26 Sep 2012 | India
Aseem Trivedi’s arrest for his anti-establishment cartoons shocked and outraged India.
Section 124 of the Indian Penal Code, under which Trivedi was arrested, is reserved for anyone who “brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government,” with disaffection meaning “disloyalty and all feelings of enmity”. Although a majority of Indians found the cartoons crude rather than clever, public opinion overwhelmingly believed the cartoonist was well within his rights to publish them.
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19 Sep 2012
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The right to free expression
Free expression is vital to humanity and the foundation of a free society. It creates the space for the exchange of ideas in the arts, literature, religion, academia, politics and science, and is essential for other rights like freedom of conscience. Without free expression, ideas cannot be tested. Without free expression, individuals cannot make informed decisions.
How is it protected?
Free expression is a universal human right enshrined in Article 19 of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
The right to free expression is also contained in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.”
The convention, however, also says free expression must be balanced against other rights such as the right to privacy and, in certain cases, can be restricted.
Where do we draw the line?
Index believes that free expression should only be limited where there the speech itself incites violence or where there is a direct and imminent threat of violence being committed as a result of the expression, as articulated largely in the US interpretation of its First Amendment.
“Freedom of expression is not self-perpetuating, but rather has to be maintained through the constant vigilance of those who care about it.” – Index on Censorship magazine, 1972
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17 Sep 2012 | Leveson Inquiry, Media Freedom, News and features, United Kingdom, Volume 41.03 Autumn 2012
The UK has a press-controlled state rather than a state-controlled press. Phone hacking lawyer Mark Lewis reports on lessons from Leveson
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7 Sep 2012 | Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa
South Africa’s parliament is in its final stages of reviewing a bill that, if passed, could have severe implications for press freedom in the country and the African continent. The Protection of State Information Bill (also known as the Secrecy Bill) could result in the imprisonment of journalists and whistleblowers who possess, publish or leak state secrets for up to 25 years.
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