Europe has a duty to speak out on Vaxevanis

November 23rd, 2012

Index on Censorship and other freedom of expression groups urge the European Union to defend free speech (more…)

INDEX Q&A: Talking to Europe’s most wired politician

November 1st, 2012

In a world where digital policy is written by politicians who barely know how to send an email, Marietje Schaake is a breath of fresh air. Marta Cooper meets the pioneering Dutch MEP
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Europe’s Belarus failure

September 18th, 2012

The EU might be able to help Belarus democratise, but it can’t solve its problems for them. Andrei Yahorau and Alena Zuikova examine a nuanced relationship

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EU to enshrine “right to be forgotten”

March 17th, 2011

The EU has announced its intention to ensure that social networking sites such as Facebook routinely offer high standards of privacy. They will recognise the existence of a “right to be forgotten online”. EU justice commissioner, Viviane Reding, has said that she wants to “explicitly clarify that people shall have the right – and not only the possibility — to withdraw their consent to data processing.”

Tens of thousands protest Hungarian media law

March 17th, 2011

Demonstrators gathered in Budapest on Tuesday to protest Hungary’s controversial media law, in what has been described as the biggest demonstration since the regime change in 1989. Chief organiser, Anna Vamos, said amendments to the media law do not align with EU law. Protesters also condemned provisions allowing the imposition of arbitrary levy fines on media outlets.

Cuba: Hunger strike dissident wins Sakharov Prize

October 26th, 2010

Guillermo Farinas has won the 2010 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the European Union’s most prestigious human rights award. Farinas has spent much of the last 15 years in jail and has gone on hunger strike more than 20 times. His most recent hunger strike ended in July when the government agreed to release 52 political prisoners. At the same time as the EU bestowed the accolade, Cuba authorised the release of a further five prisoners, who were not among the originally specified 52. The released men are due to be transferred to Spain. 39 have already been released, but 13 have refused the deal and remain behind bars.

EU governments must support Eritrea’s prisoners of conscience

May 24th, 2010

Eritrea has held Swedish journalist Dawit Isaak without charge for eight years. The west must stand up to this brutal regime, says his brother Esayas Isaak
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Malta: MEPs asked to raise concerns over censorship

March 31st, 2010

The Maltese Front Against Censorship has asked the country’s MEPs to raise the country’s case in the European Parliament. The Front is concerned with recent infringements on freedom of expression, which include punishment of carnival revellers for dressing up as Christ, the ban of the play Stitching, the threat of a prison sentence to a newspaper editor for publishing an erotic story, and the suspended prison sentence to an artist for offending against the Catholic religion. In February, protesters gathered  in the capital Valetta, against escalating censorship by government agencies.