20 Jul 2009 | Index Index, minipost
Officials in Kyrgyzstan have claimed at a news conference that a local police officer has admitted to inflicting the injuries on freelance journalist Almazbek Tashiyev that resulted in his death last week. They claim the policeman knew Tashiyev well and the row was personal and now consider the case to be closed. Upon admission to hospital Tashiyev, and his brother who also witnessed the incident said he had been assaulted by “about 10 policemen”. Read more here
20 Jul 2009 | Index Index, minipost
Natalia Radizina, the editor of Charter 97 an oppostion news website in Belarus has received an email threatening violence of a sexual nature if she was not careful about what she chose to post. This followed a report by Charter 97 on a pro-Russian neo-fascist group. The website and those who work there have been subject to a long campaign of harrassment by the authorities. Read more here
20 Jul 2009 | Index Index, minipost
A garden gnome giving the Nazi salute has landed a German artist in trouble with the authorities in Nuremberg. Prosecutors are investigating whether the gnome, which went on show in one of the city’s galleries, breaks the strict law banning Nazi symbols and gestures. The 59-year-old artist, Ottmar Hoerl, has been president of Nuremberg’s Academy of Fine Arts since 2005. Read more here
20 Jul 2009 | Index Index, minipost
The Ministry of Justice has announced plans to incorporate only four new bodies in the Freedom of Information Act after lengthy consultation. These include the Association of Chief Police Officers, Academy schools, the Financial Ombudsman Service and UCAS. Companies that provide public services will not be brought within the Act, a decision The Campaign for Freedom of Information have said is extremely disappointing given the growing role the private sector had in providing public services. Read more here
