10 Nov 2010 | Index Index, minipost
Asia Bibi, a Christian mother-of-five, has been sentenced to death for blasphemy. Bibi is accused of insulting the Prophet Mohammad during an argument with a group of Muslim women. She has denied the charges and has told investigators that she is being persecuted because of her faith. It is thought she will now appeal in a local court in Sheikhupura, near Lahore. No one has ever been executed under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, most of those convicted are freed on appeal, although 10 defendants are thought to have been murdered whilst on trial.
10 Nov 2010 | Index Index, minipost
Sri Lankan newspapers have refused to participate in a police campaign to track down people who have starred in pornographic films. The crackdown is part of a broader crusade against “moral crimes”, including “indecent” advertising on film billboards. The police want newspapers to run mugshots of over 80 people but all the national daily newspapers bar one have refused to print the photographs. Those actors caught face six months in prison and a 90 dollar fine.
10 Nov 2010 | Index Index, minipost
A Russian editor who was nearly killed in the attack two years ago, has been convicted of slander.
Mikhail Beketov, who is confined to a wheelchair and can barely speak, has been found guilty of insulting the local mayor by the court in Khimki. He has been instructed to compensate damages by paying 500 roubles (100 British pounds).
Beketov had been covering the plans to build the road through Khimki’s protected forest. Although the motorway works have been stopped, another journalist and an ecologist have been assaulted this month.
Oleg Kashin, a correspondent of Russia’s well-known paper Kommersant, has been badly beaten with an iron bar on Saturday. Two days earlier, Khimki opposition activist Konstantin Fetisov had his skull broken after being released from police, where he was questioned about the protest.
Mikhail Mikhailin, editor-in-chief of Kommersant said he is sure the attacks are connected to the articles written about the motorway. It has also been said that they carry the same signature.
Before Beketov endured brain damage and lost his right leg and four fingers in the attack in November 2008, his car was set on fire and his dog was killed. Nobody has been brought to court.
10 Nov 2010 | Uncategorized
Simon Singh writes:
“This week is the first anniversary of the report Free Speech is Not for Sale, which highlighted the oppressive nature of English libel law. In short, the law is extremely hostile to writers, while being unreasonably friendly towards powerful corporations and individuals who want to silence critics.
The English libel law is particularly dangerous for bloggers, who are generally not backed by publishers, and who can end up being sued in London regardless of where the blog was posted. The internet allows bloggers to reach a global audience, but it also allows the High Court in London to have a global reach.
You can read more about the peculiar and grossly unfair nature of English libel law at the website of the Libel Reform Campaign. You will see that the campaign is not calling for the removal of libel law, but for a libel law that is fair and which would allow writers a reasonable opportunity to express their opinion and then defend it.
The good news is that the British Government has made a commitment to draft a bill that will reform libel, but it is essential that bloggers and their readers send a strong signal to politicians so that they follow through on this promise. You can do this by joining me and over 50,000 others who have signed the libel reform petition at
www.libelreform.org/sign
Remember, you can sign the petition whatever your nationality and wherever you live. Indeed, signatories from overseas remind British politicians that the English libel law is out of step with the rest of the free world.
If you have already signed the petition, then please encourage friends, family and colleagues to sign up. Moreover, if you have your own blog, you can join hundreds of other bloggers by posting this blog on your own site. There is a real chance that bloggers could help change the most censorious libel law in the democratic world.
We must speak out to defend free speech. Please sign the petition for libel reform at www.libelreform.org/sign
See also
Boing Boing, Don’t Get Fooled, Zeno’s Blog, Richard Dawkins, The Thought Stash, SimonSingh.net, Cubik’s Rube, Nature, Teek blog, Further Thoughts For The Day, Follow The Lemur and Carmen D’Cruz
