Mexico, Myanmar, Afghanistan.

Today's three stories you should know.

Mar 28, 2023

Mexico

This statistic is truly chilling. At least one Mexican journalist was attacked every 13 hours in 2022, according to a report published today. Free speech advocacy group Article 19 recorded 696 crimes against Mexican media workers last year, the highest figure since it began tracking attacks in 2007. “In Mexico, journalists are killed, but they are also intimidated and silenced systematically and recurrently through harassment, stigmatization, threats and the illegitimate use of public power,” the report said. At least 12 reporters were murdered in Mexico in 2022, making it the most dangerous country in the world for journalists outside of active war zones.

Myanmar

Authorities in Myanmar have said they are dissolving the party of toppled leader Aung San Suu Kyi for failing to register for an upcoming election. A democratically-elected government led by Suu Kyi was toppled in February 2021 leading to protests that have now evolved into a civil conflict. Suu Kyi and other leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD) are in prison, convicted on what rights groups say were bogus charges. “We absolutely do not accept that an election will be held at a time when many political leaders and political activists have been arrested and the people are being tortured by the military,” Bo Bo Oo, an NLD representative, said.

Afghanistan

A well-known advocate for girls’ education in Afghanistan has been arrested by the Taliban in Kabul, according to his brother and the United Nations. Matiullah Wesa, who founded the PenPath advocacy group, was arrested when leaving a mosque in the capital and beaten before being taken away, his brother said. Penpath campaigns for more schools, distributes books in rural areas and attempts to communicate the importance of girls' education to village elders. The Taliban has systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls since coming to power in August 2021.