ARTICLE 19

Thirty-eight months after the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, rights organisations reiterate that a fully independent and transparent public inquiry is key to achieving justice for Daphne’s assassination and ensuring that this will never happen again.

Civil society groups belonging to the Freedom of Expression Cluster said the Legal Defence Fund was launched in response to the worsening attacks on journalists, human rights defenders, and activists in 2020.

Ola Bini is a computer expert and human rights defender recognized worldwide, who is facing a political-judicial process in Ecuador since April 2019. Ecuadorian and international civil society organizations set up a mission to observe the preparatory hearing and trial evaluation of December 3rd, 2020.

As democracy and the rule of law come increasingly under pressure in a number of EU countries, the undersigned organisations call on EU policymakers to urgently put forward an EU anti-SLAPP Directive to protect public watchdogs that help hold the powerful to account and keep democratic debate alive.

Amidst an escalating crackdown on civil society and freedom of expression, the European Parliament adopted an urgency resolution calling attention to the rapid deterioration of civic space and fundamental freedoms in the country.

For over a month, hundreds of thousands of people have protested across the country against the decision of the Constitutional Court to ban abortions in cases of foetal abnormality. Police have responded with excessive use of force and arbitrary detentions.

Ten human rights groups have signed a statement calling for the release of student activists who participated in protests condemning the atrocities in Rakhine and Chin States aside from criticizing the continued internet restriction in the region.

“Access to a safe and secure Internet is key in amplifying women’s voices, highlighting their lived experiences and needs, and in combating violence against women world-wide.”