Unfree: The Least Free Places on Earth

Uzbekistan

Like Turkmenistan, this country has been ruled badly by one man; President Islam Karimov since 1991. He dominates all aspects of Uzbek politics, including both the legislature and judiciary. No genuine opposition party functions legally, and members of unregistered opposition groups are repressed. In May 2005, Uzbek security forces brutally crushed a popular uprising in Andijan, killing hundreds of civilians and bystanders. Uzbek authorities rejected international calls for an independent investigation and instituted a wide- ranging crackdown targeting potential opposition figures, human rights defenders, and former officials.

Tibet (China)

China maintains tight control over Tibet. Although most regard the exiled Dalai Lama as their leader, Tibetans lack the right to freely elect their officials or determine their political future. Chinese security forces engage in arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, and execution without due process, punishing even nonviolent protests against Chinese rule. China further restricted freedom of movement and exerted more control over the practice of Tibetan Buddhism following massive antigovernment protests in 2008.

Belarus

As Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, Belarus was created at the fall of the Soviet Union. All political power is held by President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Europe’s only remaining dictator. Having abolished term limits, Lukashenko has ruled the country since 1994 and maintains control over the government, courts, and legislative process. Elections are decorative affairs, and opposition parties hold no seats in the rubber-stamp legislative assembly. Opposition activists are routinely arrested. Interestingly, citizens need an internal passport to travel within the country.

Chad

Despite its substantial mineral wealth, Chad remains one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries. Corruption related to the misuse of oil revenues is rampant within the inner circle of President Idriss D’by, who took power in a military coup in 1990. Ethnic and political conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands of Chadians from their homes, and human rights groups have accused both security forces and rebel groups of killing and torturing civilians with impunity. After a failed coup attempt in 2008, the government arrested opposition figures and imposed new restrictions on the press.

China

The Chinese Communist Party uses the most sophisticated and extensive systems of Internet filtering in the world and imprisons more journalists and individuals for their online activities than any other country. Technologically advanced, China brings 1984 to life.

Eritrea

The Eritrean government maintains an iron grip on the country’s political and social structures. National elections have been postponed indefinitely, independent political parties do not exist, and the government controls all broadcast media and restricts independent print publications. Journalists arrested in a 2001 crackdown remain in prison. The country’s long-standing suppression of democratic and human rights is accompanied by an aggressive foreign policy, which has included conflict with Ethiopia, support for antigovernment rebels in Somalia, tension with Yemen, and meddling in Sudanese civil conflicts.

Laos

The government led by President Choummaly Sayasone, regulates virtually every facet of life, providing officials with ample opportunities to demand bribes. Poverty is so intense that an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 trafficked each year for prostitution.  Thousands of mountain people have been displaced by the government’s attempts to destroy ethnic Hmong groups that have fought a low-level rebellion against the regime since 1975.

Saudi Arabia

The kingdom is an authoritarian monarchy in which all political power is held by the royal family and in which the Koran and the Sunna (rules derived from the deeds and sayings of the prophet Mohammed) serve as the country’s constitution. All Saudis are required by law to be Muslims, and the government prohibits the public practice of any religions other than Islam. Women are second class citizens with little rights.

Zimbabwe

No list would be complete without President Robert Mugabe’s destruction of a previously wealthy country. Since assuming power 29 years ago, Mugabe has gained a strangle hold on all aspects of life. Parliamentary and presidential elections in March 2008 were surrounded by a state-directed campaign of violence and intimidation resulting in at least 170 deaths, thousands of beatings and rapes, hundreds of arrests and detentions. A fragile power- sharing deal with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change remains in effect, though the country’s economy, health care sector, and education system remain in ruins. There is no freedom in Zimbabwe.