Press freedom in Pakistan falls off a cliff

FIRE’s Free Speech Dispatch covers new and continuing censorship trends and challenges around the world. Our goal is to help readers better understand the global context of free expression. Want to make sure you don’t miss an update? Sign up for our newsletter.

UK takes two steps back

Last week, the High Court of England and Wales overturned a £585,000 ($793,696) fine against the University of Sussex. The school had allegedly violated free speech policies by investigating philosophy professor Kathleen Stock for institutional transphobia because she believes people cannot change their biological sex. But the Court said that the Department of Education had unfairly targeted the school in order to make an example out of it.

The Police Federation (an alternative to regular trade unions, which UK police cannot join) has spent over £500,000 in legal fees fighting the High Court’s ruling that it violated the Article 10 free speech rights of two men: Rick Prior, former head of London police, by suspending him for saying his officers were hesitant to act over fear of being called racist, and his colleague Richard Cooke, by suspending him for saying his force was not “institutionally racist.”

Also in the UK

• The government is introducing a new university complaints system that will allow staff and speakers to report any suppression of speech. Universities could face fines of up to £500,000, or 2% of their income, if found guilty.
• In Northern Ireland, a retired pastor is facing prosecution after preaching a Bible verse near a hospital. 
• In Essex County, a church is facing criminal charges after a local council issued an order that could criminalize public Christian preaching.

Problems across Europe

• Police in Berlin arrested two demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian rally as people peacefully marched and chanted slogans under heavy police presence.
• Policymakers across the European Union are considering new proposals targeting emojis used to “hide illegal speech” such as hate speech or illegal sales.

Pakistan batters press freedom

Press freedom in Pakistan has declined sharply, with the amended Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act increasingly used to silence dissent, Freedom Network said in a report published last week. The Pakistan-based free-speech watchdog documents 129 violations over the past year, including two killings, 16 assaults, two kidnappings, and 58 legal cases — with state actors responsible for over 60% of these incidents. 

Also this week, an article about Shiite unrest in Pakistan was removed from the country’s print edition of The New York Times, sparking debate over the censorship of Shia voices and broader efforts to control what information reaches the public.

Problems across Asia

• Late last month, Thailand’s Supreme Court said it has accepted a petition accusing 44 current and former opposition lawmakers of ethics ethics violations over their attempt to amend the country’s law protecting the king and his family from any criticism. The law carries prison terms of up to 15 years per offense.
• In Indonesia, a suspect was detained for blasphemy and hate speech because he posted videos on TikTok that are allegedly insulting to Muslims.

Legal debates down under

Australian legal experts are saying that a pending legal challenge against Queensland’s controversial laws banning phrases like “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada,” which have already seen over two dozen people arrested, might succeed.

Last week, the University of Queensland Press suspended publication of a children’s book by Wiradjuri-Irish poet Jazz Money, with illustrations by Matt Chun. After the Bondi Beach massacre at a Hanukkah celebration that killed 15 people, Chun published an essay about the tragedy titled, “Never mourn a fascist,” in which he argued that because they were white and Jewish, the people killed that day were not victims. The decision not to publish the book has led to a debate over whether this constitutes censorship or sound judgment.

Egypt gives Christian scholar hard labor

Egyptian courts sentenced Coptic Christian scholar Augustinos Samaan to five years in prison with hard labor for posting academic videos about Christianity on YouTube. In his videos, Samaan discusses Christianity and how it differs from Islam. He was initially charged with terrorism-related offenses.