Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has launched a website dedicated to his run in the forthcoming presidential elections on 4 March. Minutes after the site went live on 12 January, comments in the site's “suggestions” section called on him not...
CATEGORY: Campaigns

In Belarus, the freedom of the internet is at stake
Europe’s last dictatorship is clamping down on online activism, with a new law effectively requiring everyone to be a state spy. Mike Harris reports
Iran: Clampdown on internet use
Police in Iran have begun a heavy clampdown on internet freedom ahead of parliamentary elections in March, as tighter regulations on internet cafe use are introduced. Under the new rules, cafe owners will have to take the forename, surname,...
India: Anti-corruption cartoon website suspended
Cartoons Against Corruption, the website of Indian cartoonist Aseem Trivedi has been suspended by its internet host after complaints that it illegally showcased content mocking India's constitution. The complaint by a Mumbai-based lawyer described...

“My brother is dying in silence”
One year on from the crackdown on the opposition in Belarus, Irina Bogdanova, sister of political prisoner Andrei Sannikov, calls for international action against Europe’s last dictatorship
An artists’ manifesto for Belarus
In one of his last public acts, dissident, playwright and president Václav Havel signed this statement calling for free speech in Belarus, along with Ai Weiwei, Sir Tom Stoppard and many more
Hacked websites and fraud mark Russia’s parliamentary elections
Parliamentary elections were held in Russia yesterday (4 December). Several independent media websites were hacked on election day; journalists and rights activists claim this was to prevent coverage of electoral violations. With 96 per cent of...
Index condemns Max Mosley’s attack on web
Index on Censorship today condemned former motorsports boss Max Mosley's attack on search engine Google Testifying to the Leveson Inquiry into the press in London today, Mosley said: "The fundamental thing is that Google could stop this appearing...

Hungary: How not to regulate the press
Hungary’s media regulations have created an atmosphere of tension among journalists. Mike Harris reports from Budapest
UK: Disorder no excuse to clamp down on internet
Governments must not crack down on internet and mobile phone networks during times of unrest, the British Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday. Speaking at a two-day international cybersecurity conference in London, Cameron said that...
Petitions, letters, and press releases from Index on Censorship