Turkish composer and Index Award winner Şanar Yurdatapan shared his views on the events in Turkey with Marek Marczynski
Şanar Yurdatapan on Turkey: ‘Things will never be the same again’
read more
CATEGORY: Europe and Central Asia
The end of Britain’s social media prosecutions?
Keir Starmer’s new guidelines aim to minimise controversial criminal cases against Twitter and Facebook users. But will they work, asks Padraig Reidy
Index policy paper: Is the EU heading in the right direction on digital freedom?
While in principle the EU supports freedom of expression, it has often put more emphasis on digital competitiveness and has been slow to prioritise and protect digital freedom, Brian Pellot, digital policy advisor at Index on Censorship writes in this policy paper
G8 nations have patchy record on free expression
When G8 leaders meet in Northern Ireland today, they will focus on transparency, trade and development. But they cannot hope to achieve their declared goals on transparency, corruption and human rights without a clear commitment to respecting freedom of expression at home.
Vladimir Putin and the new defence of the faithful
Russia’s new blasphemy law is censorship under the guise of protection for believers, says Padraig Reidy
UN extends mandate of Special Rapporteur on Belarus
A resolution that was adopted today in Geneva extends the mandate of Miklos Haraszti, a Special Rapporteur on human rights situation in Belarus, for one more year. Andrei Aliaksandrau reports
Related: The first rule of dictator club…
Lord Lester slams Leveson royal charter
Leading human rights lawyer Anthony Lester has said proposed press regulation agreed by politicians and Hacked Off campaigners is “unprecedented in the free world”. Padraig Reidy reports
Libel Act to commence “before end of year”
The Justice Minister has said defamation reform will be fully in place within six months. Padraig Reidy reports
What’s Russia blocking on the web?
April saw a bizarre variety of sites blocked by the Russian authorities or internet service providers – among them Pussy Riot videos, Wikipedia, the Yandex search engine, and sites promoting bribery and corruption. Compiled by Andrei Soldatov
The first rule of dictator club…
Belarus’s president Alexander Lukashenko will be able to count on some “like-minded” friends when it comes to a vote on his human rights record at the UN this week. Andrei Aliaksandrau reports