A man who admitted to posting "despicable" comments about missing five-year-old April Jones on his Facebook page has been jailed for 12 weeks. Matthew Woods appeared at Chorley Magistrates' Court today, where he pleaded guilty to "sending by means...
In its 40-year history, Index has showcased some of the world’s most remarkable poets. To mark National Poetry Day, we republish two poets jailed after speaking out
An Iranian court on Sunday convicted the Tehran bureau chief of the Thomson Reuters news agency of "propaganda-related offences" for a video that briefly described a group of women involved in martial arts training as killers. Parisa Hafezi was...
Bahraini police arrested five medics in a set of dawn raids this morning, one day after the nation's highest court upheld their prison sentences in a case international rights groups have condemned as politically motivated. Doctor Ali al-Ekry,...
In a case that has drawn international condemnation, Bahrain's highest court today upheld prison sentences handed down to nine medics for weapons possession, incitement and taking part in illegal demonstrations last year. One of the doctors was...
Marta Cooper: “CleanIT” – even worse than it sounds
Lord Justice Leveson is weeks away from issuing recommendations for a new system of press regulation. With the future of British papers in the judge’s hands, Index’s Marta Cooper looks at the challenges ahead
The Lawyer | Mark Lewis | Do we need a free press?
The Blogger | Guido Fawkes | Where will this all end?
The Journalist | Trevor Kavanagh | The Leveson effect
The Editor | Alan Rusbridger | Striking a balance
Hacked Off | Martin Moore | The danger of power
Pakistan's Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has reportedly ordered the state-owned Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block YouTube after the video-sharing website failed to remove a controversial anti-Islam film, The Innocence of...
The arrest of an anti-corruption cartoonist in India on sedition charges has sparked outrage. Marta Cooper reports
South Africa’s parliament is in its final stages of reviewing a bill that, if passed, could have severe implications for press freedom in the country and the African continent. The Protection of State Information Bill (also known as the Secrecy...
Marta Cooper: Who controls the internet?
Search engines and social networking sites are at the heart of Web 2.0. To unreasonably threaten them with liability for user content misses the point, says
Marta Cooper