Articles by Freedom House
![The Director of Amnesty International Germany, Selmin Caliskan, during the presentation of an Amnesty International report on torture in Uzbekistan, in Berlin, Germany, 15 April 2015; the report was entitled "Secrets and Lies - Forced Confessions under Torture in Uzbekistan", NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/uzbekistan-torture-report-amnesty-getty.jpg)
Uzbekistan must release journalist Bobomurod Abdullaev and investigate torture allegations
Uzbek authorities must ensure an impartial investigation into the alleged torture of detained journalist Bobomurod Abdullaev; he and other journalists jailed for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression should be freed immediately.
![Members of Malaysia's Red Shirt movement call for the Malaysiakini news portal to be closed due to allegations that it is financed by the Open Society Foundation (OSF), which is linked to American billionaire George Soros, during a protest in Kuala Lumpur, 5 November 2016 , Mohd Samsul Mohd Said/Getty Images](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/international-scapegoats-malaysia-soros-getty.jpg)
To find an authoritarian, just follow the scapegoat
Antidemocratic leaders share a propensity for using scapegoats to weaken their opponents and break constraints on their own power.
![Members of the Portuguese chapter of Amnesty International demonstrate outside Belem Palace in favor of Chinese 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiao, his wife Liu Xia, and lawyers Jiang Tianyong and Wang Quanzhang in Lisbon, 12 July 2017, Horacio Villalobos - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/china-jiang-tianyong-wang-quanzhang-getty.jpg)
China’s stealthy holiday crackdowns
Dissident convictions and acts of censorship seem timed to avoid lumps of coal from international observers.
![Attendees walk past an electronic display showing recent cyberattacks in China at the China Internet Security Conference in Beijing, 12 September 2017, AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/china-internet-security-ap.jpg)
Manipulating social media to undermine democracy
Governments are dramatically increasing their efforts to manipulate social media, threatening the notion of the internet as a liberating technology, according to Freedom on the Net 2017.
![Icons of messaging applications WhatsApp of Facebook (L), Laiwang of Alibaba Group (C) and WeChat, or Weixin, of Tencent Group, are seen on the screen of a smart phone on this photo illustration taken in Beijing, 24 February 2014, REUTERS/Barry Huang](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/china-whatsapp-blocked-censorship-reuters.jpg)
China: No WhatsApp, rights websites targeted, scholars pressured
Chinese censors leave no stone unturned as apps, human rights websites and critical scholars become increasingly targeted.
![Student leaders Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow chant slogans before a verdict, on charges of inciting and participating in an illegal assembly in 2014, REUTERS/Bobby Yip](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/hong-kong-student-leaders-reuters.jpg)
Hong Kong imprisons democracy activists Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, Alex Chow
Three young leaders of Hong Kong’s democracy movement have been jailed for leading the 2014 protests.
![Speaker of the Parliament, Andrian Candu (centre), Parliament of the Republic of Moldova under Creative Commons](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/moldova-andrian-candu-flickr.jpg)
Draft NGO law could imperil Moldovan democracy
Moldova follows Russia’s (bad) example by introducing draft legislation that would restrict the activities of 90% of its NGOs.
![Protesters carrying candles take part in a march to mourn the death of Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, in Hong Kong, China, 15 July 2017, REUTERS/Bobby Yip](https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/china-candlelight-march-liu-xiaobo-hong-kong-reuters.jpg)
After Liu Xiaobo: Tributes, ramped-up censorship, and calls to free Liu Xia
After his death, not only was Liu’s name censored on social media platforms, even phrases containing the word “thunder” – a homophone for “tears” in Chinese – and the candle emoji were removed by censors.