Since the beginning of this year, cases of assault against journalists, legal threats and lay offs worsened Turkey’s already precarious state of press freedom. Catherine Stupp reports
Assaults against journalists rise in Turkey
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CATEGORY: Europe and Central Asia
Azerbaijan: Azadliq forced to suspend publication
One of the few remaining independent media outlets in Azerbaijan, the 2014 Index on Censorship Guardian Journalism Award-winning newspaper Azadliq has been forced to suspend publication due to an ongoing financial crisis.
Padraig Reidy: Blasphemy laws protect only power, never people
Religious persecution is real, and should be fought. Freedom of belief is a basic right. But blasphemy laws protect only power, and never people.
Azerbaijani human rights defender charged with high treason
Leyla Yunus has been charged with “high treason (article 274), tax evasion (article 213), illegal entrepreneurship (article 192), forged documentation (article 320) and fraud (article 178.3.2)”, reports Meydan TV.
Only two shades of grey in Azerbaijan
It does not take a lot of time and effort to see that when it comes to Azerbaijan, views on the country’s freedom of expression record split in two. Azerbaijani blogger Arzu Geybulla writes
• Human rights defender Leyla Yunus is detained again
Cancellation of play causes furore in Poland
The Polish theatre scene has been rocked by controversy since late June after the cancellation of Golgota Picnic, a show by the Argentinian theatre maker Rodrigo Garcìa that had previously aroused protest in France. Jeff James writes
House of Lords committee slams “right to be forgotten”
The British House of Lords has slammed the recent “right to be forgotten” ruling by the court of justice of the European Union, deeming it “unworkable” and “wrong in principle”.
Montenegro: Impunity is biggest threat to media freedom
Seven years after the brutal attack that nearly took the life of journalist Tufik Softic, Montenegrin police detained two men suspected of involvement of his attempted murder. For media unions and observers, the detentions were long overdue, but emblematic of the atmosphere of impunity in Montenegro.
Contra Band: Censored songs from Brazil and the UK
Join Index and Up Projects tomorrow: Contra Band is a new commission, by Leah Lovett, which brings together musicians and audiences from Brazil and the UK for an experimental live performance of songs censored in both countries between 1964-1985.
Padraig Reidy: How your well-meaning retweet can do more harm than good
Whatever it is you care about, think before you tweet: Is this too good to be true? Do I have any way of checking this for myself?