Since January 2020, at least 83 governments have used the Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity to silence critics and adopt new repressive laws criminalizing speech.
Authorities have attacked, detained, prosecuted, and in some cases killed critics, broken up peaceful protests, closed media outlets, and enacted vague laws criminalizing speech that they claim threatens public health.
The victims include journalists, activists, healthcare workers, political opposition groups, and others who have criticized government responses to the coronavirus.
Beating, detaining, prosecuting, and censoring peaceful critics violates many fundamental rights. Governments should counter Covid-19 by encouraging people to mask up, not shut up.
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