Egyptian poet and teacher Mounir Saeed Hanna who had previously been sentenced to three years imprisonment and a US$18,000 bail has been acquitted. He was originally charged with writing a poem that insulted the president. Read more here
Chinese micro-blogging sites Digu and Zuosa were both shut down for maintenance on 21 July. Wen Yunchao, a well-known blogger, said having two sites close on the same day indicates pressure from authorities for them to shut down. He said the timing...
Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer and his team have been denied access to her, two days before her trial on charges of breaking the terms of her house arrest is due to resume. Her legal team is expected to present closing arguments in the case on 24 July,...
The Kremlin have passed a decree allowing security services, including the FSB, Foreign Intelligence service, police and customs to obtain information from reading people’s mail without a warrant. Lev Ponomaryov, a leading human rights activist...
A sexually suggestive radio advertising campaign for Mattesons sausages has been criticised by the the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after recieving 21 complaints. It said the adverts, which asked listeners where they would like to "stick...
Saudi Arabia's only film festival was cancelled at the last hour after apparent religious pressure within the highly conservative Islamic kingdom. The Jeddah film festival, which was scheduled to open on Saturday had planned to be a rare showcase...
Azerbaijani bloggers, Adnan Hadji Zadeh and Emin Mili, have lost their appeal for release and are being detained for two months pending trial on hooliganism charges. Media rights group, Reporters sans Frontieres say the charges are without grounds...
Al-Jazeera has resumed its broadcasts in the West Bank, after a ban on it was lifted by the Palestinian Authority. Last week's ban came after a guest on the station accused Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas of collaborating with Israel to have...
Google is not liable for defamatory comments that appear in news articles, blogs and forums displayed in its search results, a high court judge in London has concluded in a landmark ruling for UK defamation law. Mr Justice Eady ruled in a judgment...
Officials in Kyrgyzstan have claimed at a news conference that a local police officer has admitted to inflicting the injuries on freelance journalist Almazbek Tashiyev that resulted in his death last week. They claim the policeman knew Tashiyev...