UNITED NATIONS A Distr. GENERAL General Assembly A/HRC/7/14/Add.1 25 February 2008 ENGLISH/FRENCH/SPANISH HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Seventh session Agenda Item 3 PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF ALL HUMAN RIGHTS, CIVIL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT The right to freedom of opinion and expression Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Ambeyi Ligabo Addendum Summary of cases transmitted to Governments and replies received ∗ ∗∗ ∗ The present document is being circulated as received, in the languates of submission only, as it greatly exceeds the word limitations currently imposed by the relevant General Assembly Resolutions ∗∗ The present report was submitted later than the indicated deadline, in order to incorporate the latest available information on the subject matter A/HRC/7/14/Add.1 Page 2 CONTENTS Paragraphs Page Introduction 1-6 5 SUMMARY OF CASES TRANSMITTED AND REPLIES 7-778 7 RECEIVED Afghanistan ……………………………………………………… 7-12 6 Algeria …………………………………………………………… 13-16 7 Angola …………………………………………………………… 17-19 8 Argentina ………………………………………………………… 20-22 9 Azerbaijan ……………………………………………………….. 23-27 9 Bahrain …………………………….…………………………….. 28-40 11 Bangladesh ………………………………………………………. 41-50 15 Bhutan……………………………………………………………. 51 19 Bolivia …………………………………………………………… 52-54 19 Brazil …………………………………………………………….. 55-57 20 Bulgaria …………………………………………………………... 58-61 21 Cambodia…………………………………………………………. 62-68 22 Cameroon…………………………………………………………. 69-70 25 Chad ……………………………………………………………… 71-72 25 Chile ……………………………………………………………… 73-75 26 China ………………………………………….………………….. 76-132 27 Colombia ……………………………………….………………… 133-157 42 Congo (Republic of the) ………………………………………….. 158-160 51 Côte d’Ivoire ……………………………………………………… 161-162 51 Cuba ……………………………………………………………… 163-168 52 Democratic Republic of the Congo ……………………………… 169-183 54 Djibouti …………………………………………….…………….. 184-186 58 Dominican Republic ……………………………………………... 187-188 59 Ecuador…………………………………………………………… 189-190 59 Egypt ……………………………………………….…………….. 191-200 60 El Salvador ……………………………………………………….. 201-205 63 Eritrea ……………………………………………….……………. 206-207 64 Ethiopia ……………………………………………….………….. 208-216 65 Fiji ………………………………………………………………… 217-226 68 Gambia …………………………………………………………… 227-229 71 Georgia …………………………………………………….……... 230-232 71 Guatemala …………………………………………………….….. 233-244 72 Guinea ………………………………………………….………… 245-249 76 Guinée-Bissau ……………………………………………………. 250-251 77 Haiti …………………………………………………….………… 252-254 77 Hungary ………………………………………………………….. 255-257 78 India …………………………………………………….………… 258-264 78 Iran (Islamic Republic of) ……………………………….……….. 265-322 80 Iraq ……………………………………………………….………. 323-347 93 A/HRC/7/14/Add.1 Page 3 CONTENTS (continued) Paragraphs Page Israel ……………………………………………………………… 348-356 98 Jordan ……………………………………………………………….. 357-363 98 Kazakhstan ……………………………………………………….. 364-367 99 Kyrgyzstan ……………………………………………………….. 368-373 99 Liberia ..…………………………………………………………... 374-376 101 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya …………………………………..……… 377-380 102 Malaysia ………………………………………………………….. 381-394 103 Mali ……………………………………………………………….. 395-397 106 Mauritania ………………………………………………………... 398-399 107 Mexico ……………………………………………………………. 400-416 108 Morocco ………………………………………………………….. 417-426 115 Myanmar …………………………………………………………. 427-451 118 Nepal ……………………………………………………………... 452-465 124 Niger ……………………………………………………………… 466-473 127 Nigeria ……………………………………………………………. 474-477 129 Pakistan …………………………………………………………... 478-497 130 Panama …………………………………………………………… 498-499 135 Paraguay ………………………………………………………….. 500-503 136 Peru ………………………………………………………………. 504-514 137 Philippines ………………………………………………………... 515-528 139 Republic of Moldova ……………………………………………... 529-532 143 Republic of Serbia ……………………………………………….. 533-534 144 Russian Federation ……………………………………………….. 535-582 144 Rwanda …………………………………………………………… 583-588 155 Senegal …………………………………………………………… 589-593 156 Somalia …………………………………………………………... 594-602 158 South Africa ……………………………………………………… 603-604 160 Sri Lanka …………………………………………………………. 605-631 160 Sudan …………………………………………………………….. 632-643 165 Syrian Arab Republic ……………………………………………. 644-660 168 Thailand ………………………………………………………….. 661-670 173 Tunisia ……………………………………………………………. 671-676 175 Turkey ……………………………………………………………. 677-690 177 Turkmenistan …………………………………………………….. 691-693 180 Uganda …………………………………………………………… 694-695 181 Ukraine …………………………………………………………... 696-702 181 United Arab Emirates ……………………………………………. 703-704 182 United States of America ………………………………………… 705-707 183 Uzbekistan ………………………………………………………... 708-721 184 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) ……………………………… 722-733 188 Viet Nam …………………………………………………………. 734-742 191 A/HRC/7/14/Add.1 Page 4 CONTENTS (continued) Paragraphs Page Yemen ……………………………………………………………. 743-748 192 Zimbabwe ………………………………………………………… 749-774 194 Information transmitted to the Palestinian Authority………………… 775-777 199 Annex …………………………………………………………….. 201 A/HRC/7/14/Add.1 Page 5 INTRODUCTION 1. At its sixty-first session, the Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 2005/38 entitled ‘The right to freedom of opinion and expression’, appealed to all States to cooperate fully with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the performance of his tasks, and to provide him with all necessary information requested by him. The Human Rights Council, in its decision 1/102, dated 30 June 2006, decided to extend exceptionally for one year, subject to the review to be undertaken by the Human Rights Council in conformity with General Assembly resolution 60/251, the mandates and the mandate holders of all the special procedures of the Commission on Human Rights. The Human Rights Council also requested the special procedures to continue with the implementation of their mandates and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to provide them with the necessary support. 2. In accordance with the above-mentioned provisions, the present report contains, on a country-by-country basis, summaries of general and individual allegations, as well as urgent appeals transmitted to Governments between 1 January and 31 December 2007, as well as replies received from Governments until 15 January 2008. Replies to communications received after 15 January 2008 will be included in the next communication report of the Special Rapporteur, as well as replies not yet translated by that date. Observations made by the Special Rapporteur have also been included where applicable. 3. During the period under review, the Special Rapporteur transmitted 241 communications on behalf of 623 persons to the Governments of 81 countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, China (People's Republic of), Colombia, Congo (Republic of the), Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinée-Bissau, Haiti, Hungary, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, México, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Serbia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. Two communications were sent to the Palestinian Authorithy. 4. Owing to restrictions on the length of documents, the Special Rapporteur has reduced details of communications sent and received. The full text of all communications is available within the files of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 5. In reporting on the communications, the Special Rapporteur has used initials for those victims who, in the Special Rapporteur’s opinion, could be in a potentially sensitive situation, in order to respect their privacy and to prevent the possibility of further victimization. With a view to preserve the presumption of innocence, the Special Rapporteur omitted to include the names of alleged perpetrators, and of other individuals involved in the cases included in this report. Conversely, Governments’ communications may contain names of persons and/or disclose specific situations linked to the violation. A/HRC/7/14/Add.1 Page 6 6. The Special Rapporteur wishes to reiterate that violations and concerns regarding the right to freedom of opinion and expression are, to different extents, a common phenomenon in the whole world. Consequently, the exclusion or the inclusion of a particular country or territory should not be interpreted as the indication of any specific choice done by the Special Rapporteur regarding the analysis of trends and patterns of the implementation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. SUMMARY OF CASES TRANSMITTED AND REPLIES RECEIVED Afghanistan Letter of allegations sent on 12 March 2007 7. The Special Rapporteur brought to the attention of the Government a case in which the Minister of Culture and Information and 50 security personnel allegedly entered the Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) headquarters, during the absence of the then director-general, Mr. Najib Roshan, to dismiss the chief of the news section. It is alleged that the Minister instructed the security guards