In the Philippines, a Quezon City court found Frank Cimatu, a writer for the independent Philippine news site Rappler, guilty of cyber libel, in relation to a Facebook post the journalist made in 2017 concerning alleged corruption by the then Agriculture Secretary Manny Pinol. The court determined that the post was originally posted in a public environment, despite Cimatu’s claims that it was private and only visible to his Facebook friends.
Amnesty International argues that Tunisian authorities have strengthened restrictions on freedom of expression by passing a new decree-law on cybercrime (in September 2022) and using it to open criminal investigations against at least four people.
According to the organisation, the law does not clearly define the parameters and requirements for approving surveillance and data-gathering methods in a way that ensures that human rights are not violated. It mandates harsh prison sentences based on ambiguous concepts like ‘fake news,’ and gives the government broad authority to track people’s online activities and gather personal information with the argument that doing so might help in revealing the truth or is necessary for the investigation of a suspected crime.
The number of Mauritian journalists who have been subjected to cyber-harassment since the beginning of November is growing, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the country’s authorities to take action against those responsible for the offences.
Most of the online attacks, which accuse the four journalists of having ties to drug traffickers, originate from three Facebook profiles that often post pro-government information. Noorbux also claims to be the target of various internet threats and harassment, particularly from well-known government officials.
The Pakistani investigative site ‘Fact Focus’ was completely unreachable for more than 20 hours on 21 November after publishing its ‘Bajwa Leaks’ story detailing the immense fortune accumulated by Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa’s family since he became the Chief of Army Staff. According to Fact Focus editors, the site was blocked by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, a governmental entity, on the directives of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Information and Broadcasting. It became partially available again when the RSF (Reporters Without Borders) and other civil society representatives reported continuous suppression.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have urged Greek authorities to launch an immediate independent investigation into arbitrary surveillance and called on European institutions to impose a moratorium on the use of spyware. The calls were made in the context of allegations that 13 Greek journalists have been targeted by the Predator spyware, reportedly acquired by Greek intelligence services.
On 3 October 2022, Secretary of State George Gerapetridis pledged to present a draft law amending the rules on surveillance within two weeks. According to RSF, the draft law, made public on 15 November, appears to allow a person previously under surveillance to be notified only three years later.
