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Pandemic 'Unprecedented' Obstacles to Freedom of Expression, Amnesty Says

2021-10-19T00:22:17.983Z


These repressive measures have often prevented populations from having access to reliable information on the virus, underlines the NGO.


Many governments around the world have taken advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to put in place

"unprecedented"

obstacles

to freedom of expression and silence critics, Amnesty International said in a report published on Tuesday (October 18th).

Combined with a wave of disinformation, these repressive measures have often prevented populations from having access to exact information on the virus, however essential to enable them to face it from the emergence of the pandemic in early 2020, underlined the human rights organization.

Read alsoFaced with the coronavirus, Xi Jinping increases censorship in China

"Throughout the pandemic, governments have launched an unprecedented attack on freedom of expression,"

Amnesty official Rajat Khosla said in a statement.

"Channels of communication have been targeted, social networks censored and media outlets closed,"

he added, and

"journalists and health professionals have been silenced and jailed

.

"

For Amnesty, the resulting lack of information was a

"factor"

worsening the toll of the pandemic, which is approaching five million deaths. Amnesty International cites in particular the case of China, where more than 5,000 criminal investigations had been opened as of February 2020 against people accused of

“Fabricating and willfully spreading false and damaging information”

about the nature and extent of the epidemic.

In Tanzania, the government of former President John Magufuli, which has consistently downplayed the impact of the coronavirus and refused to take action to stem the pandemic, has resorted to laws banning and punishing

"fake news"

in particular to restrict media activity. In Nicaragua, authorities have passed legislation aimed at combating cybercrime, which effectively allows them to

"punish those who criticize government policies"

and

"suppress freedom of expression"

. In Russia, a law severely punishing the dissemination of false information relating to the coronavirus is likely to remain in place once the pandemic is over, Amnesty International has warned.

Read alsoSocial networks remain ambiguous in the face of disinformation on vaccines

Besides governments, the London-based NGO has criticized digital platforms, which it says are not doing enough to fight disinformation.

All this

"makes it more and more difficult for people to form a fully informed opinion and to make informed choices about their health,"

she said.

Exact information is however

"crucial"

, according to her, to

"combat vaccine hesitancy"

.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-10-19

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