Latest posts by Afef Abrougui
19 March 2019
Activists speak out against Iraq's cybercrime bill
The bill prescribes lengthy prisons sentences, including life imprisonment, for speech-related offences.
13 March 2019
Scheduled release of Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El Fattah delayed by 10 days
The #FreeAlaa campaign reassured supporters that the delay is not a cause for concern for now.
4 March 2019
Photojournalist Mahmoud ‘Shawkan’ Abu Zeid walks free, after more than five years in prison
Shawkan, who was working for Demotix at the time of his arrest, spent almost four years in pre-trial detention.
25 February 2019
How Saudi leaders are using religion to consolidate power and silence critical voices
''Oppression is a comprehensive system, and [in our country] it is enabled by religion.''
18 February 2019
EU proposal pushes tech companies to tackle ‘terrorist content’ with AI, despite implications for war crimes evidence
AI tools can assess whether a video is violent or graphic. But can they determine the video’s intended purpose?
17 December 2018
100 days for Alaa: Family of Egyptian activist counts the days until his release from prison
Alaa has been jailed or investigated under every Egyptian head of state who has served during his lifetime.
10 December 2018
Lebanese journalist goes on trial for covering migrant worker abuse allegations
Lebanon's Cybercrimes Bureau also asked him to sign a pledge to not speak about the case again, but he refused.
29 November 2018
Meet the women's rights activists behind bars in Saudi Arabia
On International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, human rights organisations continue to call for the release of jailed Saudi women activists.
27 November 2018
How will Google plug into China’s all-encompassing internet censorship regime?
How far is Google willing to go to get the Chinese government's blessing?
9 November 2018
Algerian TV network director files defamation case against independent journalists
"When we denounce corruption and favouritism, it’s an act of patriotism....we are an actor of stability, seeking to drive the country in the right direction".
31 October 2018
Israa Al-Ghomgham, a Saudi woman facing the death penalty for peaceful protest
Al-Ghomgham, and many other Saudi Shiites, took to the streets in 2011 to demand better rights.
25 October 2018
Arrested in Saudi Arabia, and then disappeared: Yemeni writer Marwan Almuraisy
In the authoritarian kingdom, the crackdown against independent voices has escalated under Mohammed Bin Salman's rule.
16 October 2018
When will Egypt release photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid aka Shawkan?
More than one month after a Cairo court verdict that many saw as the end to his ordeal, Shawkan remains in jail.
7 September 2018
South Asian governments keep ordering internet shutdowns — and leaving users in the dark
“Operators owe complete transparency to their users, as consumers who are paying them money and also in the interest of accountability.”
3 August 2018
Killing speech softly: How the world’s biggest tech companies are quietly censoring critical expression in the Middle East
The failures of tech giants in moderating content in the region is a big and complex problem.
19 July 2018
Access denied: How Uganda’s social media tax is turning news and information into luxury goods
For Uganda’s poorest residents, the new tax raises internet connection costs by 10%.
18 July 2018
‘If it isn’t recorded, it didn’t happen': Israel moves to restrict photo documentation of military activity
Israeli legislators are pushing two bills that would further restrict speech by activists and journalists critical of its policies in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory.
11 June 2018
Algerian blogger sentenced to ten years in prison, in another blow to free expression
Prior to his arrest, Touati covered anti-austerity strikes and job protests, and rights violations committed by Algerian authorities.
23 May 2018
Tunisian journalists say police union attacks are having a chilling effect on press freedom
Impunity for abuses committed by security forces and police unions "is almost becoming a norm," according to the syndicate of Tunisian journalists.
27 April 2018
Telcos must disclose more data about internet shutdowns, say civil society groups
New research shows that the world's largest telecommunications companies disclose little to no information about their network shutdown policies and practices.
