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
CATEGORY: Europe and Central Asia
Russia: Pussy Riot found guilty
Index on Censorship condemns the sentencing of feminist punk group Pussy Riot to two years in prison.
PLUS: Pussy Riot versus the Religarchy
Ambassador expelled as Belarus teddy bear row escalates (really)
This week Belarus asked the Swedish diplomatic mission to leave the country and recalled its own embassy from Stockholm. What sparked this international incident? That would be teddy bears. Small, cuddly soft toys. Alexander Lukashenko, Europe’s...
We need to talk about Islam
Fearing extremists reacting violently to the publication of books deemed to be offensive to Islam, many publishers have thought twice about what they release about the religion. Alom Shaha says it’s time to discuss faith properly
Russia’s fight for “traditional values” doesn’t end with Pussy Riot
Next week will bring the verdict in the trial of feminist punk band Pussy Riot, who now face up to three years in prison for "hooliganism" motivated by religious hatred for performing a "punk prayer" against Russian President Vladimir Putin in...
Italy: Two journalists jailed for libel
Two Italian journalists have been sentenced to four months in prison and fined 15,000 Euros (11,700 GBP) for libel. Orfeo Donatini and Tiziano Marson, of newspaper Alto Adige, were convicted in June of alleging in a 2008 article that local...
Communications Data Bill: Technology is making dystopia not just possible, but cheap
The boom in surveillance technology sales is chilling free speech. We need to wake up to this reality, says Mike Harris
Belarusians can’t protest to support jailed Nobel prize nominee, but you can
One year after heroic human rights activist Ales Bialiatski was arrested and jailed on politically-motivated charges, Index asks you to take action in solidarity
Pussy Riot versus the Religarchy
With the opening of the Pussy Riot trial in Moscow this week, Elena Vlasenko explains why the feminist punk collective is a threat to the church-state axis of Putin’s Russia
UK: Leading musicians call for Pussy Riot release
Several leading musicians have called on Russian president Vladimir Putin to ensure the three members of Russian punk group Pussy Riot, in court on charges of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred", are given a fair hearing. In a letter to the...