The United Nations is right to condemn Britain's free expression record. But its criticisms would hold more weight if it demonstrated a stronger anti-censorship line itself, writes Jo Glanville The UN Human Rights Committee’s shaming report on the...
The UK government’s record on free expression has been harshly criticised in a United Nations report. Defamation laws allowing for ‘libel tourism’, and sweeping incitement to terrorism legislation, were singled out as dangers to free speech. Read...
Journalist John Ray of ITV and Guardian photographer Dan Chung have both reported being ‘manhandled’ by the Chinese police while covering a pro-Tibet protest in Beijing. Ray was also detained by police who claimed to have mistaken him for an...
Edinburgh Fringe Festival organisers have been accused of censorship. Sound recordist Colin Macnab has complained that his right to carry out interviews was under threat. Macnab claimed that he had been prevented from initiating interviews on the...
Dutch news cameraman Stan Storimans was killed by Russian bombing in the city of Gori, central Georgia on 12 August. Another Georgian journalist, and his driver, were killed by Russian shells in Gori's main square in the same offensive, bringing...
An Arab-Israeli publisher has been ordered to stop importing Arabic-language books from Syria and Lebanon. Salah Abassi gave an interview to Israeli public radio on 11 August in which he stated that the Trade and Industry Ministry had ‘warned’ him...
Government Minister Mervyn Silva coordinated a protest against the Sirasa television station in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 11 August. The station has been known to frequently concentrate on the minister’s attacks on the media and many feel that it is...
Georgian journalists Grigol Chikhladze and Alexander Klimchuk were shot dead on Sunday by pro-independence fighters in South Ossetia. They had been traveling with Teimuraz Kikuradze and US journalist Winston Federley when they came across a road...
Radio Mindanao Network talk show host Dennis Cuesta was critically wounded by a gunman on 5 August 2008. Cuesta's surgeon said the broadcaster remains in critical condition at the hospital's intensive care unit. Police hinted that the attack on the...
Index on Censorship is delighted to announce that John Kampfner has been appointed chief executive. Former editor of the New Statesman, Kampfner is a prolific author and commentator. Jonathan Dimbleby, chairman of Index on Censorship, said: 'As a...