Silvio Berlusconi’s government is exploiting the violent attack against him in order to restrict internet freedom. Giulio D’Eramo reports
Berlusconi targets the blogosphere
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CATEGORY: Comment
Keep up demand for libel reform
Jack Straw has noticed the clamour for change. Reform of our unfair defamation laws must now become a manifesto pledge, says Padraig Reidy
Australia’s great barrier
Canberra is making alarming advances in web censorship, says John Ozimek
Keeping it secret
Barack Obama’s promise to break with secrecy has been short-lived, says Melissa Goodman, in an exclusive article for Index on Censorship’s review of 2009
A year of gagging
In 2009 the government, courts and the police have connived in the suppression of investigative journalism and scientific research. But campaigns for free expression are fighting back says
John Kampfner
Azerbaijan: donkey bloggers punished
The imprisonment of two online activists shows the battle for democracy is increasingly fought online, says
Vugar Gojayev
Libel reform will liberate us all
Jack Straw’s move is welcome, but cosmetic surgery won’t be enough to end this international embarrassment, writes
Jo Glanville
The Velvet Revolutionary
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 BubenĂk became the youngest politician in the new government. He spoke to Jo Glanville
Cuban bloggers under attack
An alleged assault on GeneraciĂłn Y’s Yoani Sánchez demonstrates the Castro regime’s fear of free expression on the web. Nick Caistor reports
Libel reform: The laws that stain Britain’s good name
As Index on Censorship and English Pen launch “Free Speech is Not For Sale”, a damning report on English libel laws, John Kampfner highlights the pressing need for reform
The Libel Report: The silence of the arts, the press, science, charities…
A new report by English PEN Index on Censorship argues that fear of libel action means that freedom of expression is under threat as never before, John Kampfner tells the Independent’s Ian Burrell
UK: Rebuilding freedoms
The road to greater surveillance and restrictions of liberties has been paved with good intentions from both the right and left, says Matthew Ryder. As the public mood changes, it is worth keeping this in mind
