This statement was originally published on hrw.org on 22 July 2021. 3 protesters reported killed in southwestern Khuzestan Province Iranian authorities appear to have used excessive force against demonstrators in southwestern Iran protesting lack of access to water, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should transparently investigate the reported deaths of at least three protesters…
‘An immediate moratorium’: Israel must stop exporting spyware
This statement was originally published on rsf.org on 21 July 2021. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to stop permitting the exportation of such dangerous technology as Pegasus, a spyware app made by the Israeli company NSO Group that has been used to hack into the phones of tens of…
Anatomy of the Pegasus spyware in India
This statement was originally published on sflc.in on 22 July 2021. The story so far In a series of startling revelations by The Wire, Pegasus, the Israeli spyware was found to have been used to potentially target hundreds of cell phone devices in India. The leaked database was found by Forbidden Stories, a Paris based…
Lukašenka launches a purge of Belarusian civil society
This statement was originally published on baj.by on 23 July 2021. Belarus authorities have launched a process to liquidate dozens of NGOs, including key human rights groups, as they continue their unrelenting crackdown on civil society. Many of the NGOs that are being shut down were targeted in raids by law enforcement officers earlier this…
Turkey: Concern over proposals to introduce new regulation of “fake” and “foreign-funded” news
The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and undersigned partner organisations are concerned about and condemn recent statements by Turkish President Erdoğan and other government officials pertaining to the introduction of new regulation of so-called fake news and “foreign-funded” news in the country. Officials’ targeting of several critical and independent media outlets for securing funds abroad…
UAE: Safety of imprisoned activist Ahmed Mansoor at risk behind bars
This statement was originally published on gc4hr.org on 19 July 2021. Leaked Letter Details Mistreatment in Prison A prominent Emirati human rights defender may face retaliation after a private letter he wrote detailing his mistreatment in detention and flagrantly unfair trial was published in the regional media, Human Rights Watch and the Gulf Centre for Human…
Belarus: Justice Ministry files lawsuit seeking the closure of the Belarusian Association of Journalists
This statement was originally published on baj.by on 22 July 2021. The justice ministry has filed a lawsuit seeking the closure of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) over its alleged failure to stop violations of regulations. According to the ministry’s press office, the BAJ received a warning for violating regulations governing the activities of…
MISA Malawi implements “Only Spreading Facts” campaign
This statement was originally published on misa.org on 3 July 2021. Journalists in Malawi are fighting misinformation around Covid-19 by providing expert-based information on the pandemic. Since the detection of the first Covid-19 case in April 2020, misinformation and disinformation around the pandemic have hugely defined social media and street narrative in Malawi. Station Manager…