Press Freedom

Dr. Dobrota Pucherova and Julie Cairnie co-edited the book titled “Moving Spirit: The Legacy of Dambudzo Marechera in the 21st Century”. Courtesy: Dr. Dobrota Pucherova.

Q&A: The Undying Legacy of Dambudzo Marechera

By Moses Magadza
Legendary and controversial Zimbabwean writer Dambudzo Marechera, who once famously told people to let him write and drink his beer, has been dead for 25 years. However, interest in the life and work of the author, who has become a cult icon to aspiring young writers in Zimbabwe and abroad, will not die.

Veil Falls Over Egyptian Media

By Cam McGrath
The former regime of Hosni Mubarak tightly controlled the press and intimidated journalists who dared to criticise it. Now it appears the Muslim Brotherhood has adopted similar tactics to stifle dissent.
Julian Assange. Credit: Espen Moe/CC BY 2.0

Assange’s Limbo in Ecuador’s UK Embassy Likely to Drag On

By Coralie Tripier
Two months after he sought refuge in Ecuador's London embassy, WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange was formally granted asylum by Quito on Thursday.

Women Now Have a Voice in Chile’s Press

By Marianela Jarroud
"We always dreamed of a ‘heroine’ who would not only denounce violence against women, but would also represent us in other spheres,” Kena Lorenzini, the director of Chile’s first feminist publication, told IPS.

Cuban Intellectuals Discuss the Transformation of the Public Sphere

By Ivet González
On discussion panels, by email and in the blogosphere, Cuban intellectuals are speaking out to bring a critical perspective and propose roads forward to national development. And they increasingly seem to be including the transformation of public space as one of their goals.

Native Peoples Take on Threadbare Stereotypes

By Isabelle de Grave
With the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples coming up on Thursday, native communities are increasingly using media to challenge a legacy of stereotypes.

Women Rights Defenders Targeted in Mexico

By Lawrence Del Gigante
There has been an alarming increase over the past two years in violence against women human rights defenders and journalists in Mexico, according to women’s human rights organisations.

Mexican Activists Defend Internet Freedom

By Emilio Godoy
Mexican advocates of internet freedom are mobilising to protest their government's decision to sign the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a multilateral treaty whose stated aim is to protect intellectual property right through enhanced international cooperation and enforcement.

Rights Groups, U.S. Denounce Sentences of Ethiopian Journalists

By Jim Lobe
Human rights groups, press watchdogs, and even the U.S. government have strongly denounced recent prison sentences meted out against journalists and opposition activists accused of violating Ethiopia's anti-terrorism laws.

Report Details Steady Erosion of Iranian Justice System

By Jasmin Ramsey
While Iran’s human rights record has “never been satisfactory”, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution the situation has deteriorated daily, according to Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi.

Americas Team Avoids Paraguayan Rights Groups

By Natalia Ruiz Diaz
Paraguyan rights groups are disappointed at being denied access to a delegation of the Organisation of American States (OAS) sent in this week to discover the facts behind the impeachment and removal of President Fernando Lugo on Jun. 22.

2012 Shaping Up as Worst Year Ever for Journalists

By Peter Richards
It's the type of honour roll that journalists would prefer not to be on.

No Rest for Cyber Activists

By Susan Dabbous
One and a half years since the beginning of the Arab Spring, activists who guided their fellow citizens through the relatively unchartered terrain of social media activism feel their fight for human rights, democracy and transparency is only just beginning.

After the Curtain Call, a Crackdown Begins

By Shahla Sultanova
As the attention of the world faded away from Azerbaijan after the recent Eurovision song contest, police began targeting some young activists and a journalist involved in protests here last month.

Where Journalism Is a Battlefront

By Zofeen Ebrahim
“It does not matter if we ever find out who killed Saleem; whoever it was has destroyed my family,” says Anita Shahzad, Saleem Shahzad’s 36-year-old widow and mother of three. “It won’t bring him back,” she tells IPS.

CDs Become Weapon in Political Armoury

By Baradan Kuppusamy
Kunasekaran Krishnan (43) is a member of the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) who hopes his newly released CD of 10 “revolutionary songs” will help convince voters to back the Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance) in the general election that is widely expected to be held this year.

Harsh Internet Laws Silence Thai Netizens

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
When Thai police raided the headquarters of the popular alternative news portal ‘Prachatai’ and arrested its executive director, Chiranuch Premchaiporn, back in 2009, the 46-year-old media worker was completely in the dark about her crime.

New Muzzle for Malaysian Media?

By Baradan Kuppusamy
Despite a wave of reforms washing over the country, the Malaysian government-controlled media remains muzzled, mostly because ruling elites fear a free press will erode their iron grip on society.

COLOMBIA Langlois Case Raises Questions About Status of Journalists in War

By Constanza Vieira
French reporter Romeo Langlois is returning home today with an injured arm, after surviving a firefight and spending a month in the hands of the FARC guerrillas in Colombia’s southern Amazon jungle region.

Indonesian Immigrants Suffer in Silence

By Baradan Kuppusamy
Foreign workers, mostly from Indonesia, now make up just over 10 percent of Malaysia’s workforce of 14 million people, both in the formal and informal sectors, according to the latest government statistics.

Independent Media Losing Foothold in Morocco

By Abderrahim El Ouali
The Moroccan government’s announcement that it would issue new public media guidelines at the end of May has reignited a stormy debate around independent media in the kingdom.
« Previous Page — Next Page »
*#*