Number of free countries and electoral democracies dropped in 2010: Freedom House report

[JURIST] The number of free countries and electoral democracies dropped and the overall freedom in the Middle East and North Africa suffered for the fifth year, according to a report [text, PDF] released Thursday by the US-based rights group Freedom House [advocacy website]. The group’s annual assessment, Freedom in the World 2011 [materials], reports that 25 countries showed significant declines in 2010, while 11 countries showed increases, amounting to what Freedom House calls an "authoritarian challenge to democracy." According to…