In recent years, media freedom in Uzbekistan has improved under the rule of Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The reformist prime minister turned president has been in power since 2016 following the death of long-time ruler Islam Karimov. Since then, Mirziyoyev has moved to open up one of the world’s harshest dictatorships: quickly freeing imprisoned journalists, unblocking banned […]

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) today calls on Poland’s state-controlled oil giant PKN Orlen to immediately halt its interference in the newsrooms and editorial independence of Polska Press media and to fully respect the court’s interim decision suspending its purchase of the publisher pending a review. The MFRR warns that yesterday the long-expected purge […]

Authoritarian and illiberal-minded regimes are becoming increasingly emboldened in their efforts to stifle independent media, the International Press Institute (IPI) warned ahead of World Press Freedom Day 2021. Brutal crackdowns on the press are unfolding openly across the globe. After seizing power in a coup on February 1, Myanmar’s military junta has arrested more than […]

In December 2019, before COVID-19 came to dominate world headlines, investigative journalist Maria Maggiore couldn’t stop thinking about EU investments in fossil fuels. “At the time, everyone was talking about climate change and everyone was excited about doing something about it,” she recalled. “You had headlines of (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel and (French President Emmanuel) […]