Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Togolese journalist Ferdinand Ayité is among 17 journalists from 7 countries who have filed a complaint with French prosecutors against the NSO Group for being a potential target of surveillance by their Pegasus spyware.

“We welcome the overdue withdrawal of this trumped-up charge against Maria Ressa, which was the latest in a cluster of cases intended to silence her independent reporting. We call for the remaining charges against Ressa and ‘Rappler’ to be dropped without further delay, and other forms of pressure against them immediately ceased.”

Zhou Weilin, a Chinese journalist working for independent human rights news website ‘Weiquanwang’, was sentenced to three and half years in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, a charge often used against activists and journalists for criticizing authorities.

Uganda’s implementation of a dusk till dawn curfew as part of its COVID-19 measures sees a surge in attacks on journalists despite them being classified as essential workers.

Joint report by Reporters Without Borders and the World Organisation Against Torture examines the Belarusian government’s year-old crackdown on journalists, especially those who covered the unprecedented and massive peaceful street demonstrations.

Pratasevich has been detained (first in jail, now under “house arrest”) since May, when the Belarusian authorities forced his Ryanair flight to land in Minsk in order to arrest him.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is continuing to analyse the attacks on the Brazilian media by President Bolsonaro, his family and other members of his inner circle. Supported by key statistics, this latest analysis covers the first six months of 2021, in which the attacks have intensified.

Israeli authorities cannot evade responsibility for the country’s dangerous surveillance technology exports that have enabled governments to monitor thousands of critics and dissidents, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF).