Articles by Freedom House
China urged not to indict rights activist Guo Feixiong
Freedom House strongly urges the Chinese government to drop the possible criminal prosecution of human rights activist Guo Feixiong and to release him immediately and unconditionally. Guo, a self-taught legal defender, was arrested in August 2013 for his involvement in campaigns promoting press freedom, political rights, and transparency.
China urged to release human rights activist and lawyer Liu Shihui
Authorities in Guangzhou, China detained human rights activist and lawyer Liu Shihui when he went to inquire about three members of a grassroots pro-democracy group, Southern Street Movement, who were taken into custody the day before. Liu was transferred out of the police station in the middle of the night on 6 January 2013, and his whereabouts are unknown.
Reversing Zambia’s authoritarian drift
The Zambian government’s growing intolerance for criticism has extended to the media. Journalists have been unlawfully arrested, websites shut down, and nationwide broadcasting licenses revoked in a thinly disguised campaign by the authorities to circumscribe free speech and encourage self-censorship.
In an attack on free expression, libel may be recriminalised in Romania
IFEX members are calling on the president of Romania to veto proposed changes to the penal code passed by Parliament that would recriminalise insult and libel.
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.