Written by : Jonathan Perfect
Journalist Carole Cadwalladr appeals for support battling SLAPP lawsuit (The Shift)
British co-founder of the Leave.EU campaign Arron Banks is refusing to drop the final two SLAPP lawsuits against journalist Carole Cadwalladr who now started a crowdfunding campaign to cover the massive legal costs. … She also thanked Reporters Without Borders, Index on Censorship and PEN International for their support, as well as other news organisations […] Arron Banks drops two parts of libel claim against Carole Cadwalladr (The Guardian)
Arron Banks, the insurance businessman who co-founded the pro-Brexit Leave.EU campaign, has dropped two elements of his libel claim against the investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr. … A coalition of free press organisations, including Reporters Without Borders and Index on Censorship, has called on Banks to withdraw the legal action. Read the full story here. 
Eastern Partnership must now improve media freedoms (EU Observer)
“It is better than nothing,” replied Volha Siakhovich, legal expert for the Belarusian Association of Journalists, when asked about the Eastern Partnerships’ (EaP) record of advancing media freedom in the country… Read the full article by Jessica Ní Mhainín, Policy Research and Advocacy Officer at Index. Kerry Hudson & Rachael Jolley – Chasing Silver Darlings (Podcast from the Past)
Joining Tom Jackson to discuss the postcards from their pasts are two award-winners: novelist and memoirist KERRY HUDSON (Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice-cream Float Before He Stole My Ma, Thirst, Lowborn) and writer and editor of Index On Censorship, RACHAEL JOLLEY. Listen to the podcast here. ‘Push back against those who abuse the law to silence the media’ – Index on Censorship (The Shift)
In March last year, hundreds of journalists took the streets in Croatia. But they weren’t covering a news story, they were creating one: staging a rally to protest against the more than 1,000 lawsuits that have been brought against journalists in the country. Read the full opinion piece by Jodie Ginsberg, Index chief executive. Free speech & the law: Public Order
Under the Human Rights Act 1998, police officers must respect people’s right to freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). However, Article 10 of the convention states that restrictions on people’s free expression rights may be justified on the grounds of preventing disorder or crime, protecting public safety and protecting the rights of others Around the Bloc – 16 January (Transitions Online)
Index on Censorship, Reporters Without Borders UK, and Transparency International UK are asking Azerbaijani authorities to reconsider a travel ban on prominent journalist Khadija Ismayilova so she can give evidence in the trial of a Romanian journalist, a press release said. Index on Censorship chief executive Jodie Ginsberg said the travel ban on Ismayilova was “a […] Azerbaijan Urged To Lift Journalist’s ‘Unjust’ Travel Ban (RFE/RL)
Three nongovernmental organizations are urging Azerbaijan to lift a travel ban against investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova and allow her to travel to Britain to give evidence in the trial of a journalist who is being sued for defamation by an Azerbaijani lawmaker… In a joint statement on January 15, Index on Censorship, Reporters Without Borders U.K., and […] Human rights groups demand Azerbaijan lift travel ban on investigative journalist (Emerging Europe)
“Azerbaijan is unjustly and unfairly preventing Khadija Ismayilova from travelling internationally as a means to punish her and stifle the spread of her reporting,” said Index on Censorship chief executive Jodie Ginsberg. “Given the UK’s stated commitment to speak out more publicly on threats to media freedom, we urge Britain to join our calls for […] Standing up to the new machos (Eurozine)
Index on Censorship looks at machismo as a political category. Resisting the suffocation of dissent in the era of the internet means standing up ‘for the principles of freedom and democracy all the time, not just when they affect you’, comments editor-in-chief Rachael Jolley. Read the full story here. Index on Censorship project to expose ‘vexatious’ legal threats on journalists (The Shift)
UK-based non-profit organisation Index on Censorship will be launching a new research project later this month that will expose the extent to which individuals with wealth and influence use “vexatious” legal threats to shut down investigations into their practices. 
