15 Mar 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
The Cambodian government has used “threats, intimidation and legal action” to reduce the quantity of independent media reporting in the country, a new report has claimed. According to Reporters Without Borders, the governing Cambodian People’s Party is severely limiting journalists’ ability to report on private sector abuses and corruption. The report also condemns Prime Minister Hun Sen for failing to adhere to a promise made in 2006 that Cambodian journalists would no longer be jailed for their work.
15 Mar 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
A new report has claimed that the Mongolian government routinely uses defamation legislation against journalists exposing corruption or abuses of power. Globe International conducted a study into 215 journalists working in the world’s most sparsely populated country, discovering that more than 60 per cent of defamation cases are initiated by politicians and public officials. The organisation also found that 50 per cent of the journalists questioned admitted to self-censoring.
15 Mar 2010 | Uncategorized
Last night’s Big Libel Gig was really quite special. We’ll be posting videos of interviews with some of the artists involved soon, and the Little Atoms radio show recorded a special show on the night. In the meantime, here are Robert Sharp of English PEN’s excellent photographs.
12 Mar 2010 | Uncategorized
The Libel Reform Campaign’s Libel Week culminates with the Big Libel Gig this Sunday, featuring Dara O’Briain, Robin Ince, Ed Byrne, Shappi Khorsandi, Tim Minchin and many more. We’ll be tweeting at #libelreform, and the Little Atoms radio show will be interviewing performers backstage for a special podcast, available next week.
On Thursday night, the campaign hosted “What You Don’t Get To See” at the Free Word Centre, an event highlighting the difficulties documentary filmmakers face because of England’s libel laws.
Among the speakers was investigative journalist Duncan Campbell, who ran a campaign against quackery in the 1980’s and 90s.
Campbell began investigating alternative health during the early day’s of Aids when, as he put it stories “filled my in-tray and broke my heart.” He investigated doctors selling unscientific remedy’s for the Big three” cancer, aids, leaukemia” Campbell’s investigations resulted in four doctors being struck off for life — two of whom were treating HIV-positive patients with Ayurvedic remedies. He repeatedly faced libel actions — including one against him personally
On Wednesday evening, Mr Juctice Eady spoke on free speech and the European Convention on Human Rights at the launch of City University’s Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism. Eady, often cast as the pantomime villain of defamation, said he felt the biggest problem with English free speech cases is the massive cost, which he felt was partly down to a culture of bravado and machismo among libel lawyers. Eady also said he was sympathetic to the idea of libel tribunals, which would save time and money.
You can read Justice Eady’s speech here
Meanwhile, this week Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky this week won a case against Russian channel RTR Planeta, which had implicated him in the death of Alexander Litvinenko. The case threw up a question: was this libel tourism? Berezovksy cleary has interests in the UK, but the broadcast was in Russian; and while available in the UK, it was not intended for this market.
