Written by :

Russia: Pro-Kremlin youth group sues four European papers

The pro-Kremlin youth organisation Nashi has launched a legal offensive against four European newspapers over allegations that its activists issued death threats against a journalist. Le Monde, Le Journal du Dimanche, The Independent and Frankfurter Rundschau reported that journalist Alexandr Podrabinek was the target of intensive harassment from Nashi after he wrote an article criticising […]

Peru: TV journalist charged with inciting violence

The judge of the Alto Amazonas First Mixed Tribunal has initiated criminal proceedings against Acate Geovanni, director of Radio Oriente and Channel 8 TV, alleging that his coverage of a protest by indigenous people in May incited his audience to violence and public disorder. The incident took place in Yurimaguas in northeastern Peru during protests […]

Bangladesh: Reporter tortured by elite police unit

F.M Masum, a journalist for the English-language daily The New Age, was arrested on 22 October and tortured in Dhaka. He was held by the Rapid Action Battalion, an elite crime and counterterrorist force. It is believed that his arrest and torture is in relation to The New Age having published articles linking the Rapid […]

Murder, He Said

US courts struggle to distinguish between incitement, threats and mere advocacy of of violence, says Wendy Kaminer, who is speaking at the Battle of Ideas in London on 31 October

Turkey: EU criticises attacks on Pamuk

The European Union on 14 October called on Turkey to shield Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk from court cases undermining freedom of expression. A week before the European Commission released its annual progress report on Turkey, a Turkish Appeals Court ruled that any plaintiff could seek compensation from Pamuk for remarks he made about the […]

Internet free speech isn't an insular issue

Lance Lattig: Google is seeking allies in Europe for its free expression initiative, but where will that leave the Tories?

Russia: security agent talks press freedom

An international conference on press freedom in Vienna, reports Andrei Soldatov, included a surprising guest: a Russian security service agent.

Anna Politkovskaya: the search for justice continues

On 7 October 2006, Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building. Her sister Elena Kudimova spoke to Lance Lattig about Anna’s death, the ongoing search for justice, and the prize that bears her name

Supreme Court: Open justice at stake

Index on Censorship's challenge today at the UK Supreme Court leads to a preliminary victory.

Brown caught out on Iraq “lessons learned”

On a visit to Iraq, Gordon Brown said he asked the cabinet secretary to make two major changes in the way intelligence is used. But when Chris Ames investigated the story, he discovered that Brown had done no such thing.

Serbian gay pride parade cancelled

A gay pride parade in Belgrade scheduled for 22 September was called off after police told organisers that they could not guarantee their safety. The decision came after a wave of homophobic graffiti scrawled by across city walls by ultra-nationalists, with slogans such as “Gay parade, we’re waiting for you” and “Death to homosexuals”. (BBC) […]

Mexican editor threatened over swine flu figures

On 14 September Jesús Hernández García, the editor of the Centro Noticias Tamaulipas news website, was threatened and assaulted by officials from the Tamaulipas state government’s Health Secretariat and its Environmental Agency. The incident arose after media reporting of the number of AH1N1 influenza cases, which had led to the closure of local schools. (CEPET) […]