5 FEBRUARY 2010
Transparency Advances in Mexico. . . in Reverse
By Emilene Martínez Morales
Translated by Jesse Franzblau

Since the start of the year, President Felipe Calderón through actions undertaken by the Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduría General de la República – PGR) and the Secretariat of Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación - Segob), has shown a clear interest in weakening Mexico’s federal transparency oversight body (Instituto Federal al Acceso a la Información - IFAI) by proposing a separate tribunal to review IFAI’s decisions on FOI requests. More >>

Publicado originalmente en Español por / Originally published in Spanish for El Universal Blogs, México Infórmate.

3 FEBRUARY 2010
Freedominfo.org Launches Russian-Language Portal

Freedominfo.org is pleased to provide Russian-language content through this website. This Russian portal will feature selected translations of Freedominfo.org content into Russian.

Go to the Russian-language website.

29 JANUARY 2010
Anti-Corruption Activist Satish Shetty Slain in Retribution for RTI Work
Murder Highlights Need for Whistleblower and Activist Protection

Pune, India — Several men attacked and murdered Indian RTI activist Satish Shetty with swords the morning of January 13, in a killing that activists say is the result of Shetty’s RTI work. To date, local police have taken five men into custody for Shetty’s murder, including lawyer Vijay Dabhade and several of his associates. Several of the men that carried out the alleged contract killing may still be at large. Indian activists say that Shetty’s brutal murder highlights the lack of protection afforded to activists and whistleblowers. More >>

14 JANUARY 2010
Argentina: Declassification of Military Records on Human Rights
By Carlos Osorio

(Disponible en español)

Buenos Aires, Argentina — On January 5, 2010, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner issued Decree 4/2010 lifting the classification of all military records related to activities of the armed forces between 1976 and 1983. The decree was prompted by thousands of requests to the Ministry of Defense coming from hundreds of judges carrying out trials for human rights violations committed under the Argentine dictatorship. It is estimated that 30,000 people were disappeared, many more illegally detained, tortured, and killed by the security forces at the time. More >>

13 JANUARY 2010
India’s Right to Information Act: The First Four Years
by Alasdair Roberts

India’s Right to Information Act (RTIA) went into force in October 2005. It is probably the most ambitious experiment with transparency in the world. The law promises a right to government-held information to 1.2 billion citizens, most of them living in rural poverty. Its advocates say that the law could produce a “socio-economic revolution.” But can the RTIA meet these high expectations? More >>

7 OCTOBER 2009
Saber Mas: New Report on Access to Information in Latin America
Open government advocates offer first-hand accounts of FOI promotion in Latin America

Latin America’s leading open government advocates recently released a report, bringing together data from 17 countries and offering new findings on the status of freedom of information in the region. The Regional Alliance for Freedom of Expression and Information (Alianza Regional para la Libertad de Expresión e Información), composed of 24 NGOs, released its report “Saber Mas,” (To Know More) on September 28, in celebration of International Right to Know Day 2009. More >>