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The prolonged series of arrests and prosecutions indicates systematic use of the anti-terrorism law by the Ethiopian government to silence opposition politicians and the independent media. This week’s conviction of two Swedish journalists by an Ethiopian court on charges of supporting terrorism is emblematic.

Just before midnight on 15 December – coincidentally national day for remembering killed Russian journalists – the founder of the independent weekly newspaper Chernovik, Khadimurad Kamalov, was shot dead in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan.

Join a demonstration on 19 December to mark a year since Lukashenko’s vicious crackdown on dissent and political opposition in Belarus.

The defence of all human rights depends on media freedom and pluralism. This makes it urgent to counter government restrictions and monopoly tendencies, says Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights on the eve of International human rights day (10 December). International organisations honour imprisoned journalists (179) worldwide.

According to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) as many as 8-10,000 defamation cases a year had been filed against journalists and media outlets for defamation in Russia. Recent amendments to Russia’s defamation legislation – including partial decriminalisation of libel and insult – will not improve the situation for the media in the country, says Article 19.

Impunity kills independent investigative journalism, says Agnes Callamard, Executive Director, Article 19. According to her, the lack of successful investigations into the killings of journalists lays the foundation for self-censorship as a method of protection, thereby curtailing journalists from criticising the government through investigate stories tackling issues such as corruption and human rights violations.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC), English PEN has produced ‘Beyond Bars’, a mobile exhibition highlighting ten of the most significant cases they have worked on since 1960.

Index on Censorship organises a panel debate on science and transparency to launch the science issue.

The new media regulation law in Hungary is broad, uncertain and inconsistent with basic standards of media freedom, states the international partnership mission to Hungary. There is also a threat that media owners will discipline or sack journalists writing on controversial matters as they may attract complains and huge fines as a result.