Archive for January, 2010
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
Britain’s theatre community comes out against oppression and censorship in the “last dictatorship of Europe”. Join the protest in London
Sir Tom Stoppard and actor/director Samuel West are leading a protest of high-profile theatre practitioners outside the Belarussian Embassy at 6 Kensington Court, London, W8 5DL on Thursday 1st July at 11.30am.
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Friday, January 29th, 2010
The decision today by Mr Justice Tuggendhat not to uphold a “
superinjunction” claimed by England football captain
John Terry is an important victory for press freedom.
“Super-injunctions have a disastrous effect on free expression,” said John Kampfner, Index on Censorship’s Chief Executive. “Celebrities are increasingly pursuing privacy actions in order to dictate what is published about them. Today’s decision recognises that the super injunction is a measure which should not be used lightly.
Index on Censorship is campaigning for libel reform, but the organisation continues to monitor the other ways the wealthy and powerful attempt to suppress information.
Friday, January 29th, 2010
Two men accused of plotting to overthrow the regime were hanged in Tehran yesterday.
Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour, 19, were convicted of being ‘enemies of God’.
The pair were the first to be put to death after more than 100 dissidents were put on trial following protests disputing President Ahmadinejad’s re-election. They were among 11 people sentenced to death for their alleged involvement in the post-election violence.
The executions have increased fears for bloggers
Mehrdad Rahimi and Kouhyar Goudarzi, convicted of wanting to wage ‘a war against God’. The men were contributors to an opposition website.
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Despite the odd absurd anomaly, such as an attempt to prosecute for a depiction of a woman having sex with a cartoon tiger, the UK government’s “extreme pornography” laws have not have proved to be the threat to free expression says John Ozimek
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Thursday, January 28th, 2010
President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s election campaign was coloured by the blatant abuse of state resources says Sanjana Hattotuwa
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Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
The full membership of the Justice Department’s libel working group, which convenes tomorrow (28 January), has been announced. The working group will be chaired by Rowena Collins-Rice, Director-General, Democracy, Constitution and Law and Chief Legal Officer at the Ministry of Justice.
The members are:
David Banks (
Media Law Consultant)
@DBanksy
Tracey Brown (
Sense About Science)
@freedebate
Sir Leszek Borysiewicz (Chief Executive of the
Medical Research Council)
Desmond Browne QC (Barrister,
5 Raymond Buildings)
Rod Christie-Miller (Partner and Chief Executive at
Schillings, Solicitors)
Robin Esser (Executive Managing Editor,
Daily Mail)
Jo Glanville (Editor,
Index on Censorship)
@Indoncensorship
Jonathan Heawood (Director,
English PEN)
@jheawood
Tony Jaffa (Head of the Media Team at Foot Anstey, Solicitors)
Sarah Jones (Head of Litigation and Intellectual Property,
BBC)
Marcus Partington (Chair of Media Lawyers Association, and Legal Director,
Mirror Group Newspapers)
Gillian Phillips (Director of Editorial Legal Services,
The Guardian)
Gavin Phillipson (Professor at
Durham Law School)
Mark Stephens (Partner at
Finers Stephens Innocent, Solicitors)
@markslarks
Andrew Stephenson (Partner at
Carter Ruck, Solicitors)
Paul Tweed (Senior Partner at
Johnsons, Solicitors)
John Witherow (Editor,
Sunday Times)
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
A Zambian MP allegedly stormed a television studio and
threatened student union leaders at gunpoint. It is claimed
Chishimba Kambwili and fellow Patriotic Front (PF) sympathisers menaced University of Zambia Student’s Union leaders, Antonio Mwanza and Stanford Kabwata who were appearing as guests on a MUVI TV programme on 19 January 2010.
Police in Lusaka opened an investigation after MUVI management made a complaint and recorded a ‘warn and caution statement’ by the minister on 25 January. In a statement, the TV station said that they are “in possession of footage of Mr. Kambwili’s aggressive and unruly conduct against the two defenceless guests.”
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Freedom of expression is stifled in Africa’s youngest nation, says Peter Martell
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