29 Sep 2011 | Index Index, minipost
Footballer Rio Ferdinand has lost his privacy case over a “kiss and tell” story.
Ferdinand was taking action for “misuse of private information” following an article in the Sunday Mirror newspaper in April 2010, in which Carly Storey detailed their 13-year relationship for a sum of £16,000. Mr Justice Nicol said that the “balancing exercise favours the defendant’s right of freedom of expression over the claimant’s right of privacy.”
MGN said it was in the public interest to run the story, following Ferdinand’s replacement of John Terry as England skipper after stories of Terry’s alleged affairs were revealed.
Index on Censorship news editor Padraig Reidy said the free speech group was “greatly heartened by the judge’s recognition of free expression in his ruling”.
“Kiss and tell stories can be controversial,” he said. “But this is a case where public interest can be argued. Ferdinand’s claim that he was ’embarrassed’ by the revelations is clearly not enough to restrict Ms Storey’s right to free speech”.
29 Sep 2011 | Index Index, minipost
A cartoonist is facing trial for a caricature in which he renounces God. Turkish cartoonist Bahadır Baruter created an image showing an imam and believers praying in a mosque, with one believer on his mobile phone, asking God to excuse him from the last part of the prayer to run errands. The Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office charged Baruter with “insulting the religious values adopted by a part of the population” and requested that he be imprisoned for one year. The cartoon, which was published in the weekly Penguen magazine, included the words “There is no Allah, religion is a lie”, hidden in the image.
29 Sep 2011 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
The lengthy prison sentences of two journalists have been upheld in Bahrain. Journalistic bloggers Abduljalil Alsingace and Ali Abdel Imam were sentenced in June on a series of charges related to “plotting to topple” the regime, along with 19 other people. The court upheld the life sentence for Alsingace and the 15 year sentence to Abdel Imam. Additionally in Bahrain, granting of ID passes to journalists from daily newspaper Al-Wasat was delayed, preventing the journalists from covering the government’s by-elections on Saturday. The passes would allow journalists to enter and report from polling stations.
29 Sep 2011 | Uncategorized
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will take to the airwaves in Belarus this afternoon, the home of Europe’s last dictatorship.
In an address to the people of Belarus, Clegg will vow to stand up to the tyranny on our doorstep. In an article for the Independent today, he commented:
“Belarus is trapped in the past: Europe’s shameful secret, right on our doorstep. So I’m determined we speak out and up the pressure on the regime. When popular uprisings exploded across North Africa and the Middle East, the UK took a stand and took it quickly. We will show the same leadership for Belarus.”
He described Belarus:
“Imagine a country where torture and intimidation are reportedly common place. Where peaceful protesters are locked up –– sent to maximum security prison colonies— and free-thinking journalists are harassed. Where a president can rig election-after-election, despite running the economy into the ground. Where most people are too scared to speak out and the death penalty remains.
After his speech in Warsaw, in which he is expected to praise the work of the Free Belarus Now campaign (supported by Index on Censorship) the Liberal Democrat leader will take part in an interview with European Radio for Belarus.
