Index on Censorship condemns the sentencing of human rights defender and Index award winner Nabeel Rajab to three years in prison
Bahrain activist Nabeel Rajab sentenced to three years in prison
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CATEGORY: Middle East and North Africa
New-era privacy law drafted to protect Tunisians from the surveillance state
Tunisia's data protection authority is in the process of amending the country's 2004 privacy law, which will regulate the use of personal data. Hacking into activists’ emails, tapping into dissidents’ phone calls, or installing surveillance...
Fears for free expression in Morsi’s Egypt
The month-long suspension of a privately-owned Egyptian TV channel for "defamation and incitement to violence" has triggered an outcry in Egyptian media circles amid fears of regression in freedom of expression gained after the country's January...
Banning blasphemy: New Tunisian bill threatens free speech
Tunisia's ruling party, the Islamist Ennahdha movement, seek to criminalise blasphemy. The Ennahdha party filed a blasphemy bill on 1 August in response to what their leaders describe as “a continuous increase in number of offences against the...
UAE: Joint open letter to William Hague calling for release of activists
Since March, Emirati authorities have arrested over 50 activists and human rights defenders in a widespread crackdown on dissent. Index joins a group of international rights groups in calling on UK Foreign Minister William Hague and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to push for the prisoners’ release
Struggle for press freedom in Tunisia continues as media reform body closes
In an unexpected move on 4 July, the National Authority for Information and Communication Reform (INRIC) held a press conference announcing the end of its activities after disagreements with Tunisian PM Hamdai Jebali's government. The media reform...
Atheist convicted of insulting Muslims apologises on Facebook
Atheist Ghazi Beji, who was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison in absentia last March for insulting Islam has written an apology to Muslims. Beji, who fled the country before being sentenced for publishing a satirical book entitled "The...
Tunisia shutters information reform body
In an unexpected move on 4 July, the National Authority for Information and Communication Reform (INRIC) put an end to its activities. INRIC was created after the fall of the 23-year rule of Zeine el-Abidin Ben Ali last year to help reform the...
UAE: Activist deported to Thailand
The United Arab Emirates deported an online activist to Thailand yesterday, it has been reported. Ahmed Abdul Khaleq was stripped of his rights to live in the country as a result of his campaigning. His website included appeals for a greater public...
New president Morsi faces hostile media
Egypt’s newly-elected President Mohamed Morsi has been the target of a media campaign aimed at tarnishing both his image and that of Islamists. The campaign, launched by several Egyptian media outlets suspected of having close links with both the...