Maziar Bahari must be freed

Iranian-Canadian journalist’s supposed “confession” suggests serious human rights abuses

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Another victim of an archaic law

Darryn Walker has suffered unemployment and vilification for writing a pornographic story. The censorious obscenity law that allows this to happen must be scrapped, say John Ozimek and Julian Petley

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Girls Aloud obscenity case dropped

The Crown Prosecution Service has dropped its case against Darryn Walker, the civil servant who was facing trial under the Obscene Publications Act for writing a violent pornographic fantasy story about pop group Girls Aloud.

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Anna Politkovskaya: retrial must hear new evidence

The family of the slain journalist has called for the retrial of those accused of involvement in her murder to include a comprehensive new investigation. Maria Eismont reports

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Azerbaijan: Reading about God is dangerous

Azerbaijan has a new, harsher religion law and new penalties for producing, selling, circulating, importing and exporting religious literature without state permission, reports Felix Corley of Forum 18

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Venezuela: Chávez’s war on independent media

Steps taken by the government to remove Globovisión’s free-to-air licence poses a fresh threat to the country’s independent media. Daniel Duquenal reports

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Iran: Maziar Bahari

Index on Censorship calls for the release of renowned Canadian-Iranian journalist and filmmaker

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Expenses scandal is a watershed for freedom of information

Transparency is no longer just an obsession for journalists and campaigners, writes Chris Ames

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Vietnam: arrest of a pragmatist

Lawyer Le Cong Dinh (right) has always worked to change the system from within - which is exactly why his arrest is troubling, says Roby Alampay

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Iran: free to tweet?

It’s time to confront technology companies in the West on the role they play in censorship worldwide, says Claire Ulrich

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Iran: “I will continue to report, but I fear that I may be arrested”

Reporter Saeed Kamali Dehghan describes the struggle to get information in and out of Tehran

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Iraq: “A secret inquiry is storing up trouble”

A private investigation into the Iraq war will only backfire on Gordon Brown, writes Chris Ames

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Through the looking glass

English libel law turns US protection for free speech on its head. Floyd Abrams considers how the UK became an international libel tribunal

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Iran: elections free up the media

Fiery television debates, and the tactics of Ahmadinejad’s own supporters, have emboldened Iran’s newspapers, says Meir Javedanfar

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Weighing up the evidence

The House of Lords ruling on secret evidence raises the need for the admission of intercept intelligence in terror trials, says Roger Smith

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Shoot the messenger

Attacks on human rights representatives at the UN Human Rights Council are part of a campaign to undermine freedom of expression, says Roy W Brown

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Tiananmen 20: Qian Gang

The 4 June massacre signalled an end to 1980s press reform in China

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Censorship is the wrong way to combat BNP

The illiberal obsession with silencing Nick Griffin and the British National Party in the run up to elections has won the party undeserved publicity, says Claire Fox

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Tiananmen 20: Liu Hongbin

Poet Liu Hongbin fled China after taking part in the Tiananmen Square protests. Here, he describes his experience of returning to China as a persona non grata in 1997

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Police shelve review on Kingsnorth protest

The failure to publish the long awaited report on policing tactics last summer is leading to accusations of a cover-up. Chris Ames reports

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The tyranny of the take-down notice

The closure of Nadine Dorries’s blog simply on suspicion of defamation emphasises the need for reform of libel legislation says Padraig Reidy

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Australia’s impotent censors

The Australian government’s ignorance about the Internet is impeding attempts to ban online content, says John Ozimek

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Sherry Jones: “We must speak out for free speech”

Why are UK distributors refusing to handle The Jewel of Medina? It’s time to raise an outcry says its author

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Burma’s media blackout

The Burmese authorities are keeping tight control on coverage of Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial, reports Nem Davies

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Peter Hitchens: bring back arguments

As the divide narrows between left and right in Britain, so too does the space for adversarial dialogue and free expression

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Pakistan: journalism is first casualty

As reporters flee fighting in the Swat valley, Zubeida Mustafa reports on the conflict’s effect on Pakistan’s press

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Orlando Figes: a victory for Russian history

A St Petersburg court has confirmed that the police raid on Gulag archive Memorial was illegal

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Dimbleby: fearful BBC risks losing its way

The BBC Trust’s condemnation of Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen has the potential to cause serious damage to the corporation’s international standing, says Jonathan Dimbleby

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Lebedev ‘cannot pay staff’

Evening Standard owner Alexander Lebedev has delayed payment to 120 staff on his award-winning Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, after running into financial difficulties. Read more here

Eady rules against Singh in chiropractic defamation case

The English High Court has ruled that science writer Simon Singh, must show that the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) was deliberately dishonest in promoting chiropractic as a treatment for various children’s ailments.

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US cyberbully bill is ‘threat to free speech’

American bloggers say proposals for a new law, potentially making illegal to criticise or mock people online, will threaten freedom of expression. Read more here

Ivory Coast frees French reporter

French investigative journalist Jean-Paul Ney, has been bailed from prison in the Ivory Coast after 16 months without trial. Read more here

Index on Censorship wins ‘torture secret’ legal battle

Media organisations including Index on Censorship won a major victory on Wednesday night as UK judges agreed to reconsider a ruling to keep information about the treatment of former Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed. The media groups claim that redacted material could the UK government knew Mohamed had been sent to Morocco, where he claims he was tortured. Read more here

Suzanne Breen: give them absolutely nothing

Police threats to use anti-terror powers, forcing Irish reporter Suzanne Breen to hand over materials relating to dissident republican groups are an affront to journalistic ethics and free expression, says Anthony McIntyre

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US ‘banned list’ DJ to sue Britain

US radio talk show host Michael Savage has said he will sue the British government for defamation after being placed on a Home Office list of people banned from entering the UK. Read more here

Roxana Saberi ends two-week hunger strike

Jailed American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi has ended a two-week hunger strike, according to her father. Read more here

Burma named worst place in world for bloggers

A report published by the Committee to Protect Journalists has named Burma, Iran and Syria amongst the worst countries for bloggers. Read more here

This ‘banned list’ has no place in UK law

To stop people entering Britain because of what they may say while here is based on the concept of pre-emptive sanction says Padraig Reidy

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UK ‘least wanted’ list published

The Home Office has released a list of sixteen people banned from entering the UK for their extremist views. The list includies Islamists, white supremacists and a right-wing US talk show host. Read more here

World Press Freedom Day - 3 May

To mark World Press Freedom Day 2009, Index on Censorship asked a panel of experts what needs to be done to protect the press in the year ahead

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Binyam Mohamed: Foreign Office attempts to file ‘secret evidence’

Index on Censorship has learned that government lawyers are attempting to submit secret evidence on the treatment of former Guantanamo prisoner Binyam Mohamed, as the Foreign Office continues to attempt to prevent the release of potentially damning information about his detention.

In a letter to the judges presiding over the case, Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones, the Treasury Solicitor has claimed that a Public Interest Immunity certificate could be necessary for any further evidence submitted by the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband. This would allow the Foreign Office to supply evidence to the court in secret, on a basis not open to challenge or scrutiny.

The government is fighting an application by international media organisations, including Index on Censorship, to obtain the release of seven paragraphs that were redacted from an earlier judgment concerning Mohamed’s treatment at the hands of US officials. The Foreign Office had claimed that any release would endanger future intelligence-sharing arrangements with the US, a claim Mohamed’s lawyer, Dinah Rose QC, has described as ‘seriously misleading’.

Read the government letter here (pdf)

Cuba: changes? What changes?

The Obama regime may be reaching out to Raúl Castro, but it is unlikely any real reform will emerge for ordinary Cubans, writes
Ena Lucía Portela

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‘Banned’ poet becomes first female laureate

Carol Ann Duffy, whose poem ‘Education for Leisure’ was withdrawn from schoolbooks over fears it encouraged violence, has been appointed the UK’s first female poet laureate. Read more here

Irish minister defends new blasphemy law

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has defended a proposal to introduce new legislation on blasphemy. Read more here

Ireland: religion doesn’t need protection

The Irish government’s plan to introduce blasphemy legislation may seem a retrograde step, but it is part of a broader global trend, writes Padraig Reidy

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US TV swearing policy ‘correct’

The US government’s policy of fining broadcasters over the use of swear words on live TV is justified, the Supreme Court has ruled. Read more here

French reject internet piracy law

French politicians have rejected a bill proposing that people caught downloading music illegally three times should be cut off from the Internet. Read more here

Israeli army singers caught in censorship row

A group of singers from the Israel Defence Forces has become embroiled in a censorship row after their performance in London was cancelled over fears the content was ‘political’. Read more here

Cuts demanded for Knightley domestic violence advert

Clearcast, the company that regulates television advertising on behalf of Ofcom, has requested that violent scenes be removed from an anti-domestic violence advert featuring actress Keira Knightley. Read more here

UK government rules out central database

The British government has said it will not now go ahead with plans to create a cenrtal communications database. Read more here