Over 50 NGOs worldwide signed a joint appeal to the UN against ill-treatment and torture of detained human rights defenders, activists and photojournalist in Bahrain, calling for UN and Red Cross visits.

With the release of a new report on widespread impunity, the Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the incoming government of Pakistan to urgently address the issue of violence against the press by bringing perpetrators of past crimes to justice.

Individuals affiliated with the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) seized all copies of "Rajdhani" daily from its printing press in Kathmandu, thereby preventing its distribution.

Journalist Mauro Cecilio Ccapa Zapana was threatened by a local leader's staff after he reported on a cancelled drinking water project.

Kiev's city administration has announced that it will seek a court-mandated ban on the Kiev Pride Equality March and other events scheduled for 25 May. The announcement came against the backdrop of mounting opposition to the march by numerous right-wing and religious groups in Ukraine.

A key US senator has backed an end to U.S. sanctions on Burma after a landmark visit by Thein Sein, the country's reformist leader, signaling a new normalisation in relations despite rights concerns.

The Indian government has been implementing a system to track and access calls, texts, and online activities; opponents say that while the system can be used to halt terror attacks and other violence, the government will primarily use it to police hate speech and criticism of authorities.

Shortly before his disappearance, journalist Guylain Chandjaro was beaten up in a bar by an unidentified man who took issue with comments he had made on one of his Radio Canal Révélation programmes called "Hewa Bora."

ARTICLE 19 is disappointed with the decision of a court in Sao Paulo to uphold a ban against a protester who has been campaigning against a property development in the city. The Court of Justice in the State of São Paulo has approved an injunction against the engineer and community activist Ricardo Fraga Oliveira.

Poland's transport minister Slawomir Nowak recently filed a libel suit for 30 million zlotys (7 million euros) against a magazine. In a separate incident, the deputy prime minister and economy minister Janusz Piechocinski made intimidating comments to a TV24 journalist when asked about a possible cabinet reshuffle.

Despite the acceptance of the vast majority of observations on free expression in Ecuador at the 2012 U.N. Universal Periodic Review, Fundamedios is concerned that in practice no advances are evident.

The Israeli government published a report of its investigation into French TV station France 2’s coverage of 12-year-old Palestinian Muhammad al-Durrah’s death during rioting in the Gaza Strip on 30 September 2000 and the disputed claim that he was killed by a shot fired from Israeli positions.

Human Rights Watch interviewed witnesses, civil society leaders, and government officials about police shootings that occurred in the wake of demonstrations against the Kenyan Supreme Court ruling on March 30 upholding President Uhuru Kenyatta's election victory.

As eight Vietnamese human rights activists are appealing their convictions, a coalition of organisations has questioned the legitimacy of the trial and condemned the reported ill treatment of the activists since they have been in detention.

Aleksandr Kharlamov &nash; who has written articles on world religion and atheism – was arrested on 14 March on charges of "inciting religious discord". He was placed in a psychiatric clinic to determine whether he was clinically insane at the time of the alleged crime.

At least three journalists have been held hostage by armed tribesmen for a week in Yemen. Several reports named the tribal leader Yahia Saleh al-Masmi as responsible for the kidnapping.

The hosts of "Huaraz Noticias en Radio" suspect that both the mayor of Huaraz and the Ancash Regional President are behind the suspension of their news programme.

Internet access has slowed, critical websites have been blocked, and several journalists have been summoned back to prison in Iran as the country's Guardian Council made a key decision barring two leading candidates from the presidential election.

On Thursday 2 May 2013, the radio programme "Hablemos Claro", broadcast by Radio Marejada in the coastal province of Manabí, was taken off the air. According to the programme’s director, Trajano Andrade, it was suspended due to pressure exerted by the Municipality of Manta.

Palestinian-born Bassel was arrested on 15 March last year by Syrian security forces, and has been in prison ever since.