposing torture in Bahrain’s prisons.

Demonstrators hold a poster showing a portrait of Angela Merkel reading "surveillance Chancellor" during a rally in front of the construction site of the headquarters of German intelligence agency in Berlin, 29 July 2013, AP Photo/Gero Breloer

Germany wants to spy on your newsrooms

Germany’s spy agency could soon be indiscriminately spying on both non-EU citizens and newsrooms across the world.

Jan Boehmermann, host of the late-night "Neo Magazin Royale", will be prosecuted in Germany for 'insulting' the Turkish president, REUTERS/Morris Mac Matzen

German government approves request from Turkey to prosecute satirist

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in granting a request by the Turkish government, underscored that Germany viewed the deteriorating situation of press freedom in Turkey with “great concern”.

Ahmed Mansour passes through a police line after being released in Berlin, 22 June 2015, REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Germany must investigate detention of Egyptian journalist Ahmed Mansour

“German authorities should have been clear from the start that Ahmed Mansour risks serious violations of his human rights if he is sent to Egypt,” said Wenzel Michalski, Germany director of Human Rights Watch.

Link to: Draft law could restrict protection of confidential sources, information in the public interest

Draft law could restrict protection of confidential sources, information in the public interest

Journalists’ organisations in Germany are opposing the government’s proposal to allow telecommunication companies, social networking sites and online messaging services to hand over private data to the authorities for national security purposes.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev address a news conference before talks in Berlin, 4 February 2010, REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz

Merkel should press Aliyev to free human rights defenders in Azerbaijan

Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel should urge president Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan to free leading human rights defenders, journalists, and other government critics jailed unjustly in Azerbaijan, Human Rights Watch says. Merkel is scheduled to meet Aliyev in Berlin on 21 January 2015.

Protesters gesture towards members of the media as they march through the streets of Cologne during a demonstration by German far-right groups, 26 October 2014, REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

Neo-Nazis suspected in torching of journalist’s car in Germany

Right-wing extremists are suspected in the recent arson attack on a German photojournalist’s car in Berlin. It was the second such attack on the journalist in 2014, who had also been the target of neo-Nazi threats.

Link to: German OECD National Contact Point unwilling to investigate role of German company in human rights violations in Bahrain

German OECD National Contact Point unwilling to investigate role of German company in human rights violations in Bahrain

By failing to investigate the extent of the Trovicor company’s wrongdoing, the OECD is turning a blind eye to how German made surveillance technology is being used by the Bahraini government to target and suppress pro-democracy voices.

Link to: Further rights reform needed in Kyrgyzstan as violations persist

Further rights reform needed in Kyrgyzstan as violations persist

Serious rights violations, including the harassment of human rights defenders, have highlighted the need for further reform in Kyrgyzstan, says Human Rights Watch in a letter to Germany’s leader on the eve of joint talks.