Freedom House elected a new left-liberal government, rejecting the abuses of power associated with right-wing populist prime minister Janez Janša. While free expression is generally protected across most of the region, the EU was plunged into spyware scandals in 2022 after journalists and politicians came under surveillance in Spain, Greece, Hungary, and Poland. In addition, the authoritarian government in Turkey adopted a draconian “disinformation” law that hindered free speech and independent journalism ahead of elections in 2023. Despite these setbacks, several European states strengthened safeguards for personal autonomy. San Marino decriminalized abortion, Andorra and Slovenia legalized same-sex marriage, and Liechtenstein passed a measure on full adoption equality for same-sex couples. MIDDLE EAST: Searching for fresh hope in a bitter campaign for freedom MIDDLE EAST: STATUS BY POPULATION MIDDLE EAST: STATUS BY POPULATION MIDDLE EAST: STATUS BY COUNTRY MIDDLE EAST: STATUS BY COUNTRY MIDDLE EAST: STATUS BY POPULATION MIDDLE EAST: STATUS BY COUNTRY Total population FREE Total population 274.1 million 274.1 million 3% 4% NOT FREE 15% 93% Total Total countriescountries 13 13 93% 77% Popular demand for greater freedom in the Middle East continues to run up against some of the most entrenched systems of repression in the world, many of which are propped up or shielded by foreign powers—including democracies—with vested trade and security interests in the region. In Iran, massive prodemocracy protests broke out following the death of a Kurdish woman in police custody, bringing global attention to the Islamic Republic’s long history of discrimination and brutality. Citizens returned to the streets again and again despite an acute risk that they would be beaten, arrested, shot, or executed by security forces. Elsewhere in the Middle East, journalists and human rights defenders faced an uphill battle in their efforts to highlight and address state abuses. A Palestinian-American journalist was killed by Israeli forces while covering a military raid on a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Ahead of PARTLY FREE 8% 8% 3% 4% 15% FREE PARTLY FREE 77% international soccer’s World Cup in Qatar, a number of local activists were given life sentences for their participation in peaceful protests. While political rights and civil liberties are few and far between in a region dominated by despotic regimes, there was some piecemeal progress during the year. In Kuwait, a court overturned a law used to prosecute transgender people, finding that it violated the right to personal freedom. In Lebanon, members of a rising civic opposition bloc gained representation in parliamentary elections, eroding the dominance of established sectarian parties. But in Israel, the region’s only country ranked Free, election results painted a grimmer picture: former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power at the head of a coalition with far-right elements, and the new government’s agenda posed a direct threat to judicial independence and other democratic principles, as well as to the basic rights of Palestinians. FreedomHouse.org 29