12 Oct 2010 | Events
English PEN, Doughty Street Chambers and London School of Economics present:
Lady Chatterley’s Lover: 50 years on
On 2nd November 1960, the jury at the Old Bailey acquitted Penguin Books of obscenity for publishing an uncensored version of D.H. Lawrence’s controversial novel. Geoffrey Robertson QC and a panel explore the impact of the trial on our current laws and assumptions on freedom of expression.
Geoffrey Robertson QC is founder and head of Doughty Street Chambers, the largest human rights practice in the UK. He has appeared in the courts of many countries as counsel in leading cases in constitutional, criminal and international law and served as the first President of the UN War Crimes Court in Sierra Leone, where he authored a landmark decision on the illegality of recruiting child soldiers. He sits as a recorder, and is a master of Middle Temple and a visiting Professor of Human Rights Law at Queen Mary College, London. In 2008, he was appointed as a distinguished jurist member of the UN’s Justice Council.
This event is in association with Doughty Street Chambers and English PEN.
Date: 1 November
Time: 6.30-8.00pm
Location: Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London School of Economics WC2A 2AE
Admission: Free, but ticket required. Tickets can be requested online at http://www2.lse.ac.uk/publicEvents/events/2010/20101101t1830vSZT.aspx from 10.00am on 26 October.
12 Oct 2010 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, News and features
Two men, a reporter and a photographer said to be from Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper, have been arrested by Iranian officials. They were detained whilst interviewing the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani in the city of Tabriz. Mrs Ashtiani’s death sentence, which has been suspended, has provoked international outrage. A spokesman for Iran’s judiciary said the pair did not have the correct media accreditation, whilst a spokesman for Bild am Sonntag said it had no knowledge of the arrests. Iranian prosecutor general Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei stated that “two foreigners posing as journalists have been arrested in Iran”. It is thought Mrs Sistiani’s son and lawyer may also have been arrested.
In a separate development, Tehran-based journalist Angeles Espinosa has had her accreditation cancelled and been ordered to leave Iran within two weeks. The El Pais correspondent is thought to have attracted the authorities’ disapproval for conducting an interview with the son of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the late reformist cleric, in July.
12 Oct 2010 | News and features
Woeser, author of “Notes on Tibet”, was one of many signatories of a letter to the Chinese government calling for the release of Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo. Writing for Index on Censorship magazine, she celebrates Tibetan singer Tashi Dhondup
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12 Oct 2010 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
On Friday Bolivian President Evo Morales signed a bill into law which gives the government the ability to shut down or fine newspapers which are racist. This bill was passed amidst protesting last week by media sources, who were concerned the bill could be misused to censor or close media outlets which criticize the government. President Morales has expressed a view that the law is intended to combat racism against the indigenous majority.
The Senate debated the bill for 13 hours before approving it as law. No alterations were made to the text of the bill in light of the protests. The protests have continued since the bill was signed into law, which will go into effect in January 2011.
