Most readers of this blog are used to occasional coverage of freedom of press issues in Russia, and discussions of the impact on civil society and democracy when the state targets journalists with impunity. As I announced yesterday in a blog post, I recently starting working a pro-bono case representing Singapore’s leading opposition party, and it is in this area of freedom of press that we can observe some of the strongest parallel trends in both countries.

According to a study by watchdog reporters without borders, Russia ranked a dismal 144 in the Freedom of Press Index – which is below scores awarded to Yemen and Afghanistan. Singapore ranked only slightly better at 141. Whereas government critical journalists in Russia, from Anna Politkovskaya to Ivan Safronov to Magomed Yevloyev, tend to find themselves killed in mysterious circumstances, in Singapore, these journalists and publications usually find themselves at the wrong end of devastating defamation lawsuits.

Last 5 posts by Robert Amsterdam

• Mr. Chávez's Neighborhood - November 24th, 2009
• Hermitage Defense Team Under Attack following Death Threats - November 24th, 2009
• How Renaissance Capital Survived while Hermitage Was Stolen - November 24th, 2009
• The Russia Repetition Syndrome - November 24th, 2009
• Practicing Legal Nihilism - November 24th, 2009