On 17 November 1989, the police crushed a peaceful student demonstration in Prague. The crackdown led to national protests, culminating in a general strike. Within 11 days, the mass demonstrations had overthrown the communist regime. Václav Havel was elected president on 29 December. Jan Bubeník became the youngest politician in the new government. He spoke to Jo Glanville
Matthew Parris, one of Britain’s most renowned newspaper columnists, has been appointed a trustee of Index on Censorship, the UK’s leading organisation promoting freedom of expression. And, in an exciting week for free speech in the UK, musical...
Carter-Ruck partner Nigel Tait has responded to English PEN and Index on Censorship’s libel reform report. By Padraig Reidy
An alleged assault on Generación Y’s Yoani Sánchez demonstrates the Castro regime’s fear of free expression on the web. Nick Caistor reports
Moldova's Prosecutor General Office has dropped criminal proceedings against the people accused of using social networking websites to organise violent street protests in Chisinau in April, following the ppposition protest against the results of...
Hamas officials prevented journalists in Gaza from participating in a meeting on 10 November. The reporters were due to attend a meeting organised by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). However, the venue turned the journalists away...
Sierra Leone’s Supreme Court has dismissed a case for the repeal of criminal and seditious libel brought by the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ). Provisions in the 1965 Public Order Act stipulate prison terms for journalists found...
Bloggers Adnan Hajizada and Emin Milli were sentenced on 11 November to two years and two-and-a-half years in prison respectively. Human rights groups and analysts believe the sentences are politically motivated, and that the they were sentenced on...
Secret inquiries seriously undermine the principle of open justice, says
Daniel Machover
Padraig Reidy: Why is free speech an afterthought in UK law?