Geneva (AFP)
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said on Wednesday that China and other Asian countries like Cambodia and the Philippines had tightened their "censorship" since the Covid pandemic. 19.
In a statement detailing actions in several countries, she said that in China her office has received information on more than a dozen cases of health professionals, academics and ordinary citizens who appear to have been detained, and in some cases indicted for publishing their opinions or other information on the situation related to Covid-19, or who have criticized the government's response to the epidemic.
The cases include two young graduate students who were allegedly detained in April after setting up an online content bank on the Covid-19 epidemic in China, according to the High Commissioner.
More generally, she is alarmed by the repression of freedom of expression "in Asia since the new coronavirus was reported in late December in China, stressing that the pandemic has resulted in" a further tightening of censorship in several countries "of the region.
According to the UN, "arrests of people who expressed dissatisfaction or allegedly disseminated false information in the press and social media have been reported in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma , Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam ".
In India, for example, several journalists and at least one doctor have been charged with publicly criticizing the authorities' response to the epidemic, she said, noting that in Bombay, the police adopted an order banning people encourage "distrust of government officials and their actions" in the face of the pandemic.
And in Indonesia, at least 51 people were reportedly investigated for allegedly spreading "false news" about the pandemic, while in Cambodia, the UN documented the arrest of 30 people, including one 14-year-old girl for making public comments or posting messages on the Covid-19 on social media.
"In these times of great uncertainty, health professionals, journalists, human rights defenders and the general public should be allowed to express their opinions on subjects of public interest of vital importance, such as (.. .) the management of the socio-economic and health crisis, as well as the distribution of relief material, "said Ms. Bachelet, quoted in a statement.
"This crisis should not be used to silence dissent or limit the free flow of information and debate," she added, arguing that tackling disinformation should not translate into censorship. .
© 2020 AFP