Index on Censorship

In a new online column for Index on Censorship, Dunja Mijatović, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, discusses relentless attacks on women journalists, and the impact on their lives.

The Sport for Rights coalition condemns the conviction and harsh sentencing of Azerbaijani human rights defenders Leyla and Arif Yunus on 13 August by the Baku Court of Grave Crimes.

The undersigned organizations denounce the continued attacks on and threats to journalists, media workers and human rights defenders, most recently the incidents in which human rights defender Pierre Claver Mbonimpa survived an attempt on his life, while journalist Esdras Ndikumana was the victim of a brutal attack by police and intelligence officials.

In four recent cases Singaporeans have tested the limits of freedoms they can take for granted. A video, a film, a blog and a graphic novel have pushed at the boundaries of what can be said, and the government realises that it cannot simply ban these anymore.

One year ago, on July 30, 2014, human rights defender Leyla Yunus was arrested and charged with treason, fraud, forgery, tax evasion, and illegal entrepreneurship. Her arrest marked the start of a period of unprecedented repression in Azerbaijan.

Outside the United Nations building in Geneva, Switzerland, Ali Lmrabet is in his 28th day of hunger strike. The journalist and satirist is protesting what he sees as the latest bid from his country Morocco to stop him from doing his job.

Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev was shot dead on 9 July 2013 as he left for work in Makhachkala, Dagestan. He had actively reported on human rights violations against Muslims by the police and Russian army.

Four years after Sierra Leone Journalist Ibrahim Foday’s death, members of IFEX join the Media Foundation for West Africa in calling for more rapid progress.