The U.S. State Department names and shames eight “Countries of Particular Concern” that severely violate religious freedom rights within their borders. Now an independent watchdog is naming and shaming the State Department, saying its list should be doubled. Brian Pellot reports
CATEGORY: Europe and Central Asia
Letter: Persecution of human rights defender Leyla Yunus
Minister Usubov Ramil Idris oglu Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Avenue 7 1005 Baku Republic of Azerbaijan...
Ofcom UKIP decision leaves broadcasters wondering about editorial freedom
Ofcom’s decision to declare the UKIP a ‘major party’ has led to questions about who should be allowed to address the public. Behind the scenes, broadcasters have asked why their right to editorial freedom is restricted at all, Sophie Armour reports
Cameron’s obsession with porn
Ben Jennings on David Cameron’s war on online pornography.
God at uni: Seeking freedom from stereotype
Flora Carr explores what it means to be a person of faith on a university campus.
Russia’s attack on internet freedom: “There is a lot of room for making things worse”
It’s been a bad week for the internet in Russia, with the founder of “Russian Facebook” claiming that Putin loyalists have total control of the site, and the Duma adopting controversial amendments targeting bloggers. Milana Knezevic writes
University: A safe place for safe ideas
There is a strong attitude across university campuses that censorship is a good tool for the benefit of a multicultural and inclusive society, that respects the values of all its members, freeing them from being exposed to anything they may find “harmful”, Christopher Beckett writes
Bad history and bad politics
Padraig Reidy on why we must combat taboos about discussing events of the past
Filtering in the UK: The hinterland of legality, where secrecy trumps court rulings
A slip during an interview revealed the sneaking suspicion of free thinkers. The UK government was no longer restricting itself to censoring web content which was illegal. It was going to start censoring content which it simply didn’t like, Ian Dunt writes
Uzbekistan: Dissident photographer “ruining the constitution”
Renowned photographer and documentary filmmaker Umida Akhmedova tells Milana Knezevic about her latest run-in with Uzbekistan’s repressive authorities