Free Expression & the Law

Free Expression & the Law:

When legislation and the judicial system affect your right to express yourself.

More from Free Expression & the Law

MISA Zimbabwe State of the Media Report 2018

In his inauguration speech on 24 November 2017 following Mugabe’s ouster, President Mnangagwa, said he would strengthen and ensure the pillars of democracy are respected in Zimbabwe. This raised hope that he would move with speed and implement outstanding socio-economic and political reforms ahead of the 2018 elections. It is common cause that the elections came without implementation of the envisaged reforms.

Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) 12 March 2019
Breaking Boundaries: Survey of human rights activism in the Gulf and Neighbouring Countries in 2018

Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) 11 March 2019
MISA Annual Report 2018

The MISA Annual report for 2018 focuses on the lobby and advocacy work MISA carried out on critical issues throughout 2018.

Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) 2 March 2019

DEMOCRACY AT RISK: THREATS AND ATTACKS AGAINST MEDIA FREEDOM IN EUROPE

Annual Report 2019 by the Partner Organisations to the Council of Europe Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists

ARTICLE 19 12 February 2019

Justice Monitoring Report: Freedom of expression trials in Turkey

Given the unprecedented number of journalists in prison in Turkey at the moment and the increas- ing number of freedom of expression trials, trial monitoring has become an important activity for Turkish civil society over the past few years.

International Press Institute (IPI) 29 January 2019

Press in Bahrain: The Usurpation of the Word

In its report, the Center examines Bahrain's laws and legislation restricting the freedom of press work and shows the extent of its non-conformity with the international treaties, covenants and agreements. The report also documents violations of media workers since the popular protests beginning in 2011.

Bahrain Center for Human Rights 23 November 2018

Freedom on the Net 2018: China

The level of internet freedom declined due to the new cybersecurity law which strengthened repressive restrictions on online activities.

Freedom House 1 November 2018

«Жесткое подавление свободы слова в России в 2012-2018 гг.»

PEN International 10 October 2018

Russia's Strident Stifling of Free Speech 2012-2018

Laws passed since Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency in May 2012 have dramatically strengthened the Russian authorities’ control over the flow of information online and offline. Much of this crackdown has been fuelled by Russia’s foreign policy, in particular its role in the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine and its armed intervention in Syria.

PEN International 10 October 2018

The massacre of justice

The report is based on the study of Bahraini laws and legislation related to the prosecution of civilians in military courts and shows the compatibility of Bahraini laws with the International Bill and international laws.

Bahrain Center for Human Rights 9 October 2018

Aiding Repression in Egypt: Why the United States Needs to Keep Human Rights Conditions on Military Aid

Civil society leaders in Egypt are urging the U.S. government to continue to condition and withhold military aid to Egypt until the Egyptian government makes meaningful reforms to its human rights practices.

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) 20 September 2018

The U-turn: Moreno steers Ecuador away from Correa's media repression

Journalists say they will be wary until Moreno fulfills his promises to scale back the Communications Law and scrap the regulator that enforced it.

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) 14 July 2018

Terrorizing people by the law of terrorism

BCHR analyses how the Bahraini judiciary uses the language of 'anti-terrorism' law to justify suppressing dissent. They also do a comparative study of the relevant local and international anti-terror legislation, and the extent to which Bahrain is in line with international law, international conventions and human rights treaties.

Bahrain Center for Human Rights 26 June 2018

Trial at the Ministry: On the trials held at the Ministry of Interior's facilities rather than at the Ministry of Justice

In Egypt you can be detained, interrogated and tried in the same place without leaving or seeing a court.

Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) 16 June 2018

RSF World Press Freedom Index 2018

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 25 April 2018

Shadow Report to Initial National Report (1999-2016) from the State of Eritrea

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) accuses the Eritrean government of a complete denial of reality in its first-ever report to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and announces that it has submitted an alternative "shadow report" with a much darker assessment of the state of press freedom in Eritrea.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 28 March 2018

Ten-Year Edition: A Decade of Decline

The general trend over the past 10 years has been bleak, with an overall negative trajectory for press freedom. The major turning point was the election of Xi Jinping as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China in 2012 and President of China in 2013.

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) 2 February 2018

"Kill the Chicken to Scare the Monkeys" Suppression of Free Expression and Assembly in Singapore

Human Rights Watch (HRW) 13 December 2017

Journalists Not Terrorists: In Cameroon, anti-terror legislation is used to silence critics and suppress dissent

In 2014, Cameroon enacted a broad anti-terror law as part of its effort to counter the extremist group Boko Haram, but authorities are using it to arrest and threaten local journalists who report on the militants or unrest in the country’s English-speaking regions.

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) 20 September 2017

The West Africa Internet Rights Monitor: Monitoring Report for April-June 2017

MFWA has identified lack of effective internet-specific legal frameworks, inadequate infrastructure and high cost of data as major challenges in the internet sector in West Africa.

Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) 15 September 2017

Monitoring freedom of expression in Mongolia

Globe International registered a total of 519 freedom of expression violations in Mongolia

Globe International Center 1 September 2017

Free Expression Newsletter, April-June 2017: Anti-Press Incidents Decline; Policy Environment Still Regressive

According to Freedom Forum, anti-press incidents have declined in Nepal since April 2017 but the policy environment is still regressive.

Freedom Forum 12 July 2017

"We Don't Have Him": Secret Detentions and Enforced Disappearances in Bangladesh

Since 2013, law enforcement authorities in Bangladesh have illegally detained scores of opposition activists and held them in secret without producing them before courts, as the law requires. In most cases, those arrested remain in custody for weeks or months before being formally arrested or released. Others however are killed in so-called armed exchanges, and many remain “disappeared.”

Human Rights Watch 6 July 2017

Defamation and Insult Laws in the OSCE Region: A Comparative Study

This study examines the existence of criminal defamation and insult laws in the territory of the 57 participating States of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In doing so, it offers a broad, comparative overview of the compliance of OSCE participating States’ legislation with international standards and best practices in the field of defamation law and freedom of expression.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe 7 March 2017

Civil Defamation and Media Freedom in Hungary: Trends and Challenges in Court Practice in Personality Rights Cases

READ AND DOWNLOADThis study analyses current trends in civil defamation and privacy cases in Hungary involving the media and summarises key challenges for freedom of the press and expression. Written by Hungarian media lawyer Bea Bodrogi, the study examined 250 court decisions related to civil protection of 'personality rights', an area in Hungarian law that includes defamation, privacy and personal image.

International Press Institute 2 March 2017

Roads to Reform: The Enduring Work of the Saudi Association for Civil and Political Rights

In this report, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) examines the contributions of ACPRA within the larger context of the movement for civil and political reform in Saudi Arabia.

Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain 1 March 2017

Freedom in the World 2017

With populist and nationalist forces making significant gains in democratic states, 2016 marked the 11th consecutive year of decline in global freedom.

Freedom House 31 January 2017