Press Freedom

Burundi Headed for Election Turmoil as Ruling Party Allegedly Arms Youth Wing

By Bernard Bankukira
Burundi could be heading for political violence ahead of the 2015 elections amid allegations that the ruling National Council for the Defence of Democracy-Forces for Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) has been arming its youth wing.

Azerbaijan’s Rights Situation Deteriorating, Group Warns

By Farangis Abdurazokzoda
The Azerbaijan government crackdown on civil society has worsened in recent months, human rights campaigners are warning, and activists are increasingly falling victim to official efforts to limit dissent.

Myanmar Media Still Not Fully Free

By Amantha Perera
Kyaw Kyaw Aung is just 22, but already has dark memories of days when information, sometimes of the mundane kind, could land you in a dark cell for a very long time in Myanmar, a Southeast Asian nation that was under military rule for decades.

Russia ‘Liquidating’ Civil Society

By Pavol Stracansky
NGOs working in Russia are facing more repression in the form of even tighter legislation on foreign funding as part of what some rights activists say is a concerted campaign to “liquidate” civil society in the country.

Brazil Assumes Leadership in Future of Internet Governance

By Marcia Pinheiro
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff signed into law an Internet bill of rights just before her opening speech at an international conference on Internet reform in the southern city of São Paulo Wednesday.

Kyrgyzstan: Russian ’Information Wars’ Heating Up

By Chris Rickleton
Relative to other Central Asian states, Kyrgyzstan has a fairly free and perennially noisy domestic media scene. Even so, Kyrgyz outlets tend to be no match for Russian state-controlled media when it comes to establishing narratives for current events.

Bringing the Bridges Home

By Francesca Dziadek
As foreign forces withdraw slowly from Afghanistan, they leave behind a vulnerable band of people who were their ears and guides on the ground. These people who served as interpreters, face a life of threats and uncertainties. Many have been killed.

South Sudan Dictates Media Coverage of Conflict

By Sadik Wani
As rebel forces loyal to South Sudan’s former vice president Riek Machar declared on Tuesday Apr. 15 that they had captured the key oil town of Bentiu, the government has been accused of clamping down on local media in an attempt to influence the reporting on the conflict.

In Venezuela, a Popular Uprising, or Class Warfare?

By Kanya D'Almeida
This much is known: at least 33 people are dead and 461 have been wounded. The rest – questions of who, why and what next for Venezuela – has largely been a matter of speculation.

Increased Instability Predicted for Egypt

By Jim Lobe
International human rights groups have strongly denounced Monday’s sentencing by an Egyptian court of 529 Islamists to death for a riot in which one policeman was killed.

Rapping to Uganda’s News Beat

By Amy Fallon
“People in Ukraine took over power. “Celebrated a few days, then the party went sour…” raps Sharon Bwogi, aka Lady Slyke, on NewzBeat, a weekend show that airs on Uganda’s channel NTV in both English and the local language Luganda. 

Italy Closes Its Eyes to Sealed Mouths

By Silvia Giannelli
“We walk inside an area that is 128 steps long and seven-and-a-half steps wide. This is the path they made for us: two metres of bars over our heads, and upon the bars, two metres of plexiglas. We are like canaries in a cage, like birds of different races all in one cage.”

What’s Going on in the Gulf? Unsurprisingly, It’s Probably About Iran

By Derek Davison
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain all recalled their ambassadors from Qatar on Wednesday, citing Qatar's alleged support for organisations and individuals that threaten "the security and stability of the Gulf states" and for “hostile media.”

Russians Back Crimea Action, They’d Better

By Pavol Stracansky
Elena Smolenskaya doesn’t hesitate a second when asked what she thinks about the Russian military intervention in Crimea. The 23-year-old Moscow student is convinced that President Vladimir Putin had no choice but to order troops into the country.

After Sochi, the Hounding Game

By Pavol Stracansky
Fears are growing in Russia that the Kremlin is preparing a crackdown on rights activists following the end of the Sochi Winter Olympics.

OP-ED: Washington’s Anemic Resolve on Egypt’s Human Rights

By Emile Nakhleh
The unexpected resignation of Hazem al-Biblawi, Egypt’s interim prime minister, and his government this week and the appointment of Ibrahim Mehlib, a Mubarak-era industrialist, as a new prime minister seem to pave the way for Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s anticipated presidential bid.

Press Freedom Goes on Trial in Egypt

By Jonathan Rozen
On Dec. 29, 2013, just over a month before the third anniversary of the start of the Egyptian revolution that ended the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, three high-profile journalists for Al Jazeera English were arrested in their hotel suite in Cairo.

Internet Holds a Presidential Hope

By Ezgi Akin
Turkey is waiting to see if President Abdullah Gul will ratify the government's controversial Internet bill, which opposition parties, civil society and the international community call a major restriction on freedom of expression.

Egypt’s Generals Face a Watery Battle

By Shelly Kittleson
Heavy reliance on water intensive crops, a major upstream dam project for the Nile basin, and rising groundwater levels pushing at pharaoh-era monuments will be pressing issues for the next Egyptian president - whether military or civilian.

OP-ED: Egypt’s Revolution Teeters as Sisi Seeks the Presidency

By Emile Nakhleh
Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is set to run for president and is expected to win handily. The ruling junta and the interim government have taken several steps to make this happen.

Tajik Intellectuals Finding Little Room for Reasoned Discourse

By Konstantin Parshin
Last July, authorities in Tajikistan confiscated the only manuscript of a little-known novelist’s latest book. In what can only be described as an Orwellian sequence, after the manuscript was seized at a Dushanbe printing house, the author was hauled in for interrogation and asked questions like, “who ordered you to write this book?”
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