Press Freedom

Press Freedom Groups Denounce NSA Spying on AJ Bureau Chief

By Kitty Stapp
Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan doesn’t deny that he’s had contact with terrorist groups. In fact, it would have been rather difficult to do his job otherwise.

Media Watchdog Unveils Top Ten Worst Censors

By Valentina Ieri
While technology has given millions greater freedom to express themselves, in the world's 10 most censored countries, this basic right exists only on paper, if at all.

Opinion: Burundi – Fragile Peace at Risk Ahead of Elections

By David Kode
Pierre Claver Mbonimpa is not permitted to get close to an airport, train station or port without authorisation from a judge.  He cannot travel outside of the capital of his native Burundi, Bujumbura. Whenever called upon, he must present himself before judicial authorities.

Israeli Forces Target Journalists in West Bank

By Mel Frykberg
It is becoming increasingly risky to cover clashes and protests between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters in the West Bank as the number of journalists injured, in what appears to be deliberate targeting by Israeli security forces, continues to rise.

Lawyers, Rights Groups Rally Around Author of ‘Blood Diamonds’, Facing Jail

By Lisa Vives
The Southern Africa Litigation Centre, Amnesty International and over a dozen other human rights organisations including the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights have signed an open letter demanding justice for crusading Angolan journalist Rafael Marques de Morais, whose exposés have offended several military officials and other higher-ups.

“My Number Was Six”

By Sudeshna Chowdhury
Outwardly, Feras Fayyad is stoic in face of the immense turmoil both he and his country are going through. All of 30 years old, Fayyad, who runs Sout Raya, a radio station in Turkey, exudes calm. His voice is almost soothing.

Winners Announced for Free Expression Prize

By Lisa Vives
At home she was subjected to death threats for defending women in northeastern Kenya who are vulnerable to rape, female circumcision and murder. This month, Amran Abdundi Amram was cheered as a hero as she collected the 2015 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for Campaigning.

Pro-Democracy Activists at U.S. Event Jailed in DR Congo

By Lisa Vives
Journalists, activists, hip hop artists and a United States diplomat were rounded up by police at a pro-democracy event on Sunday in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sponsored in part by the U.S. government. Security forces charged them with threatening stability, according to a government spokesperson.

Jailed Journalist’s Family Looks to Iran’s New Year with Hope

By Jasmin Ramsey
The lawyer for Jason Rezaian, the Iranian-American Washington Post reporter detained in Tehran since Jul. 22, 2014, has officially requested temporary bail for her client during Nowruz, the beginning of the Persian calendar year when some prisoners have customarily been granted furlough requests.

200 Million Fewer Women than Men Online

By Lyndal Rowlands
Two hundred million fewer women have access to the internet than men, according to a report released Monday.

Bridging the Gender Inequality Gap in the Media

By Valentina Ieri
Despite the vast number of media outlets and news sources worldwide, women and girls are still not getting enough attention in the news.

Prominent Lawyer Defending the Poor Gunned Down in Mozambique

By Lisa Vives
As billions pour into Mozambique from foreign investors scooping up fields of coal and natural gas, the signs of newfound wealth are impossible to miss.

Burundi-Watchers See Erosion of Human Rights and Civic Freedoms

By Lisa Vives
The bad old days of the 1980s and 1990s when Burundi was widely considered a police state may be making a comeback.

U.N. Member States Accused of Cherry-Picking Human Rights

By Thalif Deen
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has criticised member states for ‘cherry-picking’ human rights – advocating some and openly violating others – perhaps to suit their own national or political interests.

Reporting on Violence in Mexico Brings Its Own Perils

By Lyndal Rowlands
Organised criminals in Mexico are forcing the media to stop reporting on crime, by turning their violence against journalists.

Human Rights in Asia and the Pacific: A “Regressive” Trend, Says Amnesty International

By Kanya D'Almeida
The cradle of some of the world’s most ancient civilizations, home to four out of the planet’s six billion people, and a battleground for the earth’s remaining resources, Asia and the Pacific are poised to play a defining role in international affairs in the coming decade.

OPINION: Can the Violence in Honduras Be Stopped?

By Lisa Haugaard, Sarah Kinosian, and William Hartung
Honduras is one of the most violent nations in the world. The situation in the country’s second largest city, San Pedro Sula, demonstrates the depth of the problem.

Threats, Deaths, Impunity – No Hope for Free Press in Pakistan

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
It is no surprise that most Pakistani journalists work under tremendous stress; caught between crime lords in its biggest cities, militant groups across its tribal belt and rival political parties throughout the country, censorship, intimidation and death seem almost to come with the territory.

Sri Lanka Gets Temporary Reprieve Over U.N. Report on War Crimes Charges

By Thalif Deen
The 47-member Human Rights Council (HRC), responding to a request by the newly-elected government in Colombo, has deferred the release of a key U.N. report on human rights violations and war crimes charges against the Sri Lankan armed forces and Tamil separatists who fought a devastating decades-long battle which ended in 2009.

“Drastic Decline” Seen in World Press Freedom

By Leila Lemghalef
A leading advocacy group warns of a "worldwide deterioration in freedom of information" last year.

Sri Lanka Seeks U.S.-U.N. Backing for Domestic Probe of War Crimes Charges

By Thalif Deen
Sri Lanka’s newly-installed government, which has pledged to set up its own domestic tribunal to investigate war crimes charges, is seeking political and moral support both from the United States and the United Nations to stall a possible international investigation.
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