Observatorio Latinoamericano para la Libertad de Expresión – OLA

Over 30 IFEX members express concern at a set of proposals put forth by the government of Ecuador and due to be discussed on 8 March in Ecuador that seek to reform the OAS Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression.

Over 40 IFEX members worldwide call for the new President of Somalia to help combat impunity in the killing of journalists, revise media laws and uphold UN and African resolutions to help protect journalists.

Sixty NGOs worldwide called for libel law reform as a defamation bill was reviewed in the UK House of Commons. Join over 60,000 and sign a petition calling for libel reform here.

According to witnesses, Valério Luiz de Oliveira had received threats about his opinions on the Goiás football club and the team’s fans.

Over 80 groups around the world call on the authorities to free human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers and writers, some of whom have been detained incommunicado; and request help from UN Special Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan.

UPDATE: The president of IFEX member Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Nabeel Rajab, was re-arrested and sentenced to three years in prison on 16 August. Many other human rights defenders remain in prison, including BCHR’s founder Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, and his daughter, Zainab Al-Khawaja.

Robert Jennier Carrasco Huamán, a reporter for “Habla el Pueblo”, was seriously injured after he was shot in the back by two men on a motorcycle.

Humberto Millán Salazar, the editor of the online daily “A Discusión”, was kidnapped by heavily armed men as he left his office.