29 Mar 2011 | Events
Please join us in celebrating the launch of the new series of Manifestos for the 21st Century, published by Seagull Books in association with Index on Censorship.
Join us for a drinks reception on 1 April from 6.30-8.30 at the Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, London, EC1R 3GA
Please RSVP to [email protected]
020 7324 2525
*****
Free expression is as high on the agenda as it has ever been, though not always for the happiest of reasons. The Manifestos for the 21st Century series takes a fresh, inquisitive look at censorship and free speech — from sexuality to literature to the growing culture of offence and religion.
In the new series:
Stefan Collini’s Offence: Criticism, Identity, Respect looks at the common claim that criticising others’ beliefs is inherently offensive. Have the central tenets of enlightened global politics undermined our ability to speak freely and encourage challenging debate?
http://www.guardianbookshop.co.uk/BerteShopWeb/viewProduct.do?ISBN=9781906497798
In Humanitarian Assistance?, Neil Middleton considers the relationship between political agendas and humanitarian aid in times of conflict, looking at the recent histories of Haiti, Sudan and Somalia
PLUS:
History Thieves by Zinovy Zinik
Identity, politics and free expression in Who Do You Think You Are? by Andrew Graham-Yooll
And Trust: Money, markets and society by Geoffrey Hosking
29 Mar 2011 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Belarusian politician Ales Mikhalevich has been granted political refugee status in the Czech Republic. He was imprisoned after running against Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus’ presidential elections. He claims that he was tortured in the custody of secret police, and was stripped naked and hung by his hands. Mikhalevich was one of the seven other candidates arrested during pro-democracy protests which saw more than 700 people detained.
29 Mar 2011 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Reporters Aleksandr Lomashkin and Ales Asiptsu were arrested in separate incidents on Thursday, 24 March. Both were detained on the eve of “Freedom Day”, an unofficial holiday traditionally celebrated by members of the opposition. Lomashkin is a Russian journalist who worked in Belarus and founded the human rights website Svoboda. He was forced to get off a train at the Belarusian border and was searched by two officers who claimed that they were looking for drugs. He was arrested for “insulting an officer” and imprisoned for three days. Asipstu is an independent Belarusian journalist who was also arrested for allegedly “urinating in a public place.”
29 Mar 2011 | Azerbaijan News, Index Index, minipost, News and features
Eminent opposition journalist Seymur Haziyev was abducted and beaten on Saturday night (26 March). He was attacked by six masked men and tortured for two hours. The contents of his laptop were scrutinised and his two telephones were taken from him. He claims that he was told to be “as intelligent and quiet as the others”. Mehman Aliyev, the head of news agency Turan, has remarked that: “When a society wakes up, the first in the firing line are the journalists”.
