Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Thursday 16 August 2012

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LEGAL ANALYSIS

Tunisia: Draft Law on Criminalisation of Offences against Sacred Values

In this analysis, ARTICLE 19 calls upon the Tunisian Constituent Assembly to reject the Draft Law on the Amendment of the Penal Code concerning the Criminalization of Offences against Sacred Values (Draft Law) due to its illegitimate and excessive restrictions on freedom of expression. Read more>

STATEMENT

Italy: Prison sentences for defamation violate freedom of expression

ARTICLE 19 calls on the Italian Parliament to repeal the provisions of the Penal Code on defamation and bring its legislation in compliance with the international standards on freedom of expression in response to a recent court decision in a criminal defamation case convicting an Italian journalist and the former director of a newspaper to prison sentences. Read more>

STATEMENT

Somalia: Provisional Constitution a positive step towards realising right to freedom of expression and information, but challenges remain

ARTICLE 19 welcomes the adoption of the Provisional Constitution for Somalia as a significant step in the country’s transition towards democracy, and an important landmark for embedding protections for the rights to freedom of expression and information in the country. However, deficiencies in these protections threaten to undermine the ability of new federal institutions to properly safeguard these rights. Full public participation and transparency must define processes for enhancing protections for these rights in the Constitution going forwards. Read more >

PRESS RELEASE

Tunisia: Draft law criminalising offending religious values is repressive and vague

ARTICLE 19 is alarmed by a Draft Law currently under consideration by the Constituent Assembly that makes it a criminal offence to offend religious values through words, images or acts. The Draft law violates international human rights standards and imposes illegitimate and excessive restrictions on the right to freedom of expression. Read more>

PRESS RELEASE

Ukraine: Government must condemn killing of ecologist as crime against freedom of expression

ARTICLE 19 calls on the Ukrainian government to publicly condemn the killing of environmental information activist, Volodymyr Honcharenko as a crime against freedom of expression and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice via an effective, independent and speedy process. Volodymyr campaigned for environmental information in Ukraine and died on 3 August. Read more >

PRESS RELEASE

Burma: Government creates press council but excludes press

ARTICLE 19 is concerned that today’s announcement by the Ministry of Information to create the Myanmar Core Press Council fails to recognise that the print media should be self-regulated by press councils established by the media sector, including journalists, in order to ensure the independence of the media and protect the right to freedom of expression. Read more >

PRESS RELEASE

Ethiopia: Charges against Feteh Newspaper editor Temesgen Desalegn must be dropped

ARTICLE 19 condemns the criminal charges of defamation and ‘false rumours’ brought against Temesgen Desalegn, the editor-in-chief of Feteh Newspaper and the Mastwal Printing and Advertising Company, for articles critical of the government. The sentences available for such ‘crimes’ include life imprisonment and the death penalty. Read more >

UPDATE

Civil Society welcomes UN High Level Panel on Post 2015 but where are the voices of People living in Poverty?

The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), CIVICUS, the Feminist Task Force, Oxfam International, Beyond 2015, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Article 19, ATD Fourth World, the World Movement for Democracy and Stakeholder Forum, welcome the appointment by the UN Secretary-General of a diverse High-Level Panel to advise on a post-2015 development agenda.  Read more >