Archive for March, 2011
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
On Monday Cuba accused eminent blogger
Yoani Sanchez of being part of a
“cyber war” launched by America. They allege that the aim of these attacks is to destabilise the communist government in Cuba. Allegations were made against Sanchez in a documentary series accusing the US government of targeting Cuba through “cyber dissident proxies”.
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
Index on Censorship Free Expression Award 2010 winners
The 11th annual Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards honour those who, often at great personal risk, have given voice to issues and stories from around the globe that would otherwise have passed unnoticed.
This year’s event will be hosted by Jonathan Dimbleby at the Royal Institution in Mayfair on 24 March. It promises to be a truly inspiring evening, with a keynote address from Booker prize-winning novelist Howard Jacobson and a special address from celebrated playwright Sir Tom Stoppard.
READ ABOUT THIS YEAR’S AWARD NOMINEES HERE
Over four decades Index has worked for victims of oppression and censorship, championing their right to free expression. In December, when Natalia Koliada of the world-renowned Belarus Free Theatre was arrested and bundled into a police van, her first call for help on a smuggled mobile phone was to Index on Censorship. In Tunisia we’ve been working on the ground with civil society activists for five years. In addition to our international work, we lead the campaign to reform English libel law.
The awards, kindly sponsored by SAGE, gives you the opportunity to support our vital work. We expect over 300 prominent guests this year, and your attendance will fund our ongoing campaign for free expression in the UK and abroad. The event will begin at 7pm with a champagne reception and grand canapés. After the awards ceremony we will ask you to bid high in our celebrated auction.
You can read about last year’s Index Award winners here
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
Four New York Times reporters being held by pro-Gaddafi forces have now been
released, but a further 13 journalists from various media organisations are still missing or in detention. The New York Times reporters were released to Turkish diplomats on Monday and have
reported mistreatment including death threats and sexual assault on the only female reporter. The driver for the two AFP reporters and the Getty Images photographer who went missing in Libya
said that they are being held by pro-Gaddafi forces after being intercepted by soldiers.
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
Former president Leonid Kuchma is being
investigated over the murder of opposition journalist Georgiy Gongadze. A
criminal probe has been opened against Kuchma, according to a report by Ukrainska Pravda, which Gongadze founded. Georgiy Gongadze was often critical of Kuchma and his administration. He was kidnapped and
murdered in 2000. In 2010 the
prosecutors claimed that ex-interior minister Yury Kravchenko ordered the killing. Kravchenko is believed to have
committed suicide in 2005. This investigation comes despite a court decision
preventing such a probe.
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
Former MSP Tommy Sheridan is trying to
prevent publication of a biographical book which alleges that he degraded women during the early part of his political career. He has reportedly
threatened the author, Professor Gregor Gall, with legal action. The academic has refused to send Sheridan a copy of the manuscript before it is published,
the Scotsman reported. Sheridan’s lawyer has said that they will “use every legal avenue to stop it from being published”. Sheridan is currently serving a three year prison sentence for perjury.
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
A court has
refused bail to Vikas Mavhudzi, who was arrested on charges of subversion for a Facebook remark. He had posted a comment on Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Facebook page about the Egyptian uprisings. In February 46 people were
arrested and charged with treason for watching videos of the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
Monday, March 21st, 2011
Around 30 demonstrators were arrested at a
protest demanding the release of Private Bradley Manning on Sunday. The
demonstration was held at the Quantico marine base in Virginia, where Manning is being held in solitary confinement.
Another US
protest held this weekend resulted in the
arrest of 113 anti-war activists. The man who
leaked the Pentagon Papers was among those detained. They were protesting near the White House to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the Iraq war. Police made the arrests after warning activists to stop marching round the White House.
Monday, March 21st, 2011
Google has
blamed the Chinese government for disrupting its services after users experienced problems with accessing their emails. Some users have also claimed that their email accounts have been hacked into. Just over two weeks ago some Chinese Google email users were targets of hacking attempts that were
described by Google as politically motivated, specifically aimed at activists.
