Shambhawi, Body and Data
Tanveer, Mondoroo

There has been an increase in the development anduse of defamation laws in the APAC region over thepast few years and it seems all have something incommon: they are being used to silence criticalvoices, especially journalists, human rightsdefenders, and political opponents. This session ismeant to gather people advocating against thedraconian use of these laws to explore theproblematic language and use of these laws, whathas been done up till now to counter the misuse ofthe laws by authorities, and what more can be done.The purpose of the session is to move beyond theisolation, and learn from neighboring countries inorder to practice the democratic right to free speech,as well as analyze the less sinister aspects of thelaw.