This report draws on data collected by the PEN Belarus monitoring group from open sources, personal contacts, and direct communication with cultural figures. The information reflects the situation at ...

Eurasianet commentary

‘With poet Ahmed Douma’s appeal hearing due to take place imminently, the Court of Appeal has an opportunity to reverse a grave miscarriage of justice and to reaffirm Egypt’s constitutional protection...

The Cuban artist's whereabouts remain unknown, as do his fate and that of more than 800 political prisoners on the island.

Gleb Viktorov, the frontman of the rock band Tri Dnya Dozhdya (“Three Days of Rain”), has been hospitalized and is receiving treatment after delivering a political speech at a concert in Yekaterinburg...

The comedian received a suspended prison sentence for the joke.

A Cairo Criminal Court, convening inside Badr Prison, on Monday postponed the trial of Al Manassa cartoonist, translator, and guitarist Ashraf Omar until Oct. 12, 2026, according to a Facebook post by...

L’artiste et caricaturiste russe Semyon Skrepetsky a été abattu en pleine rue, lundi 15 juin à Biala Podlaska, dans l’est de la Pologne, près de la frontière avec la Biélorussie. Vu par Rodho (France)...

Robert Kuzovkov, known by the pseudonym Semyon Skrepetsky, was reportedly shot after protesting near the Russian Embassy in Berlin.

Three days before his killing, Semyon Skrepetsky had protested outside the Russian embassy in Berlin. He held an icon-like caricature of Russian President Vladimir Putin with Soviet leader Josef Stali...

A massive panorama depicting a battle in the 1853-1856 Crimean War has been heavily damaged by what Russian-occupation authorities in Sevastopol say was a Ukrainian drone attack.

Ahead of the United Republic of Tanzania’s appearance before the UN Human Rights Council on 5 November 2026, Freemuse and Selam have submitted a joint Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report commenting...

New York-based Gao Zhen was detained in 2024 during a family visit to China and then tried for ‘defaming national heroes’

A Russian court has banned the Oscar-winning documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin, a documentary about wartime propaganda in a Russian provincial school that officials claim promotes extremism and antigovernment sentiment.

news, cases

In 2025, Hyperallergic’s reporting exposed and chronicled funding cuts and threats to artistic freedom in the United States.

Geneva, 18 December 2025. On the occasion of minorities day – the anniversary of the adoption in 1992 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religi...

Billboard ads, socks, plates, even kickboxing: are these really matters of artistic freedom? The boundary is more blurred than it seems.

A court in the Russian city of St. Petersburg has sentenced members of the anti-war musical group Stoptime to another 13 days in jail, local media reported on November 11.

Joint statement demands immediate release of Algerian Hirak poet Mohamed Tadjadit risking a death penalty sentence ahead of November 11 hearing. Ahead of upcoming court dates on 11 and 30 November 202...

Human rights violations against LGBTQ+ individuals are escalating in Türkiye, where Pride Marches and Pride Month events have been banned for more than a decade. A new draft law package expected to be...

The “A Cloud in My Hand” pavilion brings together works by Palestinian artists and their allies, transforming absence into presence and mourning into creative resistance.

The Day of the Dead on 2 November is a tradition observed across Latin America, honouring deceased loved ones and celebrating their lives. This year, Freemuse joins the celebration as an act of resist...

The Kremlin is trying to suppress songs that defy Putin’s rule. It isn’t working.

Imagine a smart, cheeky report with a playful visual language. Nothing like the typical output of human-rights groups. But, its harmless-looking cover, belies its contents. Koalisi Seni, an Indonesian...

Fifty-two prisoners have been released, but more than 1,000 political prisoners remain in jail.

Two dossiers paint an urgent quantitative picture of the rapidly growing suppression of free expression and artistic freedom.

Slovenian artist Maja Smrekar is suing the right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), for misusing her work – a performance in which she breastfed her puppy – during a referendum campaign on pension...

Headline: AICA urges Germany to protect artistic freedom while combating antisemitism, warning that current practices risk fostering de facto censorship and self-censorship in the cultural sector. ...

The International Association of Art Critics (AICA International), wishes to express its deep concern and protest at the recent conviction of cultural manager Sebastián Coronel, head of the independen...

The town of Vail canceled Danielle SeeWalker’s residency last year after she shared an unrelated painting in support of Palestine on her Instagram.

YouTube video by Media Freedom Rapid Response

Artist Jamie John said he feels “betrayed” by the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum, which covered up a preliminary underpainting for his mural commission.