Posts Tagged ‘free speech’

Berlusconi’s gag law is no laughing matter

October 7th, 2011


While the Italian prime minister’s crude jokes are a source of amusement abroad, at home there are increasing fears over proposed new media restrictions. Giulio D’Eramo reports
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Interview with a troll

September 14th, 2011

Sean Duffy has been jailed for 18 weeks for “trolling” tribute pages to suicide victims.  But was he a “true troll” or was this harassment? And is there a philosophy behind trolling? 

In this extract from an interview in Index on Censorship magazine, Whitney Phillips speaks to troll “Paulie Socash” about tribute sites, free expression and where trolls draw the line

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USA: Stalker’s free speech defence rejected

September 13th, 2011

Oregon’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal made by a convicted stalker. John Norman Ryan began stalking a woman in 2005, eventually she took out a stalking protective order which forbade Ryan from making any contact. Ryan breached the order and was convicted by the courts. He appealed on the grounds that as the communication was not violent, he was expressing his First Amendment right to free speech. The judges ruled against him.  

Belarus: President pardons nine convicted for December protests

August 12th, 2011

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned nine of the 41 people convicted for taking part in the December 19 protests that followed his higly disputed re-election. RFE/RL’s Belarus Service reported that the nine freed had requested an amnesty, admitted taking part in the demonstrations, and pledged not to engage in such activities again. Of the nine amnestied, four have been named as Dimitry Drozd, Artem Gribkov, Serguey Kazakov and Andrei Protasenya. Two more who are thought to have been released have been named as Vladimir Loban and Alexander Klafkovsky, while the names of the remaining three remain unknown.
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Post-split Sudan silences dissenting voices

July 11th, 2011

Omar al-Bashir’s government is determined to control the news media, says Abdelgadir Mohammed Abdelgadir

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US: Judge refuses subpoena for blogger’s identity

June 30th, 2011

Ronald Papandrea, a former assistant attorney of Warren, Michigan has dropped a libel case against an anonymous blogger known as ‘Robert’ after the local judge turned down his request to obtain the blogger’s name. Papandrea claimed the blogger had made defamatory comments about him on the Warren Forum website.

Geert Wilders acquitted of hate charges by Dutch court

June 23rd, 2011

The controversial Dutch politician has avoided punishment for expressing his views on Islam. But his trials are far from over, writes Sander Zurhake

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UK: Parliament Square protester Brian Haw dies

June 21st, 2011

Parliament Square peace campaigner, Brian Haw, died of lung cancer at the weekend while receiving treatment for the disease in Germany. Haw began his round-the-clock protest opposite the Houses of Parliament on 2 June 2001 and faced numerous attempts to force him from his post. Earlier this year the Greater London Authority evicted Haw and his supporters from the grass area outside the Houses of Parliament, forcing them on to the footpath. Haw’s followers have vowed to continue his work and have paid their respects on his website.