10 Dec 2009 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
China has closed one of the country’s largest file-sharing sites. The State Administration of Radio Film and Television said the site BTChina did not have a license to distribute audio and video content. Another popular website, the Chinese translation cooperative Yeeyan, has stopped publishing in recent days. The government says the main targets are pornography, online gambling and other sites deemed harmful to society. Critics, however, say that often acts as cover for detecting and blocking sensitive political content. Read more here
10 Dec 2009 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
A devout Christian couple have been cleared of insulting a Muslim guest at their hotel because of her faith and asking her if she was a terrorist when she wore the hijab. Benjamin and Sharon Vogelenzang denied using threatening, abusive or insulting words which were religiously aggravated. District judge Richard Clancy dismissed the case against them at Liverpool magistrates’ court. He said that the evidence against the couple was inconsistent. Read more here
10 Dec 2009 | Uncategorized
Jack of Kent has posted a blog about the campaign to reform English libel laws launched this week by Index on Censorship, English Pen and Sense about Science. He writes:
“England’s libel law is currently a public danger and a public disgrace. There is something very wrong with English libel law; and the campaign launched today is a serious, highly-practical, and determined movement for change.”
To read the post in full click here
10 Dec 2009 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Two Tibetan web users have been sentenced to three-year jail terms after posting pictures of the exiled Dalai Lama on the Internet. Gyaltsen and Nyima Wangdu were given three-year sentences after being convicted of “communicating information to contacts outside China,” Reporters Without Borders said. Three other Internet users were also arrested for similar reasons on December 1 but have not yet been tried. Read more here
