Following reports this week that Hossein Derakhshan, the “blogfather”, may face the death penalty, his friend Sandrine Murcia writes about why he decided to return to Iran
Hossein Derakhshan may face death penalty
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Index on Censorship
UK: Six men arrested over suspected Koran-burning
Police have arrested six men on suspicion of inciting racial hatred after they posted a video on the Internet in which they appear to burn two copies of the Koran on 11 September. The men have been released on bail, but will face court hearings in...
Drug cartels divide the Mexican press
Following Mexican newspaper El Diario’s front-page appeal this week, Ana Arana explains why journalists in Mexico remain divided over whether to negotiate with drug cartels
Uganda: Police to vet public gatherings
Kampala metropolitan police chief Andrew Sorowen announced on 20 September that public gatherings involving more than five people must be cleared by the Inspector General of Police (IGP). He added that the measure also applied to wedding receptions...
Kaya Genç: Hrant Dink, a misinterpreted peacemaker
Kaya Genç: Hrant Dink, a misinterpreted peacemaker
Media murders: How to end impunity?
The unsolved case of Ukrainian journalist, Georgiy Gongadze, highlights concerns for press freedom in post-Soviet states. Lauren Davis and Priyanka Boghani report
Honduras: Radio journalist survives assassination attempt
On 14 September Luis Galdámez, a radio journalist working for Radio Globo in Honduras, was targeted by unidentified assassins. He was ambushed as he returned home from work with his children in the car. However he and his son were able to repel the...
UK: Clare Balding’s complaint upheld by PCC
Columnist AA Gill has been censured by the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) over his "dyke with a bike" comment in reference to the BBC's Clare Balding. The TV presenter complained to the PCC after the phrase appeared in the Sunday Times earlier...
Uzbekistan: reporter faces five to eight years in prison
Voice of America correspondent Abdulmalik Boboyev is facing between five and eight years in prison on four charges in Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent, by prosecutors brought against him on 13 September. Three of the charges relate to his work as a...
Uganda: Second journalist killed in the space of three days
A radio news anchor and opposition political activist in Uganda's central district Mukono was beaten to death with metal bars on 13 September. Dickson Ssentongo routinely read the 7 a.m. news bulletins for Prime Radio station in the Luganda...
Papal bull?
English PEN director Jonathan Heawood is looking forward to hearing what Pope Benedict XVI has to say on his visit to Britain
Smashed hits 2.0
Read about the songs they tried to ban, the musicians stopped from playing live, and the singers who are put on trial, in the bumper Smashed Hits 2.0 issue of Index