Archive
Covid-19: Global attack on freedom of expression is having a dangerous impact on public health crisis
An Amnesty International report looks at the how government attacks on freedom of expression are affecting peoples' ability to access relevant information on the pandemic, worsening the public health situation. The report documents instances of the way in which censorship and punishment have been used to reduce the quality of information that reaches people. Read More
A threat to public safety: policing, racism and the Covid-19 pandemic
A report by the Institute of Race Relations and Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity argues that the police powers introduced and utilised to try to control the spread of the pandemic have disproportionately impacted upon racially minoritised individuals, who have been "more likely to be stopped by the police, threatened or subject to police violence and falsely accused of rule-breaking and wrong-doing." Read More
Greece: Authorities abusing power to trample on right to protest
Amnesty International research shows that the Greek authorities severely restricted protest rights in the name of protecting public health, and physically and verbally abused protesters after arrest. Many of the measures introduced temporarily in the name of dealing with the pandemic have now been passed into law. Read More
Civic space in the era of securitised COVID-19 responses
A new report from the European Centre for Not-for-Profit Law looking at how security-related legislation introduced or used by states during the pandemic has restricted civic freedoms and human rights. Read More
Covid-19 Triggers Wave of Free Speech Abuse
A Human Rights Watch report documenting violations of the right to free speech and peaceful assembly during the pandemic. Read More
Lowering the risk – Curtailing the use of chemical irritants during the COVID-19 pandemic
A report by the Omega Research Foundation on the use of chemical irritants by law enforcement agencies during the pandemic, which "may carry a heightened risk of causing unintentional adverse impacts" given that Sars-cov-2 is a respiratory illness. Read More
Killing me Softly? Scrutinising the Role of Soft Law in Greece’s Response to COVID-19
An academic article examining the use of "soft law" in the Greek government's response to the pandemic - which was initially widely-praised, yet had numerous harmful effects, in particular for asylum-seekers and refugees. Read More
Europeans’ Right to Protest Under Threat
A report by Carnegie Europe looks at government restrictions on the right to protest during the pandemic, and the response from civil society. Read More
Prisons and Prisoners in Europe in Pandemic Times
Two reports produced for the Council of Europe that look at the effects of the pandemic, and measures taken to control it, on prisons and prisoners. Read More
COVID-19 crackdowns: Police abuse and the global pandemic
A report published by Amnesty International focusing on human rights violations committed by police forces in the enforcement of measures introduced in the name of controlling the pandemic. It also looks at new laws and policies that violate international human rights standards, violations by other state actors that have a law enforcement role, and discrimination. Read More