Articles by Freedom House
Freedom House creates human rights guide for athletes, others attending Sochi Olympics in Russia
Freedom House’s new guide details the plight of Russians like Maria Baranova, who could face a lengthy prison sentence for participating in a peaceful protest and Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who was posthumously put on trial after being murdered through denial of medical treatment in prison, for exposing tax fraud.
Corruption and government control limit Ukraine’s ability to meet free expression guidelines
A report by Freedom House found Ukraine has made limited progress in meeting its free expression obligations, largely due to government control over the media and government-business corruption in the media, among other factors.
Opposition daily throttled financially by lawsuits and dirty tricks in Azerbaijan
President Ilham Aliyev’s re-election by an overwhelming majority on 10 October 2013 has been followed by new crackdown on the media. Azadliq is now in danger of succumbing to efforts to throttle it financially.
Online media, other foreign companies forced to play by China’s rules
The Chinese Communist Party presides over an elaborate Internet filtration system, arbitrarily blocking any foreign service or website that fails to comply with its censorship directives. Twitter and Facebook have been blocked for years, and the websites of the “New York Times” and Bloomberg News have been unavailable in China since 2012, when they published revealing articles on the family wealth of top Chinese leaders.
A dictator’s guide to rigging elections: Lessons learned from Zimbabwe’s puppet master
More than 100 days after Robert Mugabe was re-elected as president of Zimbabwe, Freedom House examines how the government’s powers can severely limit citizens’ fundamental freedoms of expression, association, and assembly.
Muzzling dissent on Ecuador’s Yasuní oil-drilling plan
Drilling will disrupt indigenous tribes and damage the environment, but Ecuador’s repressive policies toward the media and civil society are preventing an open debate.
Concern over rights record of UN Human Rights Council candidates
States that fail to protect human rights defenders or cooperate with the UN should not be elected to the UN’s top human rights body, IFEX members stress.
Release of Saudi writer Hamza Kashgari held for “blasphemy”
Hamza Kashgari was imprisoned following tweets he posted in February 2012, recounting an imaginary conversation with the Prophet Mohammed, and viewed as blasphemous by authorities.