Unfortunately when people criticize socialist countries for the lack of “free speech,” even if with good intentions, they are usually parroting the talking points of Western, bourgeois media and only serves as to justify imperialist intervention against them.
These criticisms however derive from an ignorance of the way politics work in such countries whose only perception comes from behind the iron curtain and only through the lens of fascist and capitalist media.
In historically socialist countries, democracy had always been principally practiced on the local and communal stages, where individuals had the most capacity to take decisions regarding their daily lives and the situation of their neighbourhood, locality or commune. I highly recommend reading on this topic:
Ah, unsurprisingly.