Freedom House

Security force personnel raided the offices of several NGOs, including Freedom House, and held staff members incommunicado while seizing equipment and documents.

The bill, which would hinder the ability of U.S. companies to sell surveillance and censorship technologies to repressive governments, is crucial to the promotion of global internet freedom.

“The campaign against Golos is yet another reason to raise serious questions about the legitimacy, openness, and competitiveness of Russia’s parliamentary election,” says Freedom House.

After hearing rumours of the death of Dawit Isaak, an Swedish-Eritrean journalist held without charge for ten years, 31 members of IFEX are asking President Isaias Afewerki to confirm that he is still alive and if so, to release him from prison.

Despite the regime’s brutality, the United States recently signed a multimillion-dollar arms deal (currently on hold) with the country and has remained largely silent amid a crackdown that proportionally surpasses the magnitude of any other in the region.

Independent Judge Kennou suffered persecution for speaking in favour of an independent judiciary as the former Secretary-General of the AMT, under Ben Ali. She has now been elected AMT President.

The “Countries at the Crossroads 2011” report concludes that success in the Arab democratic revolution will require major reforms in government institutions that had been seriously undermined during previous authoritarian regimes.

The report shows that governments are becoming increasingly savvy in maintaining control over content, says the organisation.