Entries from Byline Portal tagged with 'Freedom of Speech'
Exorcising the Ghosts of Brazil’s Dictatorship
by Clarinha Glock, IPS, Italy - “Brazil has been slow to join the debate on truth commissions, which is aimed at recovering (collective) memory and obtaining justice for the deaths and disappearances committed during the dictatorship, and it’s far behind...
European Court Sets Limits on Religious Liberty
by Naomi Conrad, Deutsche Welt, Germany - The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that religious freedom applies in the workplace, so long as it doesn’t infringe on the rights of others. But the member states have been left...
Azerbaijan’s New Law on Public Gatherings
by Beril Dedeoglu, Today's Zaman, Turkey - The Azerbaijani government is perfectly well aware that there are many people in the country unhappy with the way the country is governed, and they are getting ready to pour into the streets....
Fighting for Online Equality
by Jannie Schipper, Radio Netherlands, The Netherlands - Internet is an open space where all are equal. Not so, say gender activists worldwide. The on-line world mirrors the roles and restrictions of offline society, and women are sometimes much more...
To Each His Own
by Barkha Dutt, Hindustan Times, India - Social media is not above the law. Nevertheless, a draconian IT law can't have the last word over what we write and how we think....
Journalism Falls Victim to Mexico Narco Wars
by Ana Arana and Daniela Guazo, Knight Center for Journalism, USA - A lack of official government information including credible crime reports has further complicated the media´s job, an investigation by Mexico City-based Fundacion MEPI found....
The Problems with Policing Sexism on Twitter
by Kavitha Rao, The Atlantic, USA - India has started arresting men who abuse women on the social network. Is this a triumph against misogyny or a threat to free speech?...
Pressing Issues in Tunisia Raise Concerns
by Sarah Mersch, Daily Star, Lebanon - The broader future of the institution and role of the media in post-revolution Tunisia remains highly contested....
Russia's Internet 'Blacklist' Law Sparks Free-Speech Fears
by Claire Bigg, RFE, Czech Republic - Russian authorities have been given the green light to shut down Internet websites carrying information deemed harmful to children....
With Pussy Riot Moving To Penal Colonies, Misery Of Russian Prison Camps Gains Fresh Focus
by Daisy Sindelar, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - Former prisoners and rights activists say that inmates are still subjected to unhealthy conditions, a complete absence of privacy, and a brutal social hierarchy in which younger or more vulnerable convicts...
The Writer, the State and the Nobel
by Didi Kirsten Tatlow, International Herald Tribune, France - Can a writer in a one-party state that practices massive censorship ever be truly free to create? Or do censorship and compromise trap the writer’s mind in ways he or she...
Why Turkey Can’t Lead a Ban on Islamophobia
by Barcin Yinanc, Hurriyet Daily, Turkey - Every time Turks tried to talk about freedom of expression being abused against Muslims, they hit the wall as Europeans told them: “freedom of expression is a core right!”...
Alternative to Wikileaks Arises in Iceland
by Lowana Veal, IPS, Italy - “One of the main motivations for the Associated Whistle-blowing Press is to unite journalists around the world and bring stories to light,” says Brazilian journalist Pedro Noel, one of the main people behind the...
Punishing Blasphemers: New Calls on an Old Issue
by Leela Jacinto, France 24, France - An Islamist wave in North Africa followed by the recent violence over an incendiary anti-Islam video clip and new Prophet Mohammad cartoons have revived an old call for an international law that criminalises...
Tunisia’s Ban on Criticizing Religion Could Bring Social Repression
by Monica Marks, The Daily Star, Lebanon - While every country sets ultimate limits on its citizens’ rights and liberties, Tunisia’s broadly defined efforts to ban criticism of religion in Article 3 are worrisome. The article in its current, murkily...
In Australia, Backlash to Murdoch Scandal Could Erode Press Freedom
by Julie Posetti, MediaShift, USA - Rupert Murdoch's toxic News of the World legacy has the potential to undermine press freedom in his country of birth -- Australia -- where the national government is considering recommendations for the regulation of...
Was the Revolution Lost in Tunisia and Egypt?
by Jane Dutton, Al Jazeera, Qatar - As state censorship threatens freedom of expression, we ask if new leaders have adopted the old practices of oppression....
Pussy Riot: 'We're Stronger Than The State'
by Anastasia Kirilenko & Daisy Sindelar, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - "During protests, it surprises me when I hear someone say, 'You can't beat women!' she added. "So it's OK if it's men who are getting beaten? Isn't that...
Pussy Riot Are a Reminder that Revolution Always Begins in Culture
by Suzanne Moore, Guardian, UK - Pussy Riot exist to draw attention to precisely what is so disturbing, a totalitarian nation where the church and state are become one. Some have warned that Russia is becoming a new entity, a...
Cameroon: Rapping for a Revolution in Cameroon's Regime
by Anne Mireille Nzouankeu, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Netherlands - Gaston Abe, also known by his artist name, General Valsero, is the provocative voice of Cameroonian youth. His music's denunciations of government corruption have earned him a public media ban and...
A Free Press Gives Tunisian Journalists a New Role
by Sana Sbouai, Daily Star, Lebanon - Looking at Tunisian media today, though, one might believe freedom of the press to be in jeopardy. The owner of the Tunisian television channel Nessma was fined for broadcasting the film “Persepolis,” which...
The War for India's Internet
by Rebecca MacKinnon, Foreign Policy, USA - Why is the world's biggest democracy cracking down on Facebook and Google?...
How to Survive as a Journalist in Somalia?
by Eszter Farkas, European Journalism Centre, Netherlands - It takes immense courage and drive to be a journalist in Somalia, a country in the Horn of Africa. Reporters Without Borders in 2011 listed its capital city Mogadishu among the ten...
New Directive On 'Modest' Dress Outrages Iraq's Female Civil Servants
by Najla Dari, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - Perhaps the greatest affront is that the new directive does not come from religious authorities or fundamentalists. Instead, it comes from a commission presided over by Iraq's minister for women's affairs....
The French Stress Test
by Amanda Paul, Today's Zaman, Turkey - The news that France’s new law punishing denial of the Armenian claims of genocide was put on hold on Tuesday after politicians opposed to the legislation demanded that its constitutionality be examined will...
Portugal: State Radio Silenced after Angola Opinion Piece
by Sara Moreira, Global Voices, Netherlands - The truth about the Angolan “petroligarchy”, in a country where the cornucopia of riches is restricted to some and more than half of the population lives in the most abject poverty, is a...
Universities Are the First Test for Tunisian Secularism
by Omezzine Khelifa, The Daily Star, Lebanon - In Tunisian universities, equality is assured; all students have access to universities regardless of their religion or how they practice it. Currently young women have the right to wear the niqab in...
Wave of Arrests Reported ahead of Iranian Elections
by Golnaz Esfandiari, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - The wave of arrests ahead of the March 2 parliamentary elections appears to signal attempts by the Iranian establishment to prevent any form of dissent. The March parliamentary elections -- the...
Tunisia: Censorship and Freedom of Speech in the Year That Was
by Afef Abrougui, Global Voices, The Netherlands - The year 2011 was a year of protests and sit-ins in Tunisia. During the first two weeks of the year, the police crackdown on protesters was disastrous, leading to more than 300...
A Year of Blogging, Threats and Silence
by Jillian York, Al Jazeera, Qatar - Motivations for arresting bloggers differ between countries but the goal is always to silence "threatening" voices....
EU Vows to Help Online Dissidents Speak Out
by Sonia Phalnikar, Deutsche Welle, Germany - The European Union has unveiled a strategy called 'No-Disconnect' to help online activists living under oppressive regimes get their message out without fear of state surveillance....
The Dangers of Journalism: When Reporting Puts You in Harm's Way
by Fionnuala Sweeney, CNN, USA - Reporters often encounter danger on the job. Call it survival journalism – the fine line some journalists walk between reporting the truth and not getting killed. Four female reporters were recently honored for courage...
There *Are* Limits to Free Expression
by Erna Paris, Globe and Mail, Canada - The Supreme Court of Canada is currently pondering whether to jettison provisions in the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code that restrict free speech in the interests of protecting a vulnerable minority from publicly...
Anna: Five Years On
by Yelena Milashina, OpenDemocracy, UK - Five years ago today, on 7 October 2006, investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s was found murdered in her apartment block. Colleague Yelena Milashina remembers that fateful day....
The Irvine 11: Giving Voice to the Voiceless
by Nora Barrows Friedman, Al Jazeera, Qatar - The sentencing of the Irvine 11 demonstrates how voicing Palestinian solidarity is becoming more risky for activists....
Iranian Censors' Heavy Hand Falls On A Persian Classic
by Elahe Ravanshad, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - Many authoritarian regimes censor books for political reasons. But Iran goes so far in also tampering with books for self-claimed religious reasons that the Islamic republic's censors form a league of...
Cameron's Call for Social Media Clampdown Sparks Criticism
by Friedel Taube, Deutsche Welle, Germany - British Prime Minister David Cameron is considering banning people from social networks if they were suspected of inciting violence online. The plans have raised concerns among free speech advocates....
Moldova: Attack on Journalist Causes Online Debate on “Language Issue"
by Diana Lungu, Global Voices, The Netherlands - An incident of violence against a Moldovan journalist has brought about active online discussions regarding the long-protracted animosities between the Moldovan majority and the small Russian minority in the country....
Free speech: The Global Balance
by Alison Bethel-McKenzie, Eurozine, Austria - Political repression of pro-democratic journalists throughout the Middle East and North Africa; serial murder of reporters caught up in Latin America's drug wars; constitutional attacks on the media in Europe: free speech faces adversaries...
Let's Take Back the Internet!
by Rebecca MacKinnon, TEDGlobal, USA - Rebecca MacKinnon describes the expanding struggle for freedom and control in cyberspace, and asks: How do we design the next phase of the Internet with accountability and freedom at its core, rather than control?...
Scenes from the Battlefield
by Iryna Vidanava, Eurozine, Austria - Despite renewed crackdowns on the independent media in Belarus, there are signs that the tide is turning in the battle for free speech in the country. However, victory for the democratic forces will require...
Tunisian Islamists Challenge Open Internet
by Houda Trabelsi, Magharebia, Tunisia - A recent court ruling in Tunisia ordering internet filtering is raising concerns of a potential return to censorship....
Japan’s Muzzled Media and the Nuclear Crisis
by Scilla Alecci, European Journalism Centre, The Netherlands - Voluntary self-restraint by the media and company interests have prevented the Japanese public from knowing the full truth about Fukushima....
Pakistan's `Enlightenment' Martyrs
by Beena Sarwar, Counter Currents, India - The murder of professor Saba Dashtiyari in Quetta last week, coming on the heels the killing of investigative journalist Saleem Shehzad, is yet another sign of an ongoing `genocide' of progressive Pakistani intellectuals...
Bad News in Syria, but the Reality Could Be Worse
by Anne Allmeling, Al Arabiya, United Arab Emirates - No one really knows what’s happened, and this is exactly what Syria’s president Bashar Al Assad wants. As long as there is no evidence, anything could have happened in the Syrian...
Belarus KGB Declares War On Social Networking Opposition
by Elena Ostroumova, RT, Russia - Having their personal information traced and being arrested in their own homes is a new reality for the Belarusian opposition who dare to express their views on popular social networking sites....
Why Is he not Alive?
by Susan Marie, Asia Times, Hong Kong - On May 31, 2011, Saleem Shahzad was found dead. Syed Saleem Shahzad went missing on Sunday, after he left his home in the capital to take part in a talk show, but...
Anonymous and the Arab Uprisings
by Yasmine Ryan, Al Jazeera, Qatar - Anonymous's rapid rise from the depths of geekdom to becoming a catalyst and nerve centre for real-life revolutionaries is one that has taken even some of its own members by surprise....
When Elephants Fight…
by Hajrah Mumtaz, Dawn, Pakistan - As Egyptians grapple with the new possibilities and horizons that victory at Tahrir Square brought, the professional future of a number of newspersons, both print and electronic, is in a state of flux....
Pulling Punches on Hungary Media Law
by Amanda Mcrae, EUobserver, Belgium - On 7 March, after vociferous domestic opposition and the intervention of European Union institutions, the Hungarian parliament amended a controversial and restrictive media law that would have severely curtailed free speech....
MEPs Back Removal of Child Porn Websites
by Valentina Pop, EU Observer, Belgium - "MEPs seem more concerned with the rights of child pornographers than they do with the rights of children who have been sexually abused to make their foul, illegal images."...
Musings on Egypt, Freedom
by Kate Troll, Juneau Empire, USA - Does freedom mean I have the right to pass on my health care costs to others because I’ve decided to use the emergency room as my doctor’s office? If I can’t buy an...
Reluctant Heroes
by Lydia Cacho, Eurozine, Austria - International recognition offers a degree of protection to investigative reporters. But being in the limelight presents a new set of dilemmas....
Cartoons Made Scandinavia Terror Threat 'Much Bigger'
by Nina Larson, The Local, Sweden - Five years after a Danish newspaper first published controversial cartoons of the Muslim prophet, targets in Scandinavia are increasingly in the crosshairs of would-be terrorist attackers....
Italians Little Concerned at Limits to Press Freedom
by Megan Williams, Deutsche Welle, Germany - Italian journalists have to face both official and private pressure as they try to do their job. Most Italians don't seem to care....
Censorship Does Not do Justice to Victims of Mass Rape
by Slavenka Drakulic, Eurozine, Austria - Attempts to prevent the shooting of a film about mass rape in Bosnia equalled an attempt at censorship: this kind of response perpetuates misunderstandings about war crimes and overlooks the real problems facing Bosnian...
Back to Square One
by Alison Bezzina, Times of Malta, Malta - The priests who back in 2003 were accused of allegedly sexually abusing children in their care, asked the Constitutional Court to enforce a press ban on the whole case....
The New Boys in Europe
by Irena Maryniak, Eurozine, Austria - Why are the super-rich bankrolling the press?...
Lines Are Drawn in Online Culture War
by Caille Millner, San Francisco Chronicle, USA - It's far more interesting to look at the WikiLeaks case by looking at the culture of the Internet, which is changing rapidly from a free-wheeling, anything-goes space into a place that's more...
WikiLeaks and the End of U.S. ‘Diplomacy’
by Amy Goodman, Truthdig, USA - Lives might actually be saved, since the way that the U.S. conducts diplomacy is now getting more exposure than ever—as is the apparent ease with which the U.S. government lives up (or down) to...
The Struggle to Report the Truth about Water in China
by Frieda Werden, WINGS, Canada - The largest dam in the world has been plagued with missteps that might have been avoided if political repression had not overwhelmed independent reporting. The history of water reporting intertwines with the Tienanmen Square...
China Talks Press Rights – But it won't Walk the Walk
by Madeline Earp, The Guardian, UK - A free press is the first step towards political reform, but too many Chinese journalists are still languishing in prison....
In Iran, Renewed Efforts To Keep University Students In Check
by Golnaz Esfandiari, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - "The university has demonstrated that it will not be silenced. For 30 years it has come under all kind of repression, yet there's a sentence that all say: 'The university is...
Journalists on Trial in Central Asia
by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick, Eurasia Net, USA - Surat Ikramov, head of the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Activists of Uzbekistan, was found guilty of libel by a distict court. Ikramov's case is one of a string of such...
An Animal Called Media Tribunal
by Rabecca Theu, The Nation, Malawi - A hot debate rages on in South Africa over the ruling African National's Congress's wish to introduce a statutory media appeals tribunal which, it says, aims at strengthening media freedom and accountability. The...
Burma's Junta Can't Escape From the Net
by Phoebe Kennedy, The Independent, UK - Burma's military rulers won't be inviting foreign observers to monitor November's general election – a poll already dismissed as a sham by Western governments – but the country's network of bloggers and...
Cuba’s Biggest Problem Is a Lack of Freedom
by Kelly Knaub, Havana Times, Cuba - For the moment people are afraid to propose solutions, and that’s the main problem. This is the encumbrance, and this is what limits the country’s evolution....
Pushing for Press Freedom in Central Africa
by Tamsin Walker, Deutsche Welle, Germany - Independent and free media is not a given in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). However, as the country starts to think about next year's presidential elections, it is fast becoming a...
Beijing Silences Voices for Freedom
by Rebiya Kadeer, The Australian, Australia - THE sentencing on July 23 of Uighur journalist Gheyret Niyaz to 15 years jail for endangering state security came as a shock around the world. Niyaz's "crime" was to speak to foreign...
Honduras: A Censored Mourning
by Anneris Ivette Leyva, Periodico 26, Cuba - A year has passed since the streets of Honduras were filled with horror, and the air waves, with silence. Neither the radio waves, which lost their frequencies, nor the television newscasts,...
Indonesia and Free Speech
By Sara Schonhardt, The Diplomat, Japan - With Thailand’s woes, eyes have turned to Indonesia as a democracy model for South-east Asia. The censors could change that....
Green Supporters Want West To Help Iranians Access Internet, Uncensored Information
by Golnaz Esfandiari, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - Human rights activists and supporters of the opposition Green Movement in Iran are increasing their calls on the United States and other countries to help Iranians access an unfiltered Internet by...
Africa's Long Walk to Media Freedom
by Janet Otieno, Africa Review, Kenya - The battle between governments and the media over what the public should know has been raging for decades globally....
Israel's 'Disappeared'
by Nadia Hijab, Middle East Online, UK - The Israeli police ask the courts for a gag order about 100 times a year. Not many countries claiming to be democracies 'disappear' their own citizens and deny them due process....
Truth & Consequences in the Caucasus
by Elena Milashina, WorldPulse, USA - Despite the assassinations of many of her colleagues, Russia’s award-winning investigative journalist Elena Milashina forges into dangerous territory in search of justice....
Hate Speech, Free Speech
by Sanitsuda Ekachai, Bangkok Post, Thailand- The media must seriously rethink its role in times of conflict. But in a complex political situation, with many political actors and factors at play, isn't it simplistic to single out the mass...
The Hate Speech Conundrum
by Jane Duncan, The South African Civil Society Information Service, South Africa - ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema has been igniting controversy with his repeated chanting of "Shoot the Boer." Should public utterances of the song and other...
China’s Lords of Misrule
by Xiao Shu, Index on Censorship, UK - The face of China’s internet reflects the political system – repressive and chaotic....
HONDURAS: Deadliest Month Ever for Reporters
by Thelma Mejía, IPS, Italy - Reporters in Honduras have long complained about gag laws, threats, exile and attacks. But never before have so many journalists been killed in one month....
Life and Death of an Independent Newspaper in Oryol
by Elena Godlevskaya, Open Democracy Russia, UK - In 2004, some local journalists in Oryol founded an independent newspaper ‘for those who want the truth’. Although it sold well, members of staff were subject to threats, bribes, attacks and arson....
A New Tactic In Russia's War On Free Press
by Kristina Gorelik, Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - "Zakazukha," the practice of accepting payment to publish articles, is common practice among Russian journalists, and a routine way for local image-makers to slip slavish praise or damning claims about a...
Google and China, or How Moral Values Can Change Business Interests
by Esther Dyson, Daily Star, Lebanon - China probably looks less appealing to investors now than it did a few years ago, not so much because of the Chinese economy as a whole, but because of constraints on the ability...
Azerbaijan Draws Fire over Bloggers' Sentences
by Juliette Terzieff, World Politics Review Blog, USA - Press freedom advocates are condemning a decision by an Azerbaijani court on Wednesday to convict two bloggers on charges of hooliganism and causing bodily harm, in a case widely viewed as...
Let Me Talk, Speak, 'n Express
by Ankita Chawla Delhi, Hardnews, India - Obstruction to freedom of expression makes the insistence on one's own space and speech invaluable. When public spaces are patrolled and right to express oneself is suppressed, personal freedom is at stake....
Is Google Violating Women’s Rights?
by Masum Momaya, AWID, Canada - Google Inc.’s recent restrictions on ads for abortion services in fifteen countries raises questions about the influence of search engine provider policies on freedom of information....
Algerian Bloggers Feel Threatened by Proposed Law
by Yasmine Ryan, New York Times, USA - By day, he writes for a pro-government newspaper. After work, he becomes El Mouhtarem, author of one of the most popular political blogs in Algeria....
Beijing Can't Bury the Xinjiang Story
by Antoaneta Bezlova, Asia Times, China - The story of ethnic strife engulfing China's far-western province of Xinjiang may have been relegated to the inner pages of the country's state-controlled newspapers, but it found space on the front pages of...
Who's A Low Level Terrorist? Are You?
by Emily Spence, Counter Currents, India - Recently, an American Civil Liberties Union report pointed out, "Anti-terrorism training materials currently being used by the Department of Defense (DoD) teach its personnel that free expression in the form of public protests...
Free to Not Rock the Boat
by Galina Stolyarova, Transitions Online, Czech Republic - Moscow’s moves to loosen its grip on some civil society groups are good news for poetry lovers, but probably not for protesters....
In the Name of National Security
by Sevanti Ninan, The Hindu, India - Under a new proposed Bill, the government is arming itself with the power to block websites without the right to be heard. Why is no one talking about it?...
Pakistan: Journalism Is First Casualty
by Zubeida Mustafa, Index on Censorship, UK - It is not just the targeted killing of journalists and use of threats that are destroying journalism in the Swat Valley. The Taliban’s austere brand of Islam bans music, visuals and any...
Gen. Başbuğ’s Emphasis on Democracy Versus Media Ban
by Lale Sariibrahimoglu, Today's Zaman, Turkey - It's no secret that Turkey has a serious problem internalizing the concept of democracy, and this is the main reason why we have moved slowly in the adoption of European Union criteria that...
The Peace of the Graveyard
by Teresa Rehman, Tehelka, India - Activism comes at a price in Meghalaya. A sullen quiet prevails over this comparatively peaceful state — any voice of dissent is silenced by a draconian state ‘anti-terror’ law....
First EU Mention of ‘Kurdish Issue’ in Reference to Freedom of Expression
by Lale Sariibrahimoglu, Today's Zaman, Turkey - Turkey's persistent and indiscriminate approach to cracking down on the expression of opinions that incite violence and the expression of non-violent opinions has finally prompted the European Union, of which Turkey aspires to...
Iran's Apologists
by Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post, Israel - Ahmadinejad has many eager apologists who would spare no effort to find reasons and justifications for their claims that all the vile ranting and the genocidal threats against Israel don't mean a thing,...
Freedom of Expression for Papuans
by Jennifer Robinson, Inside Indonesia, Indonesia - Papuans continue to be intimidated and arrested for expressing their political views and for taking part in peaceful protests....
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