Latest

As the situation continues to deteriorate for journalists in the Republic of Azerbaijan,  ARTICLE 19 appeals to the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights to raise concerns over freedom of expression during his five-day official visit to Republic of Azerbaijan. (04-SEPT-07)
 

Ten people have been arrested in connection with the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Following the arrests, Politkovskaya´s newspaper Novaya gazeta , responds to the news, and outlines how it sees the investigation into the killing of its reporter continuing. (27-AUG-07)
 

Concerned about the deteriorating health of journalists held in Cuban prisons, English PEN has highlighted the cases of six of them, calling for their immediate release. Cuba is the world´s second most prolific jailer of journalists — second only to the People´s Republic of China. (17-AUG-07)
 

As the one-year anniversary marking the coup approaches, plans for a referendum on the new draft constitution is underway and an election is predicted for December. But the military junta governing the country continues to pass laws that contradict their promises for democratic change. (3-AUG-07)
  

The opening of the Copa América football competition on 26 June, one month after the forced closure of the audiovisual group Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV), sparked protests as journalists took to the streets to demand the reinstatement of RCTV’s licence. (26-JULY-07) Photo: Gobierno Bolivariano de Venezuela

After traveling from camps in what they call their ´long march´ home, 15,000 ethnic Nepalese refugees –Lhotshampas — are stuck at the border of Nepal and India, waiting to return to their homes in Bhutan. Checkpoints have been sealed since 15 June and, following rising tension between the border police and refugees, three people are dead and 100 are injured. (11-JULY-07)
 

Freedom of expression advocates around the world celebrated the release of  Alan Johnston on the morning of 4 July. The BBC Gaza correspondent was held in captivity for 114 days by the Army of Islam group, raising new concerns about the safety of journalists in conflict zones. (4-JULY-07)
  

Carlos Reyes-Manzo and Bill Samuel’s photography exhibit, Children of the Clouds, at Foyles Bookshop in London is a showcase of the Saharawi refugees’ lives in the arid landscape of the Sahara desert, where they have lived in exile for more than 25 years.  The exhibit, which ends 23 June, showcases photos taken in January and February at four refugee camps in the Tindouf area of Algeria.  (15-JUNE-07)
 

As Egypt’s record on human rights continues to take a downturn, the country has put in a bid for a seat on the United Nation’s Human Rights Council. Egyptian and international rights organisations have joined together to oppose the bid, citing Egypt’s repeated refusal to allow the UN’s independent expert on torture visit the country. On 2 May, Al-Jazeera journalist Huwaida Taha Mitwalli was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment following her reports on torture in the country. The sentence sent a chilling message to journalists and activists marking World Press Freedom Day on 3 May. (18-MAY-07)