IFEX

Ukraine opens investigation into director of Russian prison where Victoria Roshchyna died - IFEX Alexander Shtoda will be investigated in absentia for his involvement in the torture of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who died in prison in 2024.

#Ukraine 🇺🇦 @rsf-interfr.bsky.social‬ welcomes the announcement that the Ukrainian authorities will investigate in absentia the director of the Russian prison in which journalist Victoria Roshchyna was tortured and died.

Pakistan: Senate proposes bill to ban social media for minors, sparks concern - IFEX The bill proposes a ban on all children under 16 from accessing platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.

#Pakistan 🇵🇰 “The idea of protecting children online is important, but when you start introducing blanket bans, it sets a dangerous precedent,” said Sadaf Khan, co-founder of Media Matters for Democracy.

Iraqi authorities shutter Al-Baghdadia TV, jail director for 3 years - Committee to Protect Journalists Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, August 5, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iraqi authorities to free Al-Baghdadia TV’s director and presenter Ali Al-Dhabhawi, who was given a three-year jail…

#Iraq 🇮🇶 The closure of Al-Baghdadia TV and the jailing of its director mark a sharp escalation in the crackdown on independent media, warns @pressfreedom.bsky.social. Security forces raided the outlet, arrested staff, and seized equipment.

Watchdogs warn of lack of transparency in Côte d’Ivoire’s presidential candidate selection process Côte d’Ivoire is preparing to hold its presidential elections in October 2025. With four candidates excluded, President Alassane Ouattara, 83, who has been in office since 2011, is expected to run…

#IvoryCoast 🇨🇮 Ahead of October 2025 elections, @globalvoices.org analysis reveals how the exclusion of key opposition candidates amid escalating French & Russian-backed disinformation is intensifying political tensions.

Ongoing Harassment of Lina Attalah and Escalating Crackdown on Mada Masr and Independent Journalism in Egypt The undersigned organizations condemn the ongoing judicial and security harassment of Mada Masr, one of the last operating independent media platforms in Egypt. The latest incident involved the…

#Egypt 🇪🇬 CIHRS and rights groups condemn ongoing legal harassment against Mada Masr’s leadership as part of a wider effort to silence independent media and restrict freedom of expression.

"The European Commission must hold national authorities that are delaying or reluctant to fulfil their obligations to account and, if necessary, initiate proceedings against the most recalcitrant governments" - Thibaut Bruttin, RSF

#EU 🇪🇺 The #EMFA represents major progress for the protection of journalists, but its implementation at national levels has been delayed due to a lack of sufficient political will among member states. @rsf.org‬ calls for full, swift implementation. buff.ly/oMj56ae

Belarus: Anti-extremism laws put digital rights at risk

#Belarus 🇧🇾 "As authorities extend the crackdown into online spaces, they are actively policing speech and dismantling social bonds that sustain civic resistance". Read @article19.bsky.social‬'s analysis of Belarus's anti-extremism laws.

#Algeria 🇩🇿 CIHRS and rights groups condemn the forced deportation of activist Nassera Dutour, calling it an unlawful act that violates the Constitution and international law, and signals deepening repression of civic freedoms. buff.ly/7vIIw9m

Nigeria: Investigative journalist, activist detained after condemning crackdown on protest The Kwara State Police Command at the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters in Ilorin has arrested and detained investigative journalist Buhari Olanrewaju Ahmed and activist…

#Nigeria 🇳🇬 The arrest of journalist Buhari Olanrewaju Ahmed and activist Saidu Musa Tsaragi, for exposing a government-backed attack on protesters, has been described by MFWA as an assault on press freedom.

Persiste el hostigamiento en contra de la periodista Camila Acosta – ARTICLE 19 MX-CA #Centroamérica #Derecho-a-informacion #Derechos-Digitales #Proteccion

#Cuba 🇨🇺 @article19mxca.bsky.social reports continued harassment and surveillance against journalist Camila Acosta, and observes an increase in attacks against critical voices during symbolic dates. (In Spanish)

Making AI More Participatory and Inclusive for the Benefit of All Africans – Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) Joint Statement | Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping our societies; we must ensure ethical, inclusive, and rights-based approaches rooted in the lived realities of our communities, guide its…

#Africa 🌍 Building on the #GlobalAISummit2025, CIPESA, MISA, and
‪@pollicy.bsky.social‬ & other stakeholders urge leaders to commit to decent #AI jobs, meaningful public participation in governance, and resources for inclusive, rights-based AI development.

"The repeated targeting of journalists and media institutions—including clearly marked and known press gathering locations—amounts to war crimes that must be prosecuted and held accountable before international courts. - Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA)"

#Palestine 🇵🇸 MADA condemns the deadly Israeli airstrike on a journalists’ tent near Al-Shifa Hospital that killed six reporters including Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammad Qreiqa, calling it a deliberate attempt to silence Palestinian media. buff.ly/c73cLGE

Elena Tonkacheva

#Belarus 🇧🇾 Lawyer and rights activist, Elena Tonkacheva, has for decades been a leading figure in the Belarusian legal rights CSO Law Trends. Read about her work and persecution by the Lukashenka regime in our profile.

"This is not incidental. This is a tactic.The suffering of journalists is not an accident; Israel is employing deliberate tactics to silence the truth by starving them." - CPJ and rights groups

#Palestine 🇵🇸 An Israeli targeted airstrike killed Al Jazeera’s Anas Al-Sharif and three colleagues, days after he spoke of being starved alongside other journalists — a tactic @pressfreedom.bsky.social and partners warn is aimed at silencing the truth. buff.ly/cPmtMcK

Georgia: Journalist Mzia Amaglobeli sentenced to two years in prison

#Georgia 🇬🇪 @efjeurope.bsky.social‬ strongly condemns the conviction and sentencing to two years in prison of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli. Held in pre-trial detention since January, she has been smeared by the government as working for a 'foreign powers'.

Groups urge protection of journalists and ethical reporting amid Cambodia-Thailand border dispute

🌐 Amid the border conflict of #Thailand & #Cambodia, civil society groups urged authorities of both nations "to ensure timely & transparent access to reliable information & to guarantee the safety & freedom of movement for all journalists."

NGOs call for immediate release of ​Saudi human rights defender Mohammed Al-Bajadi, still held two years after his sentence ended

#SaudiArabia 🇸🇦 The continued detention of Mohammed Al-Bajadi more than two years past his sentence is a stark reminder of the kingdom’s crackdown on dissent. ‪@gulfcentre4hr.bsky.social‬ and rights groups call for his unconditional release.

Desinformación, cuestiones medioambientales y cambio climático: contribuciones desde sociedad civil al Forum Information Democracy Este documento presentó un diagnóstico y recomendaciones sobre la protección de las personas defensoras y activistas medioambientales en América Latina

#Americas 🌎 @derechosdigitales.org‬, Instituto Nupef, TEDIC & Karisma submitted joint recommendations to the Forum on Information & Democracy on protecting environmental defenders in Latin America. (In Spanish)

Burkina Faso Releases Conscripted Journalists, Activist Earlier in July 2025, Burkina Faso authorities released five journalists and a human rights activist who had been unlawfully conscripted into the military after criticizing the country’s military…

#BurkinaFaso 🇧🇫 In July, authorities released 5 journalists and a rights activist unlawfully conscripted for criticising the junta, but @hrw.org warns many others abducted since 2023 remain missing.

This week in #FreeExpression:

🔹 Albania’s draft law threatens journalism
🔹 Uganda’s traffic fines reveal digital flaws
🔹 Vague hate speech law sparks free speech fears

📬 Read more #IFEXThisWeek: buff.ly/zQZImRW

Belarus: Five years of relentless crackdown on cultural rights  — PEN International | Promoting Literature & Defending Freedom of Expression Worldwide ‘Belarusian culture, language and identity have come under sustained onslaught over the past five years. It is high time the international community takes a stance in support of the Belarusian…

#Belarus 🇧🇾 "The scale of repression is staggering" - Marking 5 years since the rigged election that kept Lukashenka in power and triggered the current crackdown on civic space, @peninternational.bsky.social‬ shares its #UPR submission on Belarus.

Vietnam: Free Imprisoned Activists at Medical Risk The Vietnamese government should immediately release two wrongfully imprisoned activists who have developed serious health problems in prison.

#Vietnam 🇻🇳 @hrw.org calls for the release of two activists who need medical care. “By arbitrarily detaining Can Thi Theu and Le Dinh Luong, the Vietnamese authorities are putting their health at risk and compounding the violations of their rights.”

Bitácora #63 | 🚨Se incrementa la violencia contra periodistas en varias zonas del país

#Colombia 🇨🇴 @FLIP_org warns of rising violence against journalists in Arauca and Guaviare. Armed groups are using threats and harassment to silence local press, according to their latest special edition of En Pocas Palabras (In Spanish).

MADA Launches Sixth Edition of the Press Freedom Index in Palestine Speakers Call for Urgent Implementation of Report Recommendations

#Palestine 🇵🇸 Press freedom remains “difficult,” scoring just 370/1000 in MADA Center's 2024 Press Freedom Index. The report urges urgent action to protect Palestinian journalists and strengthen civic space.

Read it here:

Africa’s digital safety mechanisms for women

#Africa 🌍 In a @globalvoices.org piece, @CeciliaMaundu highlights safety by design as the solution to tech-facilitated gender violence - so digital spaces protect women before harm happens and not after.

This week in #FreeExpression:

🔹 US sanctions on UN expert draw civil society backlash
🔹 PEN demands release of jailed Venezuelan journalists
🔹 Digital safety advances for women in Africa

📬 Read more #IFEXThisWeek buff.ly/zQZImRW

The women of the land: The silent revolution of ecofeminism in Turkey From the Kaz Mountains to the Black Sea, women are defending not only nature but also their identities, labor, and right to life. This way of thinking and struggling is called “ecofeminism.”

#Turkey 🇹🇷 Women’s voices have become increasingly prominent in environmental activism, calling not only for environmental justice, but also for equality. Read @bianet-eng.bsky.social‬'s brief guide to Turkey's #EcoFeminism movement.

How India’s comedians are paying the price for free speech - Index on Censorship An incident in which Mumbai's Habitat comedy club was vandalised by supporters of a local political group after Kunal Kamra made jokes about its leader is a worrying sign of the times

#India 🇮🇳 Rishabh Jain writes about the recent attacks targeting comedians. "They continue to stand on stage and say the things others dare not, even as the space to laugh – and to dissent – keeps shrinking." @indexoncensorship.org

Iran arrests 98 ‘citizen-journalists’ for contact with UK-based outlet - Committee to Protect Journalists Paris, July 31, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iranian authorities to explain the grounds on which they have summoned and arrested 98 “so-called citizen-journalists” for having…

#Iran 🇮🇷 98 Iranians have been detained for alleged links to a London-based TV channel. ‪@pressfreedom.bsky.social‬ says labelling citizens as “agents” for media contact is a dangerous tactic that threatens civic space and press freedom.

Burkina Faso: Activist Alino Faso found dead in Côte d’Ivoire jail On July 27, 2025, a statement from the Ivorian public prosecutor, Koné Braman Oumar, announced the death of the Burkinabe activist, Alain Christophe Traoré, while in detention in Côte d’Ivoire. “He…

#IvoryCoast 🇨🇮 The MFWA calls for transparent probe into shocking death of Burkinabe activist Alain Christophe Traoré, found hanged days after his arrest for pro-Traoré posts.