PEN International

This report by Cathal Sheerin identifies several challenges to free expression in Kyrgyzstan, including restrictions on minority linguistic rights and proposed legislation to criminalise the so-called “propaganda” of “non-traditional” relationships.

Arzu Geybullayeva is being subjected to a growing campaign of intimidation for working for the Istanbul-based Armenian newspaper Agos. She has faced an increasing number of threats on social media following an interview with the Azerbaijani news site modern.az.

The appeal of journalist Cecil Motsepe’s criminal conviction on a charge of defamation was heard in the Pretoria High Court on 6 October 2014. This matter had been watched very closely by civil society organisations and free speech forums as a great cause for concern in terms of the implications on freedom of expression

The Penal Appeals Court in the capital Tegucigalpa has ruled that a 16-month journalism ban against Julio Ernesto Alvarado, originally handed down in December 2013 as a part of a sentence for criminal defamation, should be reinstated.

Writer, journalist and publisher Erol Özkoray was given a suspended sentence of 11 months and 20 days in prison for defaming Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a book about the 2013 Gezi Park protests.

The draconian sentence passed on Ilham Tohti, an academic and member of China’s Uyghur minority is a travesty of justice, PEN International said, reiterating its call for his immediate and unconditional release.

PEN International calls on the Chinese authorities to protect minority language rights and to respect linguistic diversity as an essential cornerstone of the fundamental right to freedom of expression.

Imprisoned Bahraini human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja’s health is rapidly deteriorating in Jaw prison as of 25 August when he began an open-ended hunger strike.