Web freedom around the globe has declined for the 14th consecutive yr. Censorship and content material manipulation have undermined the flexibility of voters to make knowledgeable selections in elections around the globe. That is acknowledged in a report by the human rights group ‘Freedom Home’ for the interval from June 2023 to Might 2024.
It’s reported that of the 72 international locations lined by the report ‘Web Freedom 2024’, the safety of human rights on the Web has weakened in 27 and improved in 18.
Nations with scores 100-70 are thought of ‘free’, 69-40 are thought of ‘partly free’, and international locations with scores 39-0 are thought of ‘unfree’. Obstacles to Web entry, content material restrictions and violations of customers’ rights have been taken under consideration in calculating the rankings.
Azerbaijan and its neighbors
With 34 factors Azerbaijan is once more among the many ‘unfree’ international locations, having misplaced 3 factors as in comparison with the final yr. Belarus, Iraq and Zimbabwe are on a par with Azerbaijan, dropping 3 factors every. The largest drop was achieved by Kyrgyzstan – 4 factors.
The report says that in the course of the army operation in Karabakh in September 2023, a number of individuals, together with former diplomat Emin Ibragimov, have been detained in Baku for a month. This was on account of publications on social media criticizing the operation or calling for a peaceable decision to the battle.
Formally, Baku restored its territorial integrity throughout this army operation. This was adopted by mass migration of Armenians from Karabakh. Though Armenia referred to as it ‘ethnic cleaning’, Baku rejected these claims as saying that it had introduced a reintegration plan to the Armenians.
Former diplomat E. Ibragimov was detained in July this yr, this time on fees of hooliganism.
Freedom Home additionally notes that pro-government commentators in authoritarian international locations have mobilized to painting the ‘shameful’ rigged elections as free and honest. It’s emphasised that Azerbaijan invited content material creators from around the globe to the snap Presidential election held in February this yr and paid for his or her journey and keep in Baku. The election is claimed to have been closely manipulated for the sake of President Ilham Aliyev’s victory, and legitimacy was given to the election by funding pretend election statement missions, the report says.
The report emphasizes that Web freedom in Eurasia has deteriorated and Russia has the bottom rating within the area at 20. The Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has hit Web freedom in that nation because the Russian military has destroyed Web infrastructure and established a complicated censorship regime within the occupied territories.
Myanmar and China are thought of to be the international locations with the world’s worst Web freedom circumstances.
