"Severe harassment by Palestinian Authority and Hamas security forces of Palestinian journalists in the West Bank and Gaza has had a pronounced chilling effect on freedom of expression. This report documents cases in which Palestinian security forces tortured, beat, and arbitrarily detained journali
...
sts, and subjected them to other forms of harassment. The report, based on interviews with Palestinian journalists, journalist syndicate representatives, and Palestinian Authority officials, focuses on seven cases in which Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces abused journalists, and documents two cases of abuse by Hamas security forces in Gaza, where the situation for journalists is also dire. Violations of journalists’ rights by Palestinian security forces are a worsening trend, both in the West Bank and Gaza. Incidents of abuse in 2010 increased by 45 percent over the previous year, according to one Palestinian rights group." (Back cover)
more
"The freedom of expression situation in Azerbaijan has deteriorated significantly over the past five years. Since the 2005 parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, the authorities have demonstrated an intolerance to criticism, using a variety of tactics to silence critical voices. As a result, many ci
...
vil society and political activists feel they are living again as dissidents, as they did under the Soviet system. In this report, ARTICLE 19 analyses trends of concern from a freedom of expression perspective over the past five years, with a particular focus on freedom of political expression. The report contains individual case studies, as well as an overview of international freedom of expression standards and the relevant domestic legal framework in Azerbaijan. It also contains ARTICLE 19’s recommendations to the Azerbaijani government and the international community on how to improve the freedom of expression situation, which should be considered among the most pressing human rights concerns in Azerbaijan." (Back of the publication)
more
"Since Turkey became a candidate for the European Union in 1999, democratic rights and freedom of expression have been key issues in discourses surrounding EU—Turkey relations. Discussions on these questions often centre on state censorship and legislative constraints. The role of the media themse
...
lves, however, and the deeply-ingrained elements and historically-contingent norms and practices within public culture that shape the public sphere, have received a significantly lower level of attention. Despite recent legislative changes towards greater freedom of expression, major hurdles that limit democratic rights and freedoms persist in practice, as highlighted by the judicial trial (and the subsequent murder in January 2007) of the Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink. The police raid of Nokta magazine in 2007 is another case in point. The purpose of this article is to discuss current questions related with freedom of expression and tolerance of diversity in the Turkish media based on in-depth interviews with journalists and with the Dink and Nokta cases as examples; and to offer critical reflections on the public sphere in Turkey in its current state." (Abstract)
more
"The very violent political crisis that convulsed Thailand in April and May 2010 had a dramatic impact on the safety of journalists and media freedom. The toll was heavy: two foreign journalists were among the 90 people killed, ten other journalists were wounded (some sustaining injuries from which
...
they will never fully recover) and there was a wave of censorship and intimidation without precedent since the 1990s." (Introduction)
more
"Since Turkey became a candidate for the European Union in 1999, democratic rights and freedom of expression have been key issues in discourses surrounding EU—Turkey relations. Discussions on these questions often centre on state censorship and legislative constraints. The role of the media themse
...
lves, however, and the deeply-ingrained elements and historically-contingent norms and practices within public culture that shape the public sphere, have received a significantly lower level of attention. Despite recent legislative changes towards greater freedom of expression, major hurdles that limit democratic rights and freedoms persist in practice, as highlighted by the judicial trial (and the subsequent murder in January 2007) of the Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink. The police raid of Nokta magazine in 2007 is another case in point. The purpose of this article is to discuss current questions related with freedom of expression and tolerance of diversity in the Turkish media based on in-depth interviews with journalists and with the Dink and Nokta cases as examples; and to offer critical reflections on the public sphere in Turkey in its current state." (Abstract)
more
"A Media Minefield details how Ugandan authorities have brought charges against over 30 journalists, revoked or suspended the broadcasting licenses of several radio stations, and practiced other forms of partisan repression of the media over the last several years. When violent riots erupted in Kamp
...
ala in September 2009, the government closed four radio stations, arrested and abused a prominent talk show moderator, beat and detained journalists attempting to record the unfolding events, and banned the broadcast of open-air public debates indefinitely. The national regulatory body that carried out the radio closures and the broadcast bans is, contrary to international standards, not independent of government interference and takes punitive action against stations without any regard for due process. Authorities in rural districts subsequently echoed the government’s actions in the capital, harassing and threatening journalists with violence, arrest, or closure of their stations for reporting on politics, the opposition, and other sensitive local issues. Self-censorship due to fears of overt or covert state sanction has had a “chilling effect” on political reporting, particularly on stations broadcasting in local languages outside of Kampala." (Back cover)
more
"This article analyses the re-emergence of clandestine radio in post-independence Zimbabwe, and how it has become an important tool for disseminating alternative viewpoints in an environment where democratic communicative space is restricted. The article focuses specifically on SW Radio Africa, one
...
of the major clandestine radio stations that have been beaming into Zimbabwe since 2001. It argues, based on analysis of this radio station, that by suppressing clandestine radio through jamming signals and intimidating listeners, the government has inadvertently raised people's curiosity and made these stations more visible and more popular than they otherwise would have been. Further, it argues that Zimbabweans are not passive victims of state propaganda. Rather, they continue to devise new communicative spaces outside the dominant state media empire and access alternative viewpoints from an array of emerging platforms." (Abstract)
more