Stories about Freedom of Speech from May, 2020
29 May 2020
Mozambique revokes decree that imposed exorbitant fees on journalist accreditation
The fees, introduced in 2018, ranged between 30 and 500 thousand meticais (around 507 and 8,450 USD) and were mandatory for foreign correspondents and foreign and national freelance journalists working...
Is China's ‘House of Cards’ in the Czech Republic beginning to wobble?
Public scepticism over Chinese influence campaigns and aggressive diplomacy is empowering anti-Beijing politicians.
25 May 2020
Foreign Correspondent's Club of Japan accused of censorship after taking down Tokyo Olympics parody
The April issue of the club's magazine featured the Tokyo Olympics' emblem depicted in the shape of a coronavirus, which reportedly prompted copyright complaints from the Olympic Organising Committee.
23 May 2020
Uyghur human rights advocate Dilnur Reyhan laments lack of Muslim solidarity
Hatred against the West has blinded ordinary Muslim citizens to the point of refusing to believe news brought by the Western media, even when it concerns concentration camps for Muslims
22 May 2020
Why Hong Kong isn’t dead yet
"Today Beijing imposed the “national security” law in Hong Kong. It gives them broad powers to go after anyone they don’t like. Anyone who criticizes them. Anyone who disobeys them."
From counterterrorism to counter-COVID-19, governments use crises to impose continuous states of emergency in the Middle East
Fighting terrorism used to be the umbrella under which states of emergency were justified in the Middle East. Now, COVID-19 serves as a new justification for sweeping powers.
21 May 2020
In Tunisia, women stand on the frontlines of targeted hate speech online
In Tunisia, an uprising toppled leadership and lead to revolution in 2011. Since then, digital space has witnessed heated debates about politics and society — including attacks against women activists and...
18 May 2020
A glimpse at Thailand's digital ID through the biometric profiling of Malay Muslims
"The discriminatory nature of these measures could amount to racial profiling, which subjects Malay Muslims to disproportionate and unnecessary surveillance based on ethnic prejudice rather than objective signs of suspicion."
Nepali Muslims eye India's growing Islamophobia with fear
The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the status of already vulnerable minority Muslims in Nepal.
16 May 2020
Hong Kong reveals the city's agenda to construct an Orwellian ‘truth’
The release of a report on the police's use of force in protests seems to be "part of a wider set of coordinated announcements designed to deliver the new ‘truth’".
Photo contest asks Rohingya community to document their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic
A photography competition for Rohingya people is being held from April 23 – August 23, 2020, featuring two broad categories – “Rohingya life” and “Response to Coronavirus” and entries can...
15 May 2020
Women journalists in Uganda carry ‘double burden’ with online attacks and harassment
Women journalists in Uganda carry the double burden of gender-based abuse online and potential threats related to political reporting. These threats have led women journalists to withdraw from public discourse.
Cameroon’s 3-year separatist crisis: Online threats, attacks on identity and freedom of expression
Journalists in Cameroon have to be very careful about reporting on atrocities related to the separatist conflict. Appearing to side with separatists or the government can lead to online attacks.
In Burundi, four journalists jailed for months await appeal
The four jailed journalists with Iwacu were accused of threatening state security on the basis of a WhatsApp message sent as a dry joke while reporting on a rebel attack.
Banned for 30 years, Singapore’s only martial arts film is now on YouTube
"It's almost as if the film is a time capsule into Singapore’s past."
13 May 2020
Monumental differences: Prague, Moscow trade barbs over World War Two
"Did in fact all Czechs then realize what kind of Russians saved their city?"
12 May 2020
COVID-19 diaries from Wuhan: ‘People cannot grieve freely for their relatives. How repressive!’
"After the storm, we will need to rebuild our lives like those blown-down buildings."
China to its anxious youth: ‘Believe us, things are better in your day!’
"We have to struggle for our rights, not sit and wait. Youth in China should yell out -- we want freedom of press!"
11 May 2020
In Bangladesh, criticism of government response to the COVID-19 pandemic is risky
"Would it be wrong if someone says that the authorities in Bangladesh, equipped with Digital Security Act, launched a crackdown on those critical to the government?"
7 May 2020
Taiwan refuses to deport caregiver who ‘insulted’ Philippine president on Facebook
"I felt that they listened to what I was trying to say, and it shows that they do value democracy here in Taiwan."
