On Sunday, TV and newspaper journalists gathered in Tel Aviv to protest against a bill that would drastically increase the penalty for libel, as well as a number of recent events that journalists have said demonstrate government encroachment on media independence. Knesset Ministers Meir Sheetrit (Kadima) and Yariv Levin (Likud) have proposed a bill that […]

The International Press Institute (IPI) on Monday expressed concern about the lèse majesté charges pending against Thai editor Somyot Prueksakasemsuk in connection with two articles that appeared in his newspaper, the Voice of the Oppressed (Voice of Taksin), earlier this year and which, Thai authorities argue, made negative references to the monarchy. Lèse majesté laws, […]

The past two weeks have been a season of disquiet for the robust Indian media that has had a creditable record of helping to enforce accountability among public office holders by focussing on corruption.  This disquiet arises from three developments that are unrelated but which have the same effect of threatening to constrict media freedom. […]

The International Press Institute (IPI) today joined with the Council of Europe’s leadership in calling on Turkey to change its attitude toward media freedom. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the Council’s secretary general, Thorbjorn Jagland, said Turkey had approximately 16,000 cases pending before the European Court of Human Rights, 1,000 of which concerned media freedom. […]