Columbia Global Freedom of Expression seeks to contribute to the development of an integrated and progressive jurisprudence and understanding on freedom of expression and information around the world.  It maintains an extensive database of international case law. This is its newsletter dealing with recent developments  in the field.

Half a year after his release, rapper Toomaj Salehi was arrested again in Iran last week. The details remain blurry: which authority was responsible, where he was held, in what condition, and for how long. Most recently, Salehi decried Israel’s strikes and Iran’s failure to protect its people. Artists at Risk Connection condemned the arrest.

This week, we turn to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. In one case, the Group found that Salehi’s earlier detention – for supporting the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement – stemmed directly from the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression, including artistic and political speech. Arrested in 2022, Salehi received a death sentence, which the Supreme Court later overturned.

Amid the war with Israel and recently-brokered ceasefire, Iran goes against its civilians. Over the past 13 days, the regional human rights organization HENGAW has confirmed at least 734 new cases of detainees. “Espionage for Israel,” “propaganda against the state,” and “disturbing public opinion” are among the charges. “Now we will suffer the consequences,” an Iranian tells the Guardian, “because a wounded regime will pounce on us like prey.” Amnesty International calls on Iran to immediately halt expedited trials and arbitrary executions.

With the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in its 59th session these days, Iran is the subject of growing alarm. Covering August 2024-January 2025, the Secretary-General’s interim report on human rights in Iran emphasizes the regime’s execution spree, practices of torture, arbitrary detention, and failure to guarantee due process and fair trial. The country’s civic space, online and offline, has shrunk dramatically.

In other HRC news, CGFoE continues to support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, who presented her recent report on freedom of expression and elections to the Council last week. Following our meeting with the Rapporteur last fall, CGFoE submitted a summary of case law on elections and technology, contributing to the report.

Available in an advance-edited version for now, the report outlines the connection between election integrity and information integrity. “Increasingly, however, information spaces have come under severe strain during elections,” the report states, naming two main reasons: 1) populists and authoritarians manipulate information while 2) digital technology boosts an unprecedented surge of disinformation and hate speech. The report cites relevant case law, including Sanchez v. France.

Have an early look at the Rapporteur’s findings here.

 

Kosovo: CGFoE Stands with Flutura Kusari
Who Seeks Justice Against Egregious Online Harassment

We at CGFoE express our support for Flutura Kusari, Senior Legal Advisor at the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), as she files a criminal complaint against Mentor Llugaliu, an online activist and supporter of Kosovo’s ruling party. Kusari accuses Llugaliu of harassment, stalking, and intimidation targeting her and even her family.

The harassment has persisted for three years and appears to constitute Llugaliu’s act of revenge in response to Kusari’s activism in monitoring Kosovo’s public broadcaster.

“His aim is to dehumanize her and drive her and other active women out of public life,” said ECPMF in a statement that also cites the Kosovo Law Institute: The Institute considers Kusari’s case to be “one of the most severe instances of online harassment against female activists in Kosovo.”

Photo Credit: ECPMF

UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
The Case of Toomaj Salehi (Islamic Republic of Iran)
Decision Date: November 15, 2024
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) found that the detention of Iranian artist and activist Toomaj Salehi was arbitrary and violated international human rights standards. Mr. Salehi was arrested and prosecuted for his music and public statements that supported protests and criticized government actions. His detention stemmed directly from the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression, including artistic and political expressions online. The Working Group found that Mr. Salehi was denied basic legal safeguards, such as timely access to a lawyer, being informed of the charges against him, and appearing promptly before a judge. The legal provisions used to prosecute him were vague and overly broad, failing to meet international standards regarding clarity and legality. The conditions of his detention, including alleged torture, incommunicado detention, and the denial of a fair trial, were deemed serious violations. The UNWGAD emphasized that prosecuting individuals for non-violent expressions – including artistic and political speech – undermines core human rights protections. The Working Group concluded that Mr. Salehi’s detention fell under multiple categories of arbitrariness, including violations of due process and discrimination based on political opinion, and called for his immediate release and reparations.

The Case of Luis Fernando Camacho (Bolivia)
Decision Date: November 11, 2024
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) held that the detention of Luis Fernando Camacho, governor of Santa Cruz and prominent opposition leader in Bolivia, was arbitrary and in violation of multiple provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Mr. Camacho was violently arrested in December 2022 without a warrant, kept incommunicado for hours, and subsequently placed in pretrial detention without proper judicial oversight. He was accused of terrorism based on his role in the 2019 protests against former President Evo Morales. The Working Group concluded that Mr. Camacho’s detention fell under four categories of arbitrariness: (I) lack of legal basis for the arrest; (II) punishment for exercising protected rights such as freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and political participation; (III) denial of fair trial guarantees, including judicial independence and presumption of innocence; and (V) discrimination based on political opinion. It highlighted serious concerns regarding procedural irregularities, prolonged pretrial detention without justification, inadequate medical care despite Mr. Camacho’s chronic illness, and the use of vague criminal provisions as a tool for political repression. The UNWGAD emphasized that expressing dissenting political views and participating in peaceful protests are protected activities under international human rights law and cannot be criminalized under the guise of terrorism. It called for Mr. Camacho’s immediate release, adequate compensation, and an independent investigation into the circumstances of his arrest and prosecution.

The Case of Salma bint Sami bin Abdulmohsen al-Shehab and Nourah bin Saeed al-Qahtani (Saudi Arabia)
Decision Date: June 19, 2023
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) found that the imprisonment of Salma al-Shehab and Nourah al-Qahtani by Saudi authorities was arbitrary and in violation of international human rights, particularly the right to freedom of expression under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Both women were prosecuted under Saudi Arabia’s Anti-Terrorism Law (Royal Decree No. M/21) and Anti-Cybercrime Law (Royal Decree No. M/17) for their peaceful online activism. Al-Shehab was sentenced to 34 years in prison and al-Qahtani to 45 years. The Working Group found that the detentions lacked any legal basis, directly resulted from the exercise of protected speech, were marked by serious violations of fair trial guarantees, and were motivated in part by discrimination based on gender, political opinion, and, in al-Shehab’s case, her Shia religious identity. The UNWGAD called for their immediate release, reparations, and for Saudi Arabia to revise its national laws to comply with international human rights standards. The case was referred to UN Special Rapporteurs on freedom of expression, counterterrorism, and torture, highlighting global concerns about the repression of digital freedoms in Saudi Arabia.

● Upcoming Class by CGFoE’s Lautaro Furfaro at UBA: Right to Freedom of Expression in the Universal System. Next week, Lautaro Furfaro, Adjunct Professor at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and Senior Legal Researcher at CGFoE, will be teaching an online class as part of a diploma course on freedom of expression at UBA. The class, open to the public with prior registration, will focus on the right to freedom of expression in the UN system and how the Human Rights Committee is addressing related cases. It will be in Spanish. Thursday, July 3, 2025. 5:00-7:00 PM New York Time / 6:00-8:00 PM Buenos Aires Time. Register here.

● 2025 Counterspeech Trainings. The Future of Free Speech (FFS) at Vanderbilt University invites everyone interested to the upcoming training sessions on counterspeech. The sessions will take place in three languages across different time zones and will be led by Mina Dennert, journalist and founder of I Am Here International; Natalie Alkiviadou, Senior Research Fellow at FFS; Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, social entrepreneur and founder of Ideas Beyond Borders; Tarık Beyhan, human rights defender and communications consultant; and Joan Barata, Senior Legal Fellow at FFS. From 9 AM until 2 PM on July 14, 2025, in Arabic and English (Middle East Time Zone), July 15, 2025, in English (US Central Time), and July 16, 2025, in Turkish and English (Middle East Time Zone). Reserve your spot here.

● Saudi Arabia: Journalist Turki al-Jasser Executed on Treason, Terrorism Charges. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns Saudi Arabia’s execution of journalist Turki al-Jasser. Abducted in 2018, al-Jasser was accused of writing for a Twitter account that documented the Saudi royal family’s corruption and human rights violations. During his seven years in detention on “charges of treason, foreign collaboration, funding terrorism, and endangering national security and unity,” al-Jasser reportedly endured torture and was denied legal representation and contact with his family. “The international community’s failure to deliver justice for Jamal Khashoggi did not just betray one journalist,” said Carlos Martínez de la Serna, Chief Program Officer at CPJ, “it emboldened de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to continue his persecution of the press, and today, another Saudi journalist has paid the price.”

● Tanzania: Arbitrary Detention and Alleged Torture of Human Rights Defenders. In a joint statement, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and Lawyers for Lawyers deem Tanzanian authorities’ recent actions – arbitrary detention and alleged torture of Agather Atuhaire, Ugandan human rights lawyer and civic advocate, and Boniface Mwangi, Kenyan journalist and activist – to be grave human rights violations. The arrests of Atuhaire and Mwangi took place last month during the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. When released, both showed signs of torture. IBAHRI and Lawyers for Lawyers cite multiple violations of international legal standards as outlined by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. In a separate statement on Tanzania, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre emphasizes “the alarming trend of harassment, intimidation, and criminalisation of human rights defenders” in the country.

● Belarus: 14 Political Prisoners Released; Ukrainian Journalist Released from Russian Custody. Citing the Belarusian Association of Journalists, IFEX reports on the recent release of 14 political prisoners, including opposition leader Siarhei Tsikhanouski and journalist Ihar Karnei, by Belarus last Saturday. Popular blogger and activist Tsikhanouski was detained after announcing his presidential candidacy in 2020; his wife, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, ran instead in the 2020 election widely condemned as fraudulent. Karnei, a veteran RFE/RL journalist, was arrested in 2023 and later convicted on “extremism” charges. In more news of relief, another RFE/RL journalist walked free last week: Ukrainian citizen Vladyslav Yesypenko, who reported on Russia-occupied Crimea, was finally released and reunited with his family. Russia’s Federal Security Service arrested Yesypenko in 2021 in Crimea, accusing him of “espionage.” During his detention, Yesypenko endured torture.

This section of the newsletter features teaching materials focused on global freedom of expression which are newly uploaded on Freedom of Expression Without Frontiers

● Defiance of European Court Judgments and Erosion of Judicial Independence: Türkiye’s Challenge to EU Founding Values and Rule of Law Standards. Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, and Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project published a joint briefing on Türkiye’s rule of law crisis. The briefing recounts the state’s persistent failure to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights: Among the most frequent violations are “Articles 5 (liberty and security), 6 (fair trial), 10 (freedom of expression), and 11 (freedom of assembly and association).” The briefing also underscores that Türkiye fails to enforce the binding decisions of the European Court of Human Rights: For instance, defying the Court’s rulings, Türkiye continues to arbitrarily detain several opposition figures. The briefing urges the EU to act, citing the Union’s obligations to advance human rights in its external relations under Articles 21 and 3 of the EU Treaty.

● Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression: Freedom of Expression and Elections in the Digital Age. In this thematic report, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Irene Khan, documents the interconnected erosion of both freedom of expression and the right to vote. “If public confidence in elections is to be restored, the decline in freedom of expression must be reversed,” the Rapporteur states and points to key vulnerabilities: political polarization, a surge of dis/misinformation and hate speech online, “the backsliding of social media platforms on their commitments to safety and electoral integrity,” and the weak state of the traditional media sector. In compiling the report, the Rapporteur conducted multiple consultations, including regional workshops in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Santiago, and Istanbul, and received dozens of written contributions from experts, including CGFoE.

Call for Papers: Human Rights and AI-Powered Content Moderation. Aiming to bring voices from various fields – law, business, computer science, etc. – Cambridge Forum on AI: Law and Governance welcomes submissions for the upcoming thematic issue titled “Human Rights and AI-Powered Content Moderation” by October 31. Joan Barata, Senior Legal Fellow for The Future of Free Speech, and Natalie Alkiviadou, Senior Research Fellow at the Future of Free Speech, will be the guest editors. Find out more here.

This newsletter is reproduced with the permission of Global Freedom of Expression.  For an archive of previous newsletters, see here.