16 Feb 2011 | Index Index, minipost
David Beckham’s libel case against In Touch magazine has been thrown out of an American court. Beckham brought the £15.5m lawsuit over an article which alleged that he had paid for sex with a prostitute. He sought USD25m in compensation. The judge accepted that the article was innaccurate but could not establish malice on the facts of the case. This is required under US law, although a German court has found in their favour and awarded damages. He intends to appeal the decision.
16 Feb 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Istanbul police raided leading independent news portal odatv.com and searched the homes of its administrators. Those detained were the neonationalist site’s owner, Soner Yalçin and administrators Baris Terkoglu, Baris Pehlivan and Ayhan Bozcurt. The raids were ordered by Zekeriya Öz, a prosecutor in Ergenekon investigation, on the grounds that the site was holding confidential documents. The ongoing Ergenekon inquiry focuses on elements of the “deep state” working to subvert the government. Yalçin has published a book which denounces the prosecutors in the Ergenekon probe, critics of the case have alleged that the government is using the investigation to silence dissidents.
16 Feb 2011 | News
In a major speech on internet freedom, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has warned governments not to restrict online liberty, while saying she opposed confidential leaks. This comes in the midst of uprising and protest in Middle Eastern countries, and as the US attempts to gain access to Wikileaks members’ Twitter accounts. Index on Censorship consulted a number of experts for their verdict. Watch and read the full speech here.
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16 Feb 2011 | Azerbaijan News, Index Index, minipost
On 14 February a journalist for the Azerbaijani newspaper Bizim yol was savagely attacked outside the President’s residence. A policeman dressed in plain clothes attacked the journalist while he was recording protesters who had assembled near the President’s officey. The police officer destroyed the unnamed journalists film during the vicious attack.
