Freedom House

IFEX members express their concern over the current situation of press freedom in Ecuador and the conditions of extreme hostility in which the country’s journalists and private media must do their work.

On 1 June, the King of Bahrain has promised to end the state of emergency he imposed in mid-March to quell pro-democracy demonstrations. This would be a welcome occasion for the Bahraini government to end human rights abuses including lifting the travel ban on Nabeel Rajab so that he can join us in Beirut.

The UNESCO Executive Board declined to consider a request by the Obiang government to reverse its prior decision and award the prize without delay.

Forty-two IFEX members and 15 partners appealed for global attention to stop detention, torture and threats to journalists and free expression activists, including to IFEX member Bahrain Centre for Human Rights.

Freedom of expression organisations express deep concern over the continued imprisonment of journalist Eynulla Fatullayev.

The number of people worldwide with access to free and independent media declined to its lowest level in over a decade, according to the study “Freedom of the Press 2011: A Global Survey of Media Independence”.

Cyberattacks, politically motivated censorship and government control over Internet infrastructure are among the threats to Internet freedom, according to the study “Freedom on the Net 2011: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media”.

The implications for journalists covering demonstrations are unclear, and their ability to move around freely and safely cannot be guaranteed.