Nina Bahinskaya has been shoved and restrained, arrested and fined half her pension. What drives her to protest?
Meet the 73-year-old great grandmother squaring up to Lukashenko in Belarus
read more
CATEGORY: Europe and Central Asia
How did Belarus come to be ruled by “the last dictator of Europe”?
The attack on the people of Belarus today is the result of 26 years of brutal dictatorship, in which basic freedoms were dismantled one by one
Ruth Smeeth: “In Belarus, Lukashenko has used every tool available to a totalitarian leader”
Women wearing white and carrying flowers have marched on Minsk as part of the protests against election result
Viktor Orbán’s power grab leaves Hungary without true democracy
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán has pushed through emergency laws that have no time limit and enormous potential to limit media freedom
Turkish writers need to “hold people in power” to account
Turkish author and journalist Kaya Genç answers questions from the Index youth advisory board about watching his colleagues being silenced and how writers can challenge authority
Shedding Skin
In September 2019, London-based photographer Yumna Al-Arashi announced that one of her photographs, showing women in a hammam, had been taken down by Instagram because, according to the platform, it fell foul of the community’s standards on adult...
Free speech & the law: “Hate Speech” & Non-Discrimination
Although there is no single “hate speech law” in the UK, nor any agreed international definition of the term, a number of laws forbid hatred or discrimination against individuals or groups, which can include things people say, based on colour, race, ethnicity and nationality, religion, and sexual orientation.
Victory is Not an Option
The Victory is Not an Option exhibition is a great example of how with the right training and preparation controversial art can inspire and reward
Arron Banks drops two parts of libel claim against Carole Cadwalladr (The Guardian)
Arron Banks, the insurance businessman who co-founded the pro-Brexit Leave.EU campaign, has dropped two elements of his libel claim against the investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr. ... A coalition of free press organisations, including...
Free speech & the law: Child Protection
Child protection is a sensitive area of law and a deserved focus of public concern. As there is no clear legal definition of the concept of indecency, and because of the sensitivity of the matter, decisions made by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) can be subjective and inconsistent, and in the wrong context can seriously compromise freedom of expression rights.