ARTICLE 19

On 17–19 June 2016, Azerbaijan’s capital city Baku will host the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe. Attracting global attention, the race provides an opportunity for journalists covering it to increase awareness of the dire human rights situation in Azerbaijan and highlight the need for reform.

The international community should press Venezuela to revoke the recent “State of Exception and Emergency Decree” that granted the government powers to restrict rights, suspend international cooperation for civil society groups and limit the constitutional powers of the National Assembly.

IFEX members and regional partners urge Malaysian MPs to ensure media laws are in line with international standards on online freedom of expression and access to information.

In the April round-up: horrific attacks against secularists in Bangladesh, journalists arrested while protesting criminal defamation in the Maldives, crackdown on opposing voices in Cambodia, plus advocacy, awards and much more.

Human rights defender Somyot Phrueksakasemsuk is currently incarcerated in Bangkok’s Remand Prison, where he is serving a 10-year sentence following his conviction on charges of lèse-majesté.

Francisco Pacheco Beltrán, correspondent and editor, was murdered on the morning of April 25, 2016, while returning to his home in Taxco de Alarcón, Guerrero. Francisco was very critical of all three levels of government.

Recent reports of increasing political pressure on the freedom of the media raise serious concerns that the Japanese government may be trying to prevent journalists from fulfilling their role as watchdogs of democracy.

Critical blogging is the lifeblood of free societies, not a threat to social stability, say rights groups.