The brutal killing of a teacher and the Charlie Hebdo trial rekindle France’s debate over laicite.
Freedom of the Press
![Under Egyptian law, it is illegal to hold an individual without charge for more than two years [Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/000_1OX2AW.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Egyptian authorities continue to hold the journalist under arbitrary and illegal detention without trial.
![UNSMIL says Mohammed Baayou, head of the Libyan Media Corporation, was arrested on Tuesday in the capital Tripoli [File: Mahmud Turkia/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/000_8QX2QN.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
UN Support Mission denounces ‘unlawful arrest’ of Mohammed Baayou after he spoke out against Islamist...
![Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, October 21, 2020 {Nicholas Kamm/Pool via AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AP_20295654555689.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
US tightens rules on more Chinese media organisations, saying they are propaganda outlets for the...
![The office of Dijlah TV station in Baghdad was badly damaged after it was set ablaze by protesters on August 31 [Photo circulated on social media via HRW]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IraqTV.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Criticism follows raids by unidentified armed men and the closing down of TV and radio stations.
![Kashmiri journalists protest in Srinagar against a new media policy announced this year that seeks to regulate reporting in the disputed region [File: Dar Yasin/AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AP_20188243044457.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Indian administration seals office of Kashmir Times, causing outrage from journalists in the disputed region.
The decision came after ABC alleged Australian troops had killed unarmed men and children in Afghanistan.
![Prominent Vietnamese activist Pham Doan Trang was arrested on the night of October 6 [File: Adam Bemma/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/263bac0ab4684742b687c74619062a2c_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Vietnam accused of ‘scorched-earth’ approach to dissent after late-night arrest of Pham Doan Trang at her home .
![Basma Mostafa appeared on Sunday at the headquarters of Egypt's state security prosecution in Cairo, her lawyer said [File: Nariman El-Mofty/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AP_20278524815658-1.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Al-Manassa says Basma Mostafa was held after arriving in Luxor to cover the alleged killing of a man during police raid.
![Iraqi Kurds lift placards during a demonstration at the the Freedom Park in the center of Sulaimaniyah in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, on August 12, 2020 [File: Shwan Mohammed/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/000_1WG6VW.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
The continuing crackdown on press freedom in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is threatening its democratic future.
Gulf states sell normalisation as a win for regional peace by managing the media narrative and suppressing dissent.
![Algerian protesters gather outside the court in Algiers in support of journalist Khaled Drareni during his appeal [AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/f6a658bfa3a24ac089aa8592aa87cf8f_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Khaled Drareni sentenced to two years in jail amid crackdown on dissent following a year of anti-government protests.
![Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Australian agents raided the homes of four Chinese journalists in June [File: Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/d7a1682e289748c7b0f3480fd6f1112e_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Chinese foreign ministry accuses Australian authorities of interrogating and raiding homes of its state media workers.
Court overturns life sentences against unnamed defendants for journalist’s murder to between seven and 20 years in jail.