Some Notre Dame students walk out during the commencement address by Vice President Mike Pence. ‎Secretary of State Rex Tillerson holds a press briefing in Saudi Arabia without U.S. reporters. During a visit to Saudi Arabia, Trump avoids criticism of the monarchy’s poor human rights record and pledges in his speech to avoid “lecture(s)” on how nations in the region treat their own peoples. Meanwhile, Israeli journalists are denied Saudi visas necessary to join White House press corps for the visit. -Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director

DARE: Daily Alert on Rights and Expression

PEN America’s take on today’s most pressing threats to free expression

U.S.

Notre Dame Students Walk Out of Mike Pence Commencement Address
A large crowd of students walked out of the Notre Dame commencement ceremony on Sunday in protest of the speaker, Vice President Mike Pence, who delivered a speech that mixed platitudes about bright, dream-filled futures with a lengthy rebuke of political correctness on college campuses.
NEW YORK TIMES

Tillerson holds press conference without US reporters
Tillerson Claims New US-Saudi Partnership Autoplay: On | Off Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held a press conference Sunday without U.S. reporters, according to multiple reports. Tillerson reportedly held the press conference in Riyadh, but U.S. reporters were not told about it, according to their tweets. After reports came out about that briefing, the White House announced Tillerson will hold a brief gaggle on Monday on Air Force One, according to pool reports.
THE HILL

Donald Trump fails to raise Saudi Arabia’s human rights record on Middle East tour
As President Donald Trump opened his keynote address in Saudi Arabia, he lavished praise on the “magnificent” kingdom and “the grandeur of this remarkable place.” Then he made clear there would be no public lecture from America on Saudi Arabia’s abysmal human rights record.
THE INDEPENDENT

Revealed: Facebook’s internal rulebook on sex, terrorism, and violence
Facebook’s secret rules and guidelines for deciding what its 2 billion users can post on the site are revealed for the first time in a Guardian investigation that will fuel the global debate about the role and ethics of the social media giant.
THE GUARDIAN

Media ‘jokes’ not so funny
Some unsettling recent incidents suggest violence against journalists—and claims that it’s just a joke—is gaining ground as a “new normal” for reporters. Trump’s unrelenting criticism of the media and divisive rhetoric at rallies—which during the campaign included hostility and violence directed at protesters and journalists—seem to have engendered a creeping permissiveness about such attitudes among his followers, those looking to vent their hatred, and now, apparently, even those in government, which should give everyone pause.
CNN

 
Global

Court approves challenge by novelist Ahmed Naji, orders retrial *PEN Case List
The Court of Cassation has approved the challenge filed by novelist Ahmed Naji, canceling his prison sentence and ordering his retrial. Khaled Ali, a lawyer in Naji’s defense team, said this verdict shows that Naji spent a long time in jail despite being innocent, especially as “he did nothing but offer excellent work”.
EGYPT INDEPENDENT

Saudi Arabia bars Israeli journalists accompanying Trump from entry
Several Israeli journalists planning to accompany US President Donald Trump during his Middle East tour were denied entry visas by Saudi Arabia.
MIDDLE EAST MONITOR

As Trump visits, Gulf states seen quietly curbing opposition
Civil liberties monitors point to freedom of expression is increasingly constrained in Gulf Arab states including summit host Saudi Arabia, which is planning to buy tens of billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. arms. Gulf Arab states began stepping up the muffling of political discussion in the dying months of former president Barack Obama’s term and have continued this under Trump, they say.
REUTERS

Deutsche Welle Journalist Detained in DRC, Family Says
A Burundian journalist working for Deutsche Welle, Antideteste Niragira called his family at midday on 19 May to tell them he had been arrested by intelligence agents in DRC. The family believes he is being held in dungeons controlled by the intelligence services in South Kivu, across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
ALL AFRICA

Journalist abducted in Mexico amid spate of media killings
Mexican journalist Salvador Adame has been abducted by armed men in the south of the country, officials and family have said. The kidnapping comes just days after another journalist was murdered on the street.
DEUTSCHE WELLE

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