Despite a deplorable human rights record, Belarus will host the 2014 World Ice Hockey Championship. German MP Marina Schuster argues organisers should take the competition elsewhere.
Keep Belarus off the rink
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CATEGORY: Europe and Central Asia
ACTA voted down by European Parliament
The European Parliament today voted to throw out the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The legislation, which was introduced to combat piracy, came under fire from activists who warned that its vague language threatened...
Turkey: Index award winner faces jail
The conviction of Ferhat Tunç signals the marginalisation of dissident Turkish voices, says Kaya Genç
Libel reform is no joke
Comics Dara Ó Briain and Dave Gorman and scientist Professor Brian Cox joined Index and the Libel Reform Campaign at Downing Street to demand a public interest defence in the defamation bill
European ministers call for Azerbaijan to release political prisoners
The Azerbaijani government must resolve the cases of 89 political prisoners and put an end to politically motivated arrests, the Council of Europe (CoE) said on 26 June. The resolution followed the publication of a report on Azerbaijan by Christoph...
There must be a new public interest defence in the Defamation Bill, scientists, entertainers and campaigners tell Government
[<a href="http://storify.com/indexcensorship/final-push-for-libel-reform" target="_blank">View the story "Final push for libel reform" on Storify</a>]
Libel reform comes around less often than Halley’s comet. Let’s get it right
The defamation bill will do little to stop corporations suing individuals and should include a public interest defence says Index’s Mike Harris
Why should Amazon be our taste and decency police?
The online retailer has been criticised for profiting from ebooks featuring terror and violence. No one should tell us what to read, says Jo Glanville
Azerbaijani Talysh journalist detained
An Azerbaijani journalist was arrested yesterday on charges of illegal possession of drugs. Hilal Mamedov, a member of the Talysh ethnic minority, is the editor-in-chief of Talysh language newspaper Tolishi Sado (Voice of Talysh). A Baku court...
Belarus: journalist detained for allegedly slandering president
Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut was detained last night for allegedly insulting the country's president, Alexander Lukashenko. Poczobut writes for Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, and now faces up to five years in prison. According to his wife,...