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  • Ecuador: End Assault on Free Speech
    Jun 17, 2013
    Press release
    The Communications Law that the Ecuadorian National Assembly approved on June 14, 2013, seriously undermines free speech. The law includes overly broad language that will limit the free expression of journalists and media outlets.
  • US: Urgent Need for Surveillance Reforms
    Jun 11, 2013
    Press release
    Recent revelations about the scope of US national security surveillance highlight how dramatic increases in private digital communications and government computing power are fueling surveillance practices that impinge on privacy in ways unimaginable just a few years ago. There is an urgent need for the US Congress to reevaluate and rewrite surveillance laws in light of those technological developments and put in place better safeguards against security agency overreach.
  • Singapore: Licensing Regime Chills News Climate
    Jun 7, 2013
    Press release
    The Singaporean government should withdraw an onerous new licensing requirement for online news sites. The new rules will further discourage independent commentary and reporting on the Internet in Singapore.
  • Jordan: Rescind Order to Block Websites
    Jun 4, 2013
    Press release
    Jordanian authorities should immediately rescind an order to censor 263 unlicensed local news websites.The government should also scrap recent legislation that allows it to encroach on online media freedom. The attempts to regulate online speech violate Jordan’s constitutional free expression guarantees.
  • Burundi: Online Newspaper Forum Suspended
    Jun 3, 2013
    Press release
    The decision by the National Communication Council to suspend the readers’ forum of the Burundian newspaper Iwacu infringes on the right to freedom of expression. The government should lift the suspension and allow the newspaper to resume publication of its readers’ comments page.
  • United States: Facebook Makes Human Rights Commitment
    May 22, 2013
    Press release
    Facebook has taken a critical step toward increasing respect for human rights by joining the Global Network Initiative.
  • Uganda: Stop Harassing the Media
    May 20, 2013
    Press release
    The Ugandan government should immediately end politically motivated police intimidation of newspapers and radio stations and ensure that the media can operate freely.
  • Hungary: Rule of Law Under Threat
    May 16, 2013
    Press release
    The systemic changes to Hungary’s legal framework introduced by the government since 2010 weaken legal checks on its authority, interfere with media freedom, and undermine human rights protections, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
  • Jordan: End Free Speech Prosecution
    May 4, 2013
    Press release
    Jordanian criminal justice authorities should immediately drop their three-year prosecution of two intellectuals and withdraw all charges against them.
  • South Sudan: Stop Harassing, Detaining Journalists
    May 3, 2013
    Press release
    Security force harassment and unlawful detention of journalists is undermining freedom of expression in South Sudan, the Agency for Independent Media (AIM), Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Human Rights Watch said today, on World Press Freedom Day.
  • Sudan: Stepped-Up Assault on Media Freedom
    May 3, 2013
    Press release
    Sudan should immediately stop censoring newspapers and end all forms of repression of media and journalists, on World Press Freedom Day.
  • Ethiopia: Terrorism Law Decimates Media
    May 3, 2013
    Press release
    The Ethiopian government should mark World Press Freedom Day, on May 3, 2013, by immediately releasing all journalists jailed under the country’s deeply flawed anti-terrorism law. On May 2, 2013, the Supreme Court upheld an 18-year sentence under the anti-terrorism law for Eskinder Nega Fenta, a journalist and blogger who received the 2012 PEN Freedom to Write Award.
  • Colombia: Ensure Effective Inquiry Into Attack on Journalist
    May 2, 2013
    Press release
    Colombia should ensure that the investigation into the attack on a leading investigative journalist thoroughly examines possible motives related to his work and identifies all responsible parties, Human Rights Watch said today. On the evening of May 1, 2013, gunmen opened fire on the car driven by Ricardo Calderón, an editor at Semana magazine, Colombia’s main newsweekly, as it was stopped on a road between Ibagué and Bogotá. Five bullets penetrated the body of the vehicle, but Calderón escaped without injuries.
  • Iraq: Cancel Revocations of TV Station Licenses
    Apr 30, 2013
    Press release
    Iraq’s media commission should immediately reverse the license suspensions for ten satellite television stations and allow them to continue broadcasting. A senior official has admitted the suspension was not according to any law, nor could the commission produce any evidence of direct incitement to violence by any of the stations, leading to the conclusion that the suspension was arbitrary.
  • South Africa: ‘Secrecy Bill’ Improved But Still Flawed
    Apr 29, 2013
    Press release
    South Africa’s “secrecy bill,” adopted by the National Assembly on April 25, 2013, lacks essential protections for whistleblowers.
  • Kenya: New Leaders Should Put Rights First
    Apr 23, 2013
    Press release
    Kenya’s new administration should take urgent steps in four key areas to address longstanding human rights challenges, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The administration should ensure that abusive security forces are held to account, protect independent voices, accelerate key police and land reforms, and cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
  • Burundi: New Law Would Muzzle Journalists
    Apr 12, 2013
    Press release
    The adoption of a new media law by Burundi’s National Assembly on April 3, 2013, is an attempt to curtail free speech and independent journalism. The Senate and president should reject this version of the draft law, which would undermine Burundians’ hard-won struggle for fundamental freedoms.
  • Libya: Release Ailing Newspaper Editor
    Apr 12, 2013
    Press release
    Libyan authorities should immediately drop criminal defamation charges and free Amara Hassan al-Khatabi, editor of al-Ummah daily. Al-Khatabi, who has been in detention since December 19, 2012, is on trial for “insulting” and “slandering” members of the judiciary. His private lawyer was not allowed to visit him while he was detained in prison and says he was transferred to a medical facility due to his fragile health on April 6, 2013, where he remains detained under guard.
  • Ethiopia: Muslim Protesters Face Unfair Trial
    Apr 2, 2013
    Press release
    The prosecution of 29 Muslim protest leaders and others charged under Ethiopia’s deeply flawed anti-terrorism law raises serious fair trial concerns. The trial is scheduled to resume in Addis Ababa on April 2, 2013, after a 40-day postponement.
  • Yemen: Possible Military Role in Journalist’s Killing
    Mar 16, 2013
    Press release
    Yemeni authorities should ensure that an investigation into the killing of a journalist and another man in Aden fully and impartially examines the military’s possible role and brings those responsible to justice.
  • Somalia: Woman Alleging Rape Cleared, Journalist Convicted
    Mar 3, 2013
    Press release
    An appeals court’s ruling to uphold the conviction of a journalist who interviewed a woman alleging rape by government forces is a major setback for freedom of the media in Somalia. The woman, who had also been convicted of “insulting the government” and other alleged crimes, was found not guilty.
  • Somalia: Second Journalist Detained Without Charge
    Feb 11, 2013
    Press release
    Somali authorities should immediately charge or release Daud Abdi Daud, a journalist who has been in custody since February 5, 2013. On February 11, he was transferred from police custody to Mogadishu Central Prison. Daud Abdi, who works for Kulmiye Radio, is secretary general of the Somali Media for Environment, Science, Health, and Agriculture.
  • Iraqi Kurdistan: Free Speech Under Attack
    Feb 10, 2013
    Press release
    Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) should stop arbitrarily detaining journalists, activists, and political opposition figures, and end its prosecution of journalists for insulting or defaming public figures. The Asayish – the Kurdistan Security Agency – and police arrested without warrants journalists and others who published articles criticizing public officials, and detained them without charge or trial for periods ranging from several weeks to a year.
  • Somalia: Woman Alleging Rape, Journalist Convicted
    Feb 5, 2013
    Press release
    A Somali court’s conviction of a woman who alleged rape by security forces, and a journalist who interviewed her, is a serious setback for ending sexual violence and protecting press freedom, five human rights and media organizations said today. The government should drop its groundless case against the journalist and the woman, and immediately order the release of the journalist, the organizations said.
  • Iran: Consolidating Power as Elections Near
    Jan 31, 2013
    Press release
    Authorities arrested, detained, and harassed some of Iran’s most celebrated rights lawyers, and stepped up their assault on critical journalists, bloggers, and their families in 2012, HumanRightsWatchsaidtodayinitsWorld Report 2013.The government also prevented reformists and opposition leaders from participating in parliamentary elections, and is holding the opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard under house arrest as Iran prepares for its presidential election in June 2013.
  • Somalia: Alleged Rape Victim Charged
    Jan 29, 2013
    Press release
    Somali authorities should drop politically motivated charges against five people including a journalist and a woman who alleged she was raped by state security forces.
  • Iran: Free Journalists Swept Up in Raids
    Jan 29, 2013
    Press release
    Iran’s judiciary should charge or immediately free more than a dozen journalists arrested in recent days,. Any criminal charges would have to be based on clear evidence, and not in themselves amount to a violation of the journalists’ fundamental rights, including their freedom of expression or association. The judiciary and all Iranian authorities should ensure that the rights of all journalists in Iran to freedom of expression are fully protected, particularly in the period leading up to the 2013 presidential election.
  • Venezuela: Halt Censorship, Intimidation of Media
    Jan 12, 2013
    Press release
    Venezuela should end censorship and intimidation of media that challenge the official line regarding President Hugo Chávez’s health and inauguration, Human Rights Watch said today.
  • China: Renewed Restrictions Send Online Chill
    Jan 4, 2013
    Press release
    The Chinese government’s further tightening of internet controls and mandating real name registration threaten security and privacy of internet users. On December 28, 2012, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislative body, passed the “Decision to Strengthen the Protection of Online Information.” The Decision contains troubling provisions that require internet access and telecommunications providers to collect personal information about users when they sign up for internet access, landline, or mobile phone service.