Posts Tagged ‘free expression’
June 20th, 2012
A book depicting a family with two lesbian mothers has been
pulled from the shelves in an
American school district. “In Our Mothers’ House” by Patricia Polacco, which aims to foster inclusion for those with same sex parents, has been removed from the regular collection of books available in elementary schools throughout the Davis County School District. It is believed students’
can still borrow the book from the library, but only if a permission slip is provided from parents. LGBT families and groups across Utah visited the school district office to challenge the decision.
June 20th, 2012
A UN human rights expert
has slammed the government of
Israel, the
Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza for unduly limiting free speech. Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, special rapporteur on free expression Frank La Rue said that intimidation, censorship and restrictive laws were having a chilling effect on the work of journalists and activists. La Rue also presented a report to the council, urging Palestinians and and Israel to uphold standards on freedom of speech.
June 19th, 2012
As sports stories grab the headlines in the run up to the Olympics, Martin Polley explores the human rights issues surrounding sporting events
READ MORE: SPORT V HUMAN RIGHTS
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June 19th, 2012
A journalist has been
hacked to death in
Bangladesh after reporting on a local drug syndicate. Jamal Uddin from Banglore daily Gramer Kagoj was allegedly kidnapped by syndicate leader Tota Miah and ten other men at 11pm on 15 June. The attackers gauged out one of the journalist’s eyes, slashed veins on his legs and hacked at his body. The group fled the scene after neighbours heard Uddin’s cries for help. The journalist died on the way to hospital. Police later discovered a bloodstained towel and a machete at Miah’s house. It is believed Uddin had previously filed a complaint against Miah after receiving death threats.
June 19th, 2012
While the internet and social media facilitate democratic instant global discourse, they are also tools of control, says Kirsty Hughes
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June 12th, 2012
A journalist and government critic has been
sentenced to two years in prison in
Azerbaijan. Anar Bayramli, a correspondent for two
Iranian media outlets, was sentenced for a drug possession charge following a controversial court case which was said to include contradictory evidence. Bayramli was arrested in February and charged with possession of four grams of heroin. The journalist was previously summoned by police on a number of occasions to disclose his political affiliation. The sentencing comes at a time when tensions between Azerbaijan and neighbouring Iran are particularly heightened.
June 12th, 2012
A
Mexican reporter has
gone missing from her home in the state of Coahuila, along with her two-year-old son. Hypathia Stephanía Rodríguez Cardoso, crime reporter for Zócalo Saltillo newspaper, disappeared on Friday (8 June) after attending an event celebrating Freedom of Expression day. The journalist contacted colleagues around 2 AM Friday to tell them she had returned home safely, but did not turn up for work later that morning. According to relatives, her house had been ransacked. The disappearance comes less than three weeks after a crime journalist in Sonora,
Marco Antonio Ávila García, was kidnapped and later found tortured and killed.
June 6th, 2012
The editor of a
Chinese newspaper
has been dismissed after posting comments online deemed critical of the government. Yu Chen, editor of the investigative news desk at Southern Metropolitan Newspaper, was initially suspended and later forced to resign after he accidentally used the newspapers Sina Weibo account to respond a question on whether China’s Ministry of National Defence should serve the Chinese Communist Party. Yu’s post was deleted immediately, along with the message he was responding to. Yu is the first journalist in China to be forced to resign from a newspaper as a result of online comments.
