Archive for September, 2011
Monday, September 26th, 2011
Former motorsport boss turned privacy campaigner Max Mosley has had his appeal to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights rejected. Mosley had hoped to overturn a
May ruling establishing that media outlets were not required to notify the subjects of stories in advance of publication. But the court today announced that that judgment would be final.
Solicitor Mark Stephens, who represented Index on Censorship, the Media Legal Defence Initiative and other interested parties in the case, said today: “This decision by the Grand Chamber and the previous decision by the court underline the recommendation made by the UK parliament’s Culture Media and Sport Committee. This is a great day for free speech in Britain and throughout Europe.”
Index on Censorship news editor Padraig Reidy commented: “Index submitted its concerns about Mr Mosley’s prior-notification plans as we recognised the threat such an obligation would pose to investigative journalism. While privacy is of course a concern, forcing newspapers to reveal stories would have a serious chilling effect.”
Monday, September 26th, 2011
Anish Kapoor takes a stand for artistic freedom in ‘The Art Issue’, a special full-colour edition reporting on censorship in the contemporary art world. Subscribe to read an exclusive interview with the acclaimed sculptor and more.
Read about the return of the culture wars with contributions from star commentators, critics and artists. Celebrated Spanish artist Eugenio Merino salutes Andres Serrano’s controversial ‘Piss Christ’ and Turner Prize nominees Langlands & Bell write about their own brush with censorship.
Plus: Voina, Russia’s most provocative performance artists, and Yasmine El Rashidi discusses the role of graffiti in the Arab Spring.
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Monday, September 26th, 2011
In post-revolution Egypt, street art has become one of the symbols of ongoing resistance. Yasmine El Rashidi reports on the graffiti artists of Cairo (more…)
Monday, September 26th, 2011
Earlier this year, the arrest and detention of Ai Weiwei, China’s most famous artist and Index contributor, caused an international outcry. In an exclusive interview with Index, celebrated sculptor Anish Kapoor explains why artists have a duty to take a stand for freedom of expression
(more…)
Friday, September 23rd, 2011
Video game fans awaiting the release of Diablo 3 in
China fear that the game will be
heavily censored. Amid reports that the game has entered the
beta-testing phase, rumours that it is quite bloody are making Chinese fans nervous that they will face a toned-down version, as they did with World of Warcraft. The Chinese version of World of Warcraft, made by
Blizzard the same company as Diablo, was changed. Gamers took to Weibo with comments such as “#Diablo3# We’re not asking for much, just to play the goddamn original version, as long as it’s not censored it’s fine…”
Friday, September 23rd, 2011
A
Belarusian opposition activist has claimed he was
beaten and detained by police before being sentenced to 15 days in prison. Kastus Zhukouski was charged with insulting police and resisting arrest. The activist said he noticed a police car outside his house on Wednesday, containing several officers wearing special security uniforms. As Zhukouski began to film the car, he was attacked by three people from behind a dumpster and two others from the car. In court, Zhukouski complained of headache, nausea and pain in his neck, legs and hands. The judge ruled he should be taken to a clinic for an examination and treatment before the trial resumes.
Friday, September 23rd, 2011
As the Malaysian prime minister implements change and moves to create a “functional and inclusive democracy,” the future of freedom of speech in the country looks brighter. But Malik Imtiaz Sarwar believes it’s still too soon to celebrate
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Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
Index on Censorship is concerned by
reports that news organisations are to hand over footage of August’s riots in England.
“Moves such as this force journalists to become the eyes and ears of the state, said John Kampfner, Chief Executive of Index on Censorship. “During the riots, we saw several incidents of photographers and broadcasters being attacked. The implication that any footage taken by them will be handed over to authorities will only serve to endanger on-the-ground media workers further in the future.”
“Already this week we have seen widespread outrage at attempts to make Guardian journalist Amelia Hill hand over journalistic materials. The Metropolitan Police Service is showing a worrying disregard for the principle of a free media.”
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