Press Freedom

Analysis: Press Freedom Shaken in Zimbabwe

By Jeffrey Moyo
Press freedom in this Southern African nation has been shaken abruptly, this time surprisingly, with members of the police force heavily descending on journalists working for state-owned media

Turkey Elections: AKP Strategy Pays Off, Kurds Continue to Struggle

By Joris Leverink
Despite months of violence and unrest, spirits were high in Diyarbakir, Turkey's largest Kurdish town in the country's southeast, prior to Sunday's elections. In the previous weeks, multiple curfews had been declared in the city and in several towns in the region.

Journalists Under Siege As Occupational Hazards Rise

By Thalif Deen
As news coverage from conflict zones -- and reporting from authoritarian regimes-- continue to be occupational hazards, journalists may fast become an “endangered species.”

Rich Gulf Nations Tight-Lipped on Growing Refugee Crisis

By Thalif Deen
As Western and Central European nations seem overwhelmed by the growing refugee crisis – triggered mostly by the inflow of hundreds and thousands of displaced people largely from Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq – one lingering question remains unanswered: why aren’t some of the rich Arab Gulf nations reaching out to help these hapless refugees?

Italy Joins Internet Rights ‘Club’

By Andrea Pettrachin
Italy has finally joined the restricted club of states in the world that have chosen the constitutional path for regulating the Internet – or at least has taken a significant step in that direction – by adopting a Declaration of Internet Rights.

Breaking the Media Blackout in Western Sahara

By Karlos Zurutuza
Ahmed Ettanji is looking for a flat in downtown Laayoune, a city 1,100 km south of Rabat. He only wants it for one day but it must have a rooftop terrace overlooking the square that will host the next pro-Sahrawi demonstration.

Egypt’s Terror Law Violates “Fundamental Freedoms”

By Kitty Stapp
Egyptian authorities are already holding a record number of journalists behind bars, and a draconian new anti-terror law signed by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday will further broaden the crackdown on dissent, press freedom groups warn.

Nuclear Deal Could Offer Glimmer of Hope for Jailed Journalist in Iran

By Nora Happel
As Iranian-American journalist Jason Rezaian awaits his verdict, human rights advocates and press freedom groups continue to condemn the trial and call for his immediate release.

HRW to Honour Six Human Rights Defenders

By Jaya Ramachandran
Governments around the world are obliged to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, according to the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights.  But reality is far removed from international covenants.

Workplace Diversity Still a Pipe Dream in Most U.S. Newsrooms

By Nora Happel
Although the United States as a whole is becoming more ethnically diverse, newsrooms remain largely dominated by white, male reporters, according to a recent investigation by The Atlantic magazine.

German Development Cooperation Piggybacks Onto Africa’s E-Boom

By Francesca Dziadek
In a major paradigm shift, the German government is now placing its bets on digitalisation for its development cooperation policy with Africa, under what it calls a Strategic Partnership for a ’Digital Africa’.

Journalists Pay the Price in Egypt’s Crackdown on Dissent

By Kitty Stapp
The Egyptian government is holding a record number of journalists in jail, a press freedom group said Thursday, despite promises to improve media freedoms in the country.

Smart Phones New Tool to Capture Human Rights Violations

By Thalif Deen
The widespread use of digital technology – including satellite imagery, body cameras and smart phones – is fast becoming a new tool in monitoring and capturing human rights violations worldwide.

Democracy on the Retreat in Over 96 of the 193 U.N. Member States, Says New Study

By Thalif Deen
Democracy is on the retreat and authoritarianism is on the rise in more than 96 of the U.N.’s 193 member states, according to a new report released here.

South Sudan Again Tops Fragile States Index

By Beatrice Paez
For the second year in a row, South Sudan has been designated as the most fragile nation in the world, plagued by intensifying internal conflict that has displaced more than two million of its people.

Chechen Media Outlet Issues Death Threats against Russian Journalist

By Nora Happel
Press freedom groups are condemning veiled death threats against Novaya Gazeta correspondent Elena Milashina by a Chechen online news portal last month.

Opinion: Why Are Threats to Civil Society Growing Around the World?

By Mandeep S.Tiwana
Whistle-blowers like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange are hounded – not by autocratic but by democratic governments – for revealing the truth about grave human rights violations. Nobel peace prize winner, writer and political activist Liu Xiaobo  is currently languishing in a Chinese prison while the killing of Egyptian protestor, poet and mother Shaimaa al-Sabbagh, apparently by a masked policeman, in January this year continues to haunt us. 

Journalists, Gov’ts Square Off in Game of Drones

By Kitty Stapp
For some, the word "drone" immediately conjures up ominous phrases like "targeted assassination" and "precision strike."

Civil Society, Journalists “Risk Death” as Burundi Crackdown Intensifies

By Kitty Stapp
As the U.N. Security Council met to discuss the ongoing political crisis in Burundi Thursday, a rights group says violence has intensified in the capital Bujumbura, with individuals and groups close to the presidency and the ruling party targeting civil society activists, journalists and opposition members.

U.N. Security Council Takes “Historic” Stand on Killings of Journalists

By Kitty Stapp
When war breaks out, most non-combatants run the other way. But a handful of courageous reporters see it as their duty to tell the world what's happening on the ground. And many pay a high price.

Burundi Leader, Stifling Attempted Coup, Cracks Down on Media

By Lisa Vives
Burundi’s President Pierre Nkuruziza, who narrowly avoided his removal from office by a citizen-backed military coup, has turned against the media that closely reported the day to day protests.
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