States urged to heighten sanctions against Europe’s last dictator as opposition leader tells of fears. Michael Harris reports
Belarus political prisoner Andrei Sannikov close to death, Council of Europe told
read more
CATEGORY: Europe and Central Asia
UK: Three Muslim men convicted over gay hate leaflets
Three Muslim men have been convicted of inciting hatred on the grounds of sexuality, in the first conviction of its type in the UK. Ihjaz Ali, Kabir Ahmed and Razwan Javed were found guilty of breaching hate crime legislation after handing out a...
Ofcom revokes Press TV’s UK licence
Ofcom has revoked the UK licence of Iranian broadcaster Press TV. In December Press TV was fined £100,000 for broadcasting a 2009 interview with journalist and filmmaker Maziar Bahari, who was then being held in Evin Prison. Press TV has failed to...
Iran: Two journalists detained in new wave of arrests
Two journalists have been arrested in Iran following a new crackdown on journalists and women's rights activists. Blogger and activist Parastou Dokouhaki, was arrested on Sunday, while journalist Marzieh Rasouli was arrested on Tuesday. Dokouhaki,...
Blogger threatened with libel case over election law violation claim
Popular Russian blogger Oleg Kozyrev has been threatened with a defamation lawsuit by Moscow Region Election Committee for filing a complaint on alleged election law violations. "Clearly this is an example of pressure against bloggers who succeeded...
UK: Police move in on Parliament Square protesters
Police began to clear tents from London's Parliament Square yesterday, after a new bill allowing for their removal went into effect this year. Metropolitan Police arrived at the camp at around 7.30pm on 16 December, and began to move on those...
Belarus: Police seize entire print run of private local newspaper
A 10,000 copy print run of a private Belarusian newspaper has been seized by police. Copies of Vitebsky Kuryer were seized by officers on Friday night, as a car carried them from the print house in Smolensk. Police pulled over the car, and ordered...
Putin censors campaign website as opposition critics debate future
Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has launched a website dedicated to his run in the forthcoming presidential elections on 4 March. Minutes after the site went live on 12 January, comments in the site's “suggestions” section called on him not...
Turkey: Art exhibition caught in censorship debate
An art exhibition in Turkey has been cancelled by organisers after municipal officials were accused of censorship. Three photographs were removed from the exhibit titled "Aykırı" (Contrary) by officials from the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality...
Fake photos and subversion allegations used as a way to compromise Kremlin critics
The first weeks of January have been marked with a number of public moves, which opposition activists say are aimed at smearing them. Russian general prosecutor Yuri Chaika has alleged that participants of two historically large rallies for new,...