Archive for November, 2009

Matthew Parris and Brian Eno join Index

Monday, November 16th, 2009

Matthew Parris, one of Britain’s most renowned newspaper columnists, has been appointed a trustee of Index on Censorship, the UK’s leading organisation promoting freedom of expression. And, in an exciting week for free speech in the UK, musical innovator Brian Eno has become an Index on Censorship patron. (more…)

Libel reform: Carter-Ruck defends defamation rules

Monday, November 16th, 2009

Libel lawyers Carter-Ruck have responded to English PEN and Index on Censorship’s libel reform report. By Padraig Reidy
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Cuban bloggers under attack

Monday, November 16th, 2009

yoani_sanchez
An alleged assault on Generación Y’s Yoani Sánchez demonstrates the Castro regime’s fear of free expression on the web. Nick Caistor reports
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An Iranian Odyssey: Mossadegh, Oil and the 1953 CIA Coup: 19 November 2009

Monday, November 16th, 2009

An Iranian Odyssey: Mossadegh, Oil and the 1953 CIA Coup, directed by Maziar Bahari
19 November 2009
6.30pm-8.30pm
Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3GA

Film screening followed by panel discussion chaired by Malu Halasa, with anthropologist and filmmaker Ziba Mir-Hosseini and filmmaker and editor Simon Ardizzone.

An Iranian Odyssey tells the story of the CIA coup that toppled the government of Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953 and laid the foundations for the continuing stand-off between Iran and the West.

It is directed by filmmaker and journalist Maziar Bahari, who was detained without charge in Tehran for nearly four months while he was reporting on the fallout from the elections. He was released on 17 October.

To reserve a place call 020 73242 570 or email bookingsatfreewordonlinedotcom

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Moldova drops Tweeter charges

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Moldova’s Prosecutor General Office has dropped criminal proceedings against the people accused of using social networking websites to organise violent street protests in Chisinau in April, following the ppposition protest against the results of the parliamentary election. The key suspects were journalists Natalia Morar, Oleg Bregha, and Gabriel Stati, the son of one of Moldova’s richest businessman. Morar has admitted using Twitter after the controversial 5 April parliamentary elections, but said she never intended for violence to occur and is not responsible for those actions. Thousands of people took part in the protests organised by the opposition parties, who came to power after a second poll in July. Read more here

Hamas shuts down journalist conference

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Hamas officials prevented journalists in Gaza from participating in a meeting on 10 November. The reporters were due to attend a meeting organised by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). However, the venue turned the journalists away on the orders of Hamas, who said that any meetings would be conditional on its permission. Read more here

Sierra Leone: Supreme Court throws out libel law challenge

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Sierra Leone’s Supreme Court has dismissed a case for the repeal of criminal and seditious libel brought by the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ). Provisions in the 1965 Public Order Act stipulate prison terms for journalists found guilty of libel and prohibit truth as a defence. SLAJ argues that this undermines freedom of speech as guaranteed in the country’s 1991 constitution. (IPI) Read more here

Azerbaijan: donkey video bloggers sentenced

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Bloggers Adnan Hajizada and Emin Milli were sentenced on 11 November to two years and two-and-a-half years in prison respectively. Human rights groups and analysts believe the sentences are politically motivated, and that the they were sentenced on trumped-up charges. Before the incident and their subsequent arrest, the bloggers had criticised the government through a satirical video posted online featuring a donkey giving a press conference. The bloggers’ lawyer Isakhan Ashurov said that they were planning an appeal, and would take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary. (Hurriyet Daily News/AFP)

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