"En 2019, se reportaron 2.521 alertas relacionadas con violaciones a la libertad de expresión, libertad de prensa y acceso a la información a lo largo de 8 países. VDS reportó 734 alertas de los mismos países en 2018. Tanto de manera regional como local, la información nos habla sobre un rápi
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do deterioro en la libertad de expresión, libertad de prensa y acceso a la información en el contexto de creciente represión y restricciones. Esta situación habla de la alta vulnerabilidad de estas libertades fundamentales en América Latina y como socaban de manera seria la paz, justicia y democracia en la región, bloqueando la Agenda 2030. En Honduras, Venezuela y Nicaragua el abuso sistemático de las instituciones públicas impone un estado (no) oficial de censura, incluyendo el encarcelamiento de periodistas, la creación de leyes para limitar la libertad de expresión y fuertes restricciones para acceder a recursos claves. En Bolivia, Ecuador, y Guatemala la dramática inestabilidad social y política resultante de las protestas masivas donde los derechos humanos básicos—incluyendo la seguridad y protección a periodistas y el acceso a información pública—fueron gravemente violentados. En Brasil y Argentina la violencia contra periodistas y medios de comunicación no se ha materializado en ataques sistemáticos, pero se manifiesta en una violencia discursiva, acoso, intimidación y amenazas, las cuales, a la larga buscan imponer miedo y auto censura. En Perú y Uruguay, a pesar de tener los niveles más bajos de violencia en contra de periodistas y medios de comunicación en la región, los retos para acceder a la información persisten a través de ataques y agresiones aislados y procesos judiciales ocasionales por calumnias y difamación." (Resumen ejecutivo)
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"An increasing number of prosecutions of bloggers and Facebook users have taken place in relation to their peaceful expression online. They have been investigated or charged or sometimes sentenced on criminal charges including defamation, insulting state institutions and “harming” others through
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telecommunication networks. Amnesty International has examined the cases of 40 bloggers, administrators of widely followed Facebook pages, political activists and human rights defenders, who have been targeted by such prosecutions. These cases point to a worrying trend of people being tried for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression online." (Back cover)
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"Canal de Moçambique is a Mozambican independent weekly newspaper that publishes investigative stories of public concern. Since its inception, Canal has relentlessly pursued and investigated cases of graft and injustice in public service and in political life such that, in the corridors of power, i
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t has earned itself the reputation of being the opposition newspaper. This context undergirds the Sunday tragedy of 23 August 2020, when an unidentified group attacked Canal’s media house. At around 8.00pm, the group broke into Canal’s offices, poured fuel on the floor, furniture and equipment, and dropped a Molotov cocktail. Until 23 August 2020, no media house had ever been attacked in this manner. The attack constitutes a turning point in the escalating crackdown on human rights including the rights to freedom of expression, information, and media freedom. For more than five years, journalists, researchers, opinion makers have been subjected to intimidation, harassment, abductions, beatings and extrajudicial killings." (Back cover)
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"The situation of freedom of expression online in Indonesia affirms that Indonesia is shifting further from human rights and democracy. This is not much different from the situation in other countries in Southeast Asia which seem to be competing to be the worst in human rights and democracy. The shr
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inking space for democracy for civil society has the potential to make conditions worse because the state is difficult to be monitored and be reminded in protecting human rights, especially freedom of expression. Indonesia actually has quite a number of regulations that protect freedom of expression online or offline from laws to the constitution. However, there are still laws that restrict freedom of expression online, such as the Criminal Code, the ITE Law, the State Flag and Symbol Law and the Pornography Law. There is also a threat in the future if the Criminal Code Bill is passed because not only it will maintain articles that are often used to criminalise freedom of expression but it will also revive articles that have been revoked by the Constitutional Court. Apart from the legal substance that limits freedom of expression online, there are also problems in the application of the law. The application of treason and the ITE Law against Papuan activists and the application hate speech against human rights activists are some examples. The article on hate speech,which should be a tool to protect minority and vulnerable groups, is instead used to attack activists because law enforcement officials interpret all kinds of criticism or dislike as hate speech. Attacks on freedom of expression in Indonesia are increasingly diverse. Initially, attacks on freedom of expression online were generally related to slander, defamation and blasphemy but now it has expanded to treason articles, hate speech and spreading fake news. It is made worse by the presence of doxing, buzzing, bullying, hacking, blocking and shutting down the internet in a certain area." (Summary and conclusion, page 25-26)
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"It may be observed that, first, at the level of public perception, government actions to restrict free speech are often preceded by statements criticizing the media and foreshadowing a penalty or sanction, which are actually directed to the public and not the media, as if to prime the latter on the
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acceptability of the planned restrictions. The president and his personnel routinely come up with fresh allegations, repeated over time, to discredit journalists and the media, which, in a social media environment crowded with ‘trolls’ and which is at the mercy of algorithms, may be deeply reinforced by echo chambers and confirmation bias. Second, to justify the implementation of legal restrictions, law personnel take a very liberal interpretation of laws, which just straggles the line between what is allowable and what is not (the idea of “continuing publication”; vagueness in the terms “public interest,” “spreading panic or fear,” etc.) thereby allowing the interpretation a degree of legitimacy, since it not entirely wrong and is subjective. Third, freedom of expression is not the only battlefront, so to speak, as evinced by government’s reexaminations of corporate registrations, licenses, permits, and franchises of media entities. At their core, media entities are corporations and journalists are mostly employees (if not contributors) and in that context, there is space for government agencies to nitpick on documents submitted to their offices as part of regulatory compliance, and prepare in advance legal arguments based on records under their custody." (Summary and conclusion, page 40)
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"Focusing on the period between the 2014 coup and flawed elections in March 2019, “To Speak Out is Dangerous” draws on interviews with individuals prosecuted for exercising their rights to speech or assembly, lawyers, journalists, students, and activists, and examination of police charge sheets,
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court documents, news reports, and official statements. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the overly broad and vaguely worded laws that the Thai government has most frequently used to violate internationally protected rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Human Rights Watch calls on the Thai government to stop using criminal laws against peaceful speech and protest; repeal all remaining NCPO orders restricting basic rights; and bring Thailand’s laws, policies, and practices into conformity with international human rights law and standards for the protection of freedom of expression, association, and assembly." (Back cover)
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"This publication documents how authorities have stepped up censorship of the media and arbitrarily arrested and, in some cases, prosecuted journalists and activists perceived to be government critics. They have also exerted tighter control over NGOs and political opposition parties. The repression
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has effectively silenced critics and activists. The report calls on the Tanzanian government to take steps to protect the rights of freedom of expression and association, particularly ahead of elections, including by refraining from public rhetoric hostile to human rights issues; urgently reversing the pattern of repression and taking measures to stop the arbitrary arrest and harassment of journalists, NGO representatives and other activists, and political opposition members; and reforming repressive laws." (Back cover)
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"The constitution of Lesotho gives assurance to freedom of expression which is supposed to protect the rights of journalists in the day to day dispensation of their duties. The situation on the ground however shows the exact opposite. Recent history can show assassination attempts on practicing jour
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nalists to the extent that one newspaper editor received severe gunshot wounds that left him maimed for life. The situation is so dire for journalists to the extent that whenever there is political turmoil in Lesotho, journalists flock into exile together with political targets during the political unrest. This study therefore sought to establish perceptions of journalists, policy makers, legislators, media students and ordinary citizens on the consequences of this prevailing situation of suppression of freedom of expression by the state. The study used qualitative methods for gathering information, presentation and analysis of findings. Information was gathered through in-depth face to face interviews with various sources. The findings were presented and analysed thematically." (Abstract)
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"Entre enero y diciembre de 2018, se registraron 387 casos/situaciones en los que se vulneró el derecho a la libertad de expresión, lo que representa un total de 608 denuncias de violaciones al derecho. Esto representa una reducción del 45% de los casos y de 41% en las violaciones respecto al 201
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7. Sin embargo, el 2018 se ubica como el segundo periodo con mayor cantidad de casos, al desplazar al 2014 que registró 350 situaciones en un tiempo de alta conflictividad social y política. El impedimento de cobertura en la calle a través del desalojo, las detenciones arbitrarias, y el enfrentamiento que algunas veces escala en agresiones, se sostiene como patrón regular, con especial incidencia en periodos de alta tensión social o política. En el mes de mayo se llevó a cabo un acto electoral convocado por la ilegítima asamblea nacional constituyente, evento que no cumplió con las condiciones básicas para un proceso libre, universal, auténtico y democrático; esto recrudeció el panorama de la crisis política, empeoró la situación social y económica, ante la ausencia de condiciones y voluntad política para la ejecución de medidas correctivas eficientes. En agosto se aplicaron las medidas económicas por parte del Ejecutivo Nacional que implicó un aumento salarial del 5900%, lo que se tradujo en el cierre de empresas por la incapacidad de pagar los sueldos, entre ellos al menos 12 medios de comunicación." (Comienzo del documento)
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"In 2018, South Asia was declared by the IFJ as the most deadly region in the world for media workers, which most brutally demonstrates the reality faced by far too many in the industry. Nowhere was this more acutely felt than Afghanistan with eight journalists and four other media workers killed, a
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nother eight threatened with death and 61 recorded violations on journalists attempting to do their job. The horrific targeted assassination of revered journalist and editor Shujaat Bukhari in Kashmir, India, in June 2018 sent shockwaves through the troubled region and beyond. Scores of journalists and even ordinary citizens turned out to mourn and shine a light on an important voice extinguished, a key voice of reason and advocate of peace in the protracted conflict. In Bangladesh, mass political demonstrations by students over road safety saw another brave advocate of freedom of expression, photojournalist Shahidul Alam targeted. Accused of spreading false and provocative statements in an interview with Al Jazeera, he was jailed for more than 100 days drawing global condemnation on the Bangladeshi government. Alam was one of 21 jailed or detained media workers in the region, on charges such as violation of digital security laws, sedition and even vague criminal determinations. Right now, Pakistani journalist Cyril Almeida is also bravely fighting treason charges in the courts for his coverage of the Pakistani state’s patronage of militant groups, while being honoured internationally as a press freedom hero. Meanwhile Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan currently remains languishing in jail, charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for a story on the second anniversary of the death of a young Kashmiri militant. Many other journalists in the year were detained without charge for periods ranging from a few hours to months. All in an attempt to silence their critical voices. The period from May 2018 to April 2019, saw the mass haemorrhaging of journalist jobs in the region, most acutely in Pakistan." (Overview, page 5)
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"Since President John Magufuli took office in November 2015, the state has applied a raft of repressive laws restricting the rights of opposition politicians, human rights defenders, activists, researchers, journalists, bloggers and other online users. Cumulatively, the application of these laws has
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had a chilling effect on the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, with people’s censoring actions perceived as critical of government for fear of prosecution or other reprisals [...] Restrictions on media freedom have also intensified under the 2016 Media Services Act which enhances censorship, violates the right to information and limits scrutiny of government policies and programmes. Between 2016 and the time of writing this report, the Tanzania government has used the Media Service Act to close, fine and suspend at least six media outlets for publishing reports on allegations of corruption and human rights violations and the state of Tanzania’s economy. Since 2018, Tanzania’s government has also brought in sweeping powers to police the internet. The Electronic Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations enacted in March 2018 broadly restricts online content, requires bloggers to register and permit surveillance of cybercafés without judicial oversight. Together with the 2015 Cybercrimes Act, which criminalizes publication of “false” information, these laws undermine privacy of internet users and stifle freedom of expression. While it is too early to know how these new, restrictive laws will be applied and enforced, people are increasingly afraid of freely expressing themselves online." (Executive summary)
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"To understand the situation and examine what can be done to address it, we sent out a questionnaire to journalists in 16 countries in the region, asking them about the state of press freedom and the areas in which they felt their ability to work was being curtailed.We also asked them about sources
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of support and solidarity in their profession and asked what may be of assistance to them in the future.This report focused very much on the experience of working journalists and the threats that they directly identify. The journalists questioned spoke of coming under attack from politicians who discredit individual journalists and media outlets, launch vexatious lawsuits, and weaponise government advertising revenue to harm critical media and financially boost friendly outlets. There is also in many countries an outright state of media capture, where media outlets have been brought under direct or indirect government control. The region’s media landscape is also marked by rising job insecurity for journalists, along with increased polarisation in the media landscape. Outlets are characterised as being starkly pro- or anti-government and the journalists who work for them are also essentially made to pick a side." (Executive summary)
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"The year 2019 did not witness anything concrete and positive at the level of respecting media freedoms in Palestine and putting an end to violations against journalists/media outlets, as the Israeli occupation forces and authorities continued, at great frequency, to commit various types of violatio
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ns, especially physical assaults, as part of their endeavors to keep the field confined to their narration about their practices and policies towards the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip and West Bank, including the occupied city of Jerusalem. In addition to the violations of the Israeli occupation forces and authorities, the social media companies/networks started playing a major role in such violations. They represent a portal for the suppression of media freedoms and the fight against Palestinian content and narration, according to the vision and standards of the Israeli occupation state that reached understandings in this regard with Facebook Company. This resulted in closing about two hundred news sites, in this year, and a page belonging to Palestinian journalist claiming to «violate the standards of publishing». At the Palestinian level, particularly in the West Bank, the positive atmosphere and the satisfaction that accompanied the announcement of the new Palestinian government headed by Dr. Mohammad Ishtayya, since its inauguration in May 2019, and its commitment to protecting media freedoms, soon disappeared, after several months of tangible decline in the number of violations documented in the West Bank, reaching to almost zero. The decision of Ramallah Magistrate’s Court which ordered the closure of 49 websites according to the Cybercrime Law represents a severe setback to media freedoms. As to Gaza Strip, basically governed by Hamas, the situation there has witnessed an evident increase in the number of violations against media freedoms compared to the previous years, not to mention the lack of concern of the governing official authorities in the Strip in this regard." (Introduction)
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"On 26 February 1976, after almost a century of colonization, Spain withdrew from Western Sahara, throwing the territory wide open for Moroccan civil and military occupation and abandoning tens of thousands Sahrawis to their fate. More than four decades later, the Western Sahara, officially the last
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territory in Africa that remains to be decolonized, is still trapped in political limbo, divided into three parts: the areas occupied by Morocco, those held by the Polisario Front, and the refugee camps in Tindouf (Algeria). Journalism is one of the many victims of this conflict, which has been forgotten by the media spotlight and left as a virtual news “black hole”. Morocco, ranked 135th in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, controls information in the territory with an iron fist, ruthlessly punishing the practice of local journalism and blocking foreign media access. Torture, arrests, physical abuse, persecution, intimidation, harassment, slander, defamation, technological sabotage, and lengthy prison sentences are daily fare for Sahrawi journalists. Despite the severity of Morocco’s repression and its policy of deporting foreign correspondents, and despite the silence on the conflict reigning in world media, Sahrawi reporters of a new generation are running extraordinary risks to keep the torch of journalism burning and to prevent Western Sahara from being buried under the sands of oblivion." (Abstract)
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"This report—based largely on interviews in Myanmar and analysis of legal and policy changes since 2016—assesses the NLD government’s record on freedom of expression and assembly in its more than two years in power. It updates Human Rights Watch’s prior report, “They Can Arrest You at Any
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Time”: The Criminalization of Peaceful Expression in Burma, issued in June 2016, focusing on the laws most commonly used to suppress speech. We conclude that freedom of expression in Myanmar is deteriorating, directly affecting a wide range of people, from Facebook users critical of officials to students performing a satirical anti-war play. Domestic journalists are particularly at risk." (Page 2)
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"La violencia sin protección ni sanciones; la pauta oficial que compra silencios; la estigmatización de la prensa como respuesta a las críticas; la violencia estatal y letal contra periodistas; las decisiones judiciales que abren la puerta a la censura y, sobretodo, aquellos extensos territorios
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carentes de información local nos llevan a la conclusión de que es necesario explicar este “Estado depredador” de la libertad de expresión en Colombia con el fin de que las instituciones públicas dejen de acudir a la censura y se sitúen en el lugar que les corresponde: la garantía de una deliberación pública libre. En 2017 la FLIP documentó 310 ataques a la libertad de prensa que afectaron a un total de 368 periodistas (un incremento del 43,5% con respecto al número de ataques del año anterior)." (Página web flip.org.co)
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