Suppression

Pakistani Journalist Arrested During Protest Coverage Released on Bail Amidst Accusations of Government Suppression

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A Pakistani journalist, who was detained under anti-terror legislation while investigating alleged fatalities during protests for the former Prime Minister Imran Khan, was granted bail and released on Saturday. The journalist, Matiullah Jan, a known TV presenter and YouTube journalist, was arrested late Wednesday amid his inquiries at Islamabad’s PIMS Hospital about reported deaths in the protests. According to his lawyer, Imaan Mazari, Jan faced charges of drug possession and the attempted murder of an on-duty policeman while allegedly under the influence. He was taken before a specialist anti-terrorism court in Islamabad … Read more

Iowa Secretary of State Sued Over Ballot Challenges for Naturalized Citizens Alleging Voter Suppression

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DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate faces a federal lawsuit for instructing election officials to question the eligibility of over 2,000 voters, primarily targeting those who were issued driver’s licenses as legal residents but may not currently hold U.S. citizenship. The legal battle, initiated by the League of United Latin American Citizens alongside four naturalized citizens, puts a spotlight on the challenges and bureaucratic hurdles new U.S. citizens encounter when exercising their voting rights. Among those affected is Orcun Selcuk, a political science professor at Luther College in Decorah, originally from … Read more

The Lingering Shadow of the Comstock Act: A Relic of Free Speech Suppression

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WASHINGTON (AP) — In the ongoing debate over expanded access to the abortion pill, mifepristone, the applicability of the Comstock Act has emerged as a chilling concern for advocates of free speech. This 151-year-old law was originally intended to ban the mailing of materials deemed “obscene, lewd, [or] lascivious,” including contraception and pornography. However, the Act’s connection to the availability of mifepristone is hotly contested and unlikely to gain traction in the Supreme Court. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, while outliers on this issue, have raised the Act’s relevance in the recent oral arguments. … Read more

Federal Judge Upholds Georgia’s Runoff System, Denying Black Voters’ Claims of Voter Suppression

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – A federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump has declined to block Georgia’s system for runoff elections, which has faced scrutiny for its history of diluting Black voting power. The system, designed in the early 1960s to curb Black voting influence, was revamped by Republicans in 2021 to restrict ballot access after Democrats won two US Senate elections. As part of a broader package of voting restrictions, Georgia Republicans decreased the runoff election period from nine weeks to four weeks and reduced early voting from three weeks to one week. The … Read more