Freedom House

The release of Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World report generated considerable debate about the findings for Ukraine, and specifically about the report’s handling of Russian-occupied Crimea and the portions of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that are controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

Populist and nationalist gains in democratic states and brazen acts of aggression by authoritarian powers have affected the global climate for rights, according to Freedom in the World 2017, Freedom House’s annual report on political rights and civil liberties.

December: World authors campaign to release Chinese writers; relative calm in Nepal’s media; targeted killings in Philippines and Burma; recognition of digital journalists in Hong Kong.

Poland’s citizens and civil society are not standing by idly while the government is demolishing the country’s democratic institutions.

Muhammad Bekjanov – an Uzbek journalist who tried to initiate debate on taboo subjects such as the use of forced labour in the cotton harvest – has been placed in solitary confinement. The journalist has been in prison for 17 years, and the move could be a sign that the government is preparing to extend his prison term yet again.

48 human rights organizations have signed a letter asking King Hamad to cease its judicial harassment of human rights defenders and its violation of their right to freedom of expression.

In the lead-up to its first direct presidential elections in 16 years independent media outlets have encountered serious barriers to reporting. These include campaign finance laws that obstruct journalists’ access to key information; and the proliferation of false information, hate speech, and internet trolls, as well as their influence on the free flow of information to citizens.

IFEX members reflect on what a Trump presidency will mean for human rights and free expression.