ARTICLE 19

In the open letter organisations called for the US Senate to object to any motion for unanimous consent to place the bill on the Senate floor and to vote ‘no’ on passage of the bill in its current form.

Telecommunications operators were directed by authorities to block the ‘Justice for Myanmar’ website, which was launched early this year and published stories exposing alleged corruption in the military.

With Iranian authorities having repeatedly shut down the Internet during protests, the development of a national internet infrastructure has led to heightened concerns over the government’s growing capacity to cut off access to global communications.

In a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, civil society defenders of free expression from all over the world call for the immediate release of Shafiqul Islam Kajol and accountability for his mistreatment.

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.

A human rights lawyer and a student activist were arrested which signals the intensifying suppression of the protest movement in Thailand.

The undersigned civil society organisations reiterate our strong support for the mandate, as well as our commitment and readiness to work together to navigate critical issues for freedom of expression and ensure the widest protection to this right for everyone without discrimination.

11 human rights groups call on Chinese President Xi Jinping to pardon journalist Huang Qi, who may die in prison if not freed immediately. Huang Qi, who wrote stories on human rights and corruption, was convicted of ‘leaking state secrets abroad’.