Search Results for: journalist protection

The European Commission on Thursday referred Hungary to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over the country’s Sovereignty Protection Act, alleging the law violates fundamental EU principles. The Sovereignty Protection Act has been in force since December 2023.  The legislation established an independent Sovereignty Protection Office (SPO), with the power to investigate and penalize organizations [...]

The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) voted on Wednesday to formally recognize WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as a political prisoner based on his time spent in UK custody while fighting extradition to the US on espionage charges. Assange has been free since June, when he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for releasing troves of US classified documents [...]

Amnesty International on Wednesday urged Kyrgyzstan to drop unsubstantiated, politically motivated charges against independent journalists. Journalists from several independent local media outlets, including YouTube-based Temirov LIVE and Ayt Ayt Dese, face up to six years in prison, with a final verdict of the Lenin District Court of Bishkek expected to be delivered on October 3. [...]

A coalition of human rights organizations on Wednesday called on United Nations member states to refrain from voting for Saudi Arabia in the upcoming Human Rights Council election, scheduled for October 9. The joint appeal was led by groups such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Service for Human Rights. They have cited [...]

Mech Dara, an award-winning Cambodian journalist was arrested and charged for incitement on Tuesday, leading to widespread concern among international rights groups and media organizations. Dara was taken into custody on Monday by military police at a toll booth near Sihanoukville. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged Dara with “incitement to disturb social security” under [...]

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed an application before the Inter-Amercian Court of Human Rights against Paraguay for violation of the right to freedom of expression and judicial guarantees of Paraguayan journalist Aldo Zuccolillo Moscarda, according to a press release published on Monday. The application is related to a case that started in [...]

The justice minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Constant Mutamba, announced the conditional release of 648 inmates from the country’s largest prison on Saturday amid efforts to ease overcrowding. The 648 prisoners released with parole conditions included 73 adults and eight juveniles. Makala Central Prison, built in 1957, is designed to accommodate [...]

Three years since the Taliban took control, Afghanistan has descended into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. Millions of Afghans, especially women and girls, face systematic repression. The Taliban have enacted increasingly restrictive measures aimed at erasing women and girls from public life, leading to widespread subjugation and violations of their human rights and [...]

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has highlighted the ongoing deterioration of human rights in Russia, in a report published on Tuesday. The report accused the Russian government of engaging in “systematic human rights abuses” as part of a “government strategy to control all spheres of life, both public and private, and to suppress dissent [...]

Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) reported on Friday that reporters from at least 13 media outlets in Hong Kong have been subjected to both online and offline harassment as part of a systematic and organized campaign. During a press conference, HKJA chairperson Selina Cheng stated that at least 15 journalists, along with their family members [...]