Press Freedom

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.
In the video broadcast Monday by Telesur, French reporter Romeo Langlois appears to be in good health. Credit:Courtesy Simone Bruno

French Journalist to Be Released by Colombian Rebels

By Constanza Vieira
If all goes well, French journalist Romeo Langlois will return home on Wednesday May 30, after spending just over a month in the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Student Protests Energise Mexico’s Election Campaign

By Emilio Godoy
The "Occupy" movement has spread to Mexico, where thousands of university students have taken to the streets, bringing fresh air to a superficial and flat election campaign and forcing political parties to pay attention to a long-ignored segment of the population.

Murder of Prominent Honduran Journalist “Sends a Terrible Message”

By Thelma Mejía
A few short hours after Honduran President Porfirio Lobo said he had seen evidence that Alfredo Villatoro, a radio reporter kidnapped May 9, was alive, the journalist’s body was found in a residential neighbourhood on the south side of the capital.

Building Libya’s New Media “From a Void”

By D. Parvaz
Going from being a country with a highly controlled press to one that has free, independent and functioning media in roughly a year is a tall order.

Journalism is Not ‘More Fun’ in the Philippines

By Dennis Engbarth
Reporters working in the Philippines, the world’s third most dangerous nation for journalists, are having difficulty identifying with the "It’s More Fun in the Philippines" tourism promotion campaign launched by the Liberal Party-led government of President Benigno Aquino III.
Criticising authorities online has now become so dangerous that 2011 was considered the deadliest year for online activists in many countries. Credit: Antonella Beccaria/CC BY 2.0

Journalists and Netizens in Govt Crosshairs

By Emilio Godoy and Johanna Treblin
Two years ago, Ashkan Delanvar was arrested by Iranian authorities and held in poor conditions for 14 days before he was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

Sex and Censorship in Azerbaijan

By Bari Bates
Khadija Ismayilova sat calmly, her face, voice and movements doing nothing to break the composed demeanour with which she recounted the Azeri government’s attempt to completely discredit her as a journalist.

Media Faces New Crackdown

By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
The Palestinian Authority’s arrest of journalists and activists critical of its policies are threatening freedom of expression and journalistic freedoms in the West Bank, according to local human rights groups.

Latin American Media Chose Not to Publish Certain WikiLeaks Cables

By Marcela Valente
According to a book published in the Argentine capital, major Latin American newspapers with access to the secret cables obtained by Wikileaks decided not to print them because doing so would run counter to their own interests.
The fate of Romeo Langlois, a French reporter who has worked in Colombia for 12 years, is unknown. Credit: Courtesy Simone Bruno

COLOMBIA: Missing French Reporter’s Journalistic Mission

By Constanza Vieira
Romeo Langlois, a French reporter in Colombia, removed his helmet and bullet-proof vest and ran towards the guerrillas during fighting between them and Colombian army troops on Saturday, Defence Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón reported.

Vietnam Clamps Down on Bloggers

By Marwaan Macan-Markar
A pioneer of citizens’ journalism in Vietnam is risking 20 years in jail for defending Internet freedom and exposing the draconian censorship laws in this communist party-ruled country.
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