China
Over 17,000 people were ‘investigated’
in 2020 for ‘fabricating and spreading Covid-19-related false information online’
Arbitrary arrest,
detention and
refugee pushbacks
Greece
The right to asylum is coming under increasing attack at Europe’s borders. On the sea border between Turkey and Greece thousands of refugees were illegally pushed back from Greek waters towards Turkish shores
Hong Kong
Authorities cited Covid-19 restrictions to ban pro-democracy gatherings and arrested and fined those ignoring the ban
Cambodia
The Cambodian government passed draconian laws and arbitrarily detained over 60 activists, journalists, and political opposition members in 2020
Banning protests, public assemblies
Algeria
The government invoked the pandemic to ban all street protests, putting an end to a year of mass demonstrations
Countries identified as using the pandemic
to suppress free speech
Hungary
Algeria
Peru
China
Greece
Hong Kong
Uganda
Cambodia
Kenya
Violence
Uganda
Presidential candidate Bobi Wine was arrested by security forces for allegedly breaching Covid-19 restrictions. At least 54 supporters were killed and 45 injured during protests over his detention
Kenya
Police shot and killed
at least 15 people in
the first 9 weeks of
curfew, according to
Kenya’s Independent
Policing Oversight
Authority
Censorship through laws, threats, and blocking reporting
Gender-based violence
Peru
Amid a rise in femicide across the world, 1,423 women have been murdered or reported missing since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic
Hungary
Amended the penal code under state of emergency powers to enable prosecution
for spreading ‘false information’ with a possible prison sentence of up to
five years
China
Over 17,000 people were ‘investigated’
in 2020 for ‘fabricating and spreading Covid-19-related false information online’
Censorship through laws, threats, and blocking reporting
Cambodia
The Cambodian government passed draconian laws and arbitrarily detained over 60 activists, journalists, and political opposition members in 2020
Arbitrary arrest,
detention and
refugee pushbacks
Greece
The right to asylum is coming under increasing attack at Europe’s borders. On the sea border between Turkey and Greece thousands of refugees were illegally pushed back from Greek waters towards Turkish shores
Hungary
Amended the penal code under state of emergency powers to enable prosecution
for spreading ‘false information’ with a possible prison sentence of up to
five years
Hong Kong
Authorities cited Covid-19 restrictions to ban pro-democracy gatherings and arrested those ignoring the ban
Hungary
Greece
China
Algeria
Hong Kong
Cambodia
Uganda
Kenya
Peru
Countries identified as
using the pandemic
to suppress free speech
Banning protests, public assemblies
Gender-based violence
Violence
Uganda
Presidential candidate Bobi Wine was arrested by security forces for allegedly breaching Covid-19 restrictions. At least 54 supporters were killed and 45 injured during protests over his detention
Kenya
Police shot and killed
at least 15 people in
the first 9 weeks of
curfew, according to
Kenya’s Independent
Policing Oversight
Authority
Algeria
The government invoked the pandemic to ban all street protests, putting an end to a year of mass demonstrations
Peru
Amid a rise in femicide across the world, 1,423 women have been murdered or reported missing since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic