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IFEX Communiqué Vol 20, No 43

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International

23 unsolved murders in 23 days: Join the International Day to End Impunity campaign

Mohammad Ismail was in his last days before retirement as the head of a leading Pakistani press organisation when he left his home to go for an evening walk on 31 October 2006. He was found the next morning near his home, with his skull smashed in. Five years on, his killers have not been found.

International

Seventy-seven civil society organisations ask UN to link access to info and the environment

In an initiative led by ARTICLE 19, 77 civil society organisations which are members of IFEX and the Freedom of Information Advocates (FOIA) Network are calling on the United Nations to champion access to information laws, transparency and free media as key requirements to environmental and human sustainability. The UN is holding a summit of world leaders in Rio in June 2012 (Rio+20) to discuss the environment and sustainable development goals.

Turkey

Dozens arrested in government crackdown on free speech

A professor and a well-known publisher and his son were arrested as part of a recent crackdown on dissent and free speech, report the IPS Communication Foundation (BIANET), Initiative for Freedom of Expression (Antenna-TR) and other IFEX members. Around 50 people have been detained in the past week.

Indonesia

Soldiers kill Papuan independence demonstrators with military assault rifles

Indonesian soldiers violently broke up a peaceful gathering of approximately 1,000 pro-independence Papuans, killing at least three people, reports Human Rights Watch.

Brazil

New FOI law lauded by IFEX groups as boon to transparency and democracy

It took eight years since its initial proposal but Brazil's Senate has passed a comprehensive Freedom of Information (FOI) Law that goes a long way to promoting government transparency and the democratic participation of citizens and the media, report the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (ABRAJI), ARTICLE 19 and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Argentina

"Dirty War" generals sentenced, multiple radio stations attacked

Over the past two months, numerous radio stations have been violently attacked in separate incidents and through various means - from arson, to armed hold-ups, to vandalism - pointing to systematic efforts to censor the airwaves across Argentina, report the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA), Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Meanwhile, FOPEA expresses "profound satisfaction" after the killers of a journalist in 1977 were finally brought to justice.

International

UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2012 seeks nominations

Do you know an individual, organisation or institution that is defending press freedom? If so, send in your nomination for the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2012 by 15 February 2012.