Archive for November, 2010

Index on Censorship and the Young Vic present “Belarus: Zone of Silence”

Friday, November 19th, 2010


Jude Law, Ian McKellen and Samuel West take to the stage in support of Belarus Free Theatre
Main House, Young Vic Theatre 5 December 2010

“When people are being kidnapped and killed, then you have to take action to change things in your country” (Natalia Koliada, co-founder of Belarus Free Theatre).
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Facebook, Yahoo!, AOL, Mumsnet and the ISPA to David Cameron: libel reform needed to protect free speech online

Friday, November 19th, 2010


Facebook, Yahoo!, AOL (UK), Mumsnet and the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) have written an open letter to the Prime Minister David Cameron calling for urgent reform of our libel laws. Currently, forum providers and ISPs are being forced to act as judge and jury over the content of websites, blogs and online discussions. The effect is that libel threats are causing online content to be censored, even when the material is not actually defamatory. The internet companies are angered that the multiple publication rule which they are bound by, predates not only the invention of the internet, but that of the light bulb
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Index on Censorship responds to Julian Assange allegations

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

A Swedish prosecutor today requested that Julian Assange, founder of the Wikileaks whistleblower website, be detained for interrogation concerning a re-opened sexual assault investigation. The application could lead to an international arrest warrant.
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UK: Blogger charged over Iraq war MPs list

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

A man has been charged with soliciting murder and offences under the Terrorism Act in connection with a blog that listed MPs who voted for the Iraq war. Bilal Zaheer Ahmad, 23, was arrested last week for allegedly using the blog to call for action against those MPs. RevolutionMuslim.com, hosted in the USA, has previously been cited as one the websites responsible for radicalising Roshonara Choudhry. She was sentenced to life imprisonment earlier this month for attempting to murder Labour MP Stephen Timms. US authorities have closed the site at the UK’s request.

Mexico’s regional press falls silent

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

Ana Arana A new report shows Mexico’s regional newspapers keep quiet on cartel killings. Ana Arana reports
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Azerbaijan: Court frees “donkey blogger”

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

This morning Baku’s Appeal Court ordered the release of blogger Adnan Hajizade, he had served half of his two-year sentence on controversial charges of hooliganism. His co-defendent,  blogger, Emin Abdullayev – known as Milli, remains in prison serving a two and a half year term. The case of the two young Azeri bloggers sparked an international outcry. The men had been actively using social media to mobilise opposition against the government, speaking out on a variety of issues, including government corruption, misuse of oil revenues, censorship and education. Several weeks prior to their arrest, the pair posted a video on YouTube mocking the government’s decision to spend a vast amount of money on importing two donkeys from Germany. Locals believe the tongue-in-cheek video angered the regime and was the real reason for their arrest. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe voiced concerns about the sentences and the “inevitable chilling effect on freedom of expression in Azerbaijan”. Read more here: Donkey bloggers punished

Mexico: Reporters beaten by hotel guards

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

A reporter and a photographer were hospitalised following a brutal beating by guards at the Princess Hotel (Playa del Carmen). An explosion had just occurred in the popular tourist resort, causing seven deaths and 17 injuries. The two reporters were the first to the scene. The management of the hotel is alleged to have given orders to hush down the media in an attempt to hide information, newspaper ‘La Jornada‘ reported. The actual cause of the explosion are still unknown.

Egyptian blogger released after four years in jail

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

Kareem AmerKareem Amer freed after serving a prison term for insulting Islam and defaming Egypt’s president. Ashraf Khalil reports
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