The Belarusian “Public Council of Morality” have attempted to tone down any suggestion of homosexuality during Elton John’s imminent performance in Minsk. State officials have asked the singer’s management for early Elton albums to ensure that they are not “inconsistent with the law and morality”. Previous pride march attempts have been broken up by police in a state attempt to “prevent the promotion of homosexuality”.
In addition to blocking Youtube, Turkey has now blocked access to various Google functions. The High Council for Telecommunications has revealed that since June 2010, Turkish internet service providers have been instructed to block Youtube-linked IP addresses. On 4 June, Google investigated complaints that certain Google services, including Google Analytics and Google Docs, were restricted. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe has estimated that 3700 websites are currently blocked in Turkey, including GeoCities, gay community sites and Kurdish sites.
Irfan Atkan has been sentenced to 15 months in prison under Turkey’s draconian anti-terror laws
(more…)
Turkish journalist, Nedim Şener has been acquitted following his prosecution for alleging police negligence in his book “The Dink Murder and the Intelligence Lies” with respect to the murder of Turkish-Armenian reporter Hrant Dink. Accused of a “violation of secrecy” for publishing confidential information, Şener faced a three year prison sentence if convicted. However, on Friday 4 June, the court exonerated him, ruling that much of the “secret” information was already in the public domain prior to the books publication.