Skip to content

DemocracyWatch: journalists and dissidents arrested in COVID crackdowns

Sign up for our global round up of attacks on democracy during the coronavirus crisis.

DemocracyWatch: journalists and dissidents arrested in COVID crackdowns
Thousands of Israelis protest against a 'coup', while maintaining social distancing | Ruptly/Twitter
Published:

Journalists, activists and workers struggling to follow strict lockdown rules have been harassed, arrested and even killed across the world this week, as governments use the coronavirus crisis to roll back democracy and crack down on dissidents.

And it’s not just governments taking advantage of the crisis. openDemocracy revealed this week that Brexit-supporting hedge fund managers are shorting the stock of one of the key companies making personal protective equipment in the UK.

openDemocracy, SourceMaterial and Privacy International are tracking how the coronavirus crisis is affecting democracy across the world. Each week we’re sending this newsletter on how governments are suspending civil rights, rolling back hard-won freedoms and undermining the fight against climate change. You can read this week’s bulletin below and send us any news for our next update at info@source-material.org.