“It is not a coincidence that the current pandemic began in a country where the free flow of information is stifled and where the government punished those warning about the dangers of the virus – warnings that were seen as spreading rumours harmful to the prestige of the state,’’ the letter added, referring to China.

The signatories included 13 Nobel laureates, including 1983 peace prize laureate, Lech Walesa of Poland, and Belarusian author and investigative journalist, Svetlana Alexievich, the 2015 literature prize laureate.

“The COVID-19 crisis is an alarming wake-up call, an urgent warning that the freedoms we cherish are at risk and that we must not take them for granted,’’ the letter said.

Other signatories were civic and political leaders including Hong Kong pro-democracy activist, Joshua Wong, former presidents like Latvia’s Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Mozambique’s Joaquim Chissano and former Swedish foreign minister, Carl Bildt.

About 70 pro-democracy institutions supported the letter.

It was initiated by the U.S.-based National Endowment for Democracy and the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) that aids with training of election observers. (dpa/NAN)