Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Zhang Zhan has done remarkable work in informing the public about the coronavirus pandemic. She is now suffering from a critical health condition herself and may die soon if she remains in detention.

“We welcome the apparent progress in the investigation into the murder of journalist Lyra McKee, but are concerned that there has still not been justice nearly two and a half years on. Delayed justice has only contributed to a worrying overall climate for media in Northern Ireland” – RSF.

While Poland’s leading independent broadcaster TVN is currently under threat from an amendment to the broadcast law, the government has banned journalists from reporting from along the border with Belarus.

As Burundi experiences a surge in COVID-19 cases, President Évariste Ndayishimiye accuses journalist Esdras Ndikumana of inflating figures.

The raid on a radio station and increased harassment and arrest of journalists over the past few weeks points to a worrying trend in South Sudan.

Anyone claiming that online content defames them is allowed to ask an “authorised administrative body” to order the content’s deletion without reference to a judge. Failure to delete the disputed information will see the entire web page or website blocked.

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.”