On April 17, Russian journalist and activist Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison. His crime? Criticizing the Russian government’s brutal war against Ukraine.

Journalists in Iran, many of them women, have been arrested simply for covering demonstrations involving many parts of Iranian society — from teachers and workers’ unions to lawyers and students.

Recent arrests in Russia and Iran highlight authoritarian regimes’ continuing crackdown on freedom of expression. Freedom of expression has declined globally for 17 consecutive years, according to the Washington-based advocacy group Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World report.

“While free expression does not guarantee democracy, its absence enables authoritarianism,” Freedom House’s Yana Gorokhovskaia said, announcing the report’s release March 9. “But criminal prosecution of journalists, extrajudicial violence, censorship, and laws that limit the independence of media are increasing all over the world.”

The United Nations celebrates World Press Freedom Day May 3 to remind governments to respect freedom of expression, which the U.N. calls “a driver for all other human rights.”

Freedom House will honor Kara-Murza and the women of Iran during a May 9 award ceremony for champions of democracy. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will speak at the event.

Russian authorities arrested Kara-Murza in April 2022, not long after he’d given speeches and interviews in Russia and abroad denouncing the Russian government’s war against Ukraine.

“The Kremlin’s preposterous charges against Vladimir Kara-Murza — ‘disseminating false information’ about the brutal war in Ukraine — is yet another cynical attempt to silence those who speak the truth,” Blinken said, calling for Kara-Murza’s release in April 2022.

Blinken has praised the courage of the people of Iran, who launched widespread protests in September 2022 after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini in police custody. Amini had been arrested for allegedly not adhering to mandatory veiling laws.

Niloofar Hamedi and fellow journalist Elaheh Mohammadi, two of the journalists who first reported Amini’s death, were later arrested in the government’s crackdown on demonstrations. “Security forces have deliberately gone after women journalists and jailed them at a rapidly increasing rate,” Britt Gronemeyer of the Washington-based Atlantic Council said in an April op-ed.

Since the Iranian regime began its brutal crackdown on protests in September of last year, the United States has sanctioned numerous government officials responsible for human rights violations. The sanctions have been imposed in close coordination with partners including the United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union and Australia.

In its Freedom in the World report, issued annually since 1973, Freedom House says the desire for freedom is universal and people will continue to challenge authoritarian regimes.

“Recent events in Iran are another reminder that millions of people are willing to call for democracy and defend their rights even at great personal risk,” the 2023 report says.

Source: ShareAmerica

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, denounced today the Russian authoritiesu2019 decision to outlaw one of the most popular Russian-language news portals, Meduza.

On 26 January, the Prosecutor Generalu2019s Office in Russia outlawed Meduza after declaring the media outlet an u201cundesirable organizationu201d based on claims that the outletu2019s activities pose a threat to the foundations of Russiau2019s constitutional order and security.

Under Russian legislation, an u2018undesirable organizationu2019 is effectively banned from operating in Russian territory under threat of criminal and administrative prosecution. The legislation also broadly extends to alleged affiliation with and providing support to such an organization.

u201cThe outlawing of Meduza shows yet again that the Russian authorities disregard international principles and the OSCEu2019s media freedom commitments, as well as continue to isolate Russian citizens from independent information. I call on the authorities to repeal this decision and stop intimidation and harassment of media,u201d Ribeiro said.

Moreover, Ribeiro expressed concern about Russiau2019s earlier, similar outlawing of investigative media portals u2014 Proekt, Istories, The Insider and Bellingcat u2014 as well as the continued mass designation of media outlets and journalists as u201cforeign agentsu201d.

As early as 2015, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media warned about Russiau2019s legislation related to u2018undesirable organizationsu2019 and its negative effects on freedom of expression, media freedom and pluralism of opinions.

Source: OSCE

Russia has continued to see a precipitous decline in press freedom as the countryu2019s military campaign in Ukraine entered its second year, according to the annual press freedom rankingsu00a0publishedu00a0by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) onu00a0Wednesday.

Russia placed 164th out of the 180 countries surveyed in the ranking, a nine-point drop from last year amid what RSF called a u201cfinal purgeu201d of the media landscape enabled by the war in Ukraine.u00a0

u201cSystemic censorship and the forced exodus of independent Russian and foreign media outlets have freed up space for the dissemination of coordinated propaganda by pro-government media,u201d RSF said.

Russiau2019s propaganda apparatus was swiftly imposed on the Ukrainian territories seized by Russian forces in the invasion, RSF said, adding that in doing so Ukrainian media had been replaced, independent TV channels had been jammed and local journalists had been hunted down.

The Paris-based nonprofit highlighted the u201crecord timeu201d in which Russia managed to establish its media arsenal in occupied Ukraine while banning, blocking, or labeling domestic independent media as u201cforeign agents.u201d

RSF compiles its annual press freedom rankings based on how easy it is to disseminate information independently without the threat of violence.

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Source: The Moscow Times