22 May 2013 | In the News
AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijani journalist reports threats
The Index Award-winning Azerbaijani journalist Idrak Abbasov says he had been threatened by the family of a man who was arrested after an online posting, according to Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS). (Index on Censorship)
BURMA
Myanmar media test new freedoms
Myanmar is planning to hold elections in 2015. Key to the success of the elections will be a free and uncensored press. Recent changes to media law mean that there are more newspapers going to print and censorship has for the most part been lifted. Myanmar’s journalists are now busier – and freer – than ever before. (RFI)
EGYPT
Little regard for freedom of speech in the Arab World
Human Rights Watch published an article Monday evening in which the executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division, Sarah Leah Whitson, said there is a “disconnect between the public’s passionate demonstrations for freedom and their commitment to the legislative and institutional reforms needed to protect their rights against future abuses.” (Daily News, Egypt)
INDIA
India’s plan to monitor web raises concerns over privacy
The Indian government has been implementing a system to track and access calls, texts and online activities. (Index on Censorship)
IRAN
Iran Induces Internet ‘Coma’ Ahead of Elections
With the Iranian presidential elections coming up on June 14, high-speed, filter-free Internet access in the Islamic republic has become scarce. Earlier this month, the Iranian daily Ghanoon likened the state of the Internet in Iran to being in a coma — alive but barely functioning. (Al-Monitor)
IRELAND
Irish Justice Minister’s erotic novel referred to censor’s board
Alan Shatter’s 24-year old work of fiction sent to censor amid controversy over abortion and police contact. Padraig Reidy reports. (Index on Censorship)
ISRAEL
Al Jazeera Caves to Pro-Israel Advocates and Censors Columbia Professor
In what author and founder of website The Electronic Intifada Ali Abunimah, has called “an unprecedented act of political censorship,” Al Jazeera has deleted an op-ed by Colombia University professor Joseph Massad, bowing to pressure from pro-Israel advocates. (PolicyMic)
TUNISIA
Tunisian feminist Amina Tyler arrested for ‘immoral gestures’
Tunisian member of radical feminist group FEMEN was arrested Sunday after allegedly attempting to stage a topless protest. Sara Yasin reports. (Index on Censorship)
UNITED KINGDOM
UK arrest guidelines are a shift towards secrecy
Justice is better served by openness and transparency, writes Padraig Reidy. (Index on Censorship)
UNITED STATES
War on Free Speech: Is violating the Constitution the new normal for the government?
Back in 2010, it was said that if you were not “authorized” to have discussed “classified” information disclosed from WikiLeaks, then you could be implicated for crimes under the U.S. Espionage Act. One legal expert warned that the Espionage Act could make “felons of us all.” (ComputerWorld)
21 May 2013 | Europe and Central Asia
A novel published by current Irish Justice Minister Alan Shatter in 1989, has been referred to the country’s Censorship of Publications Board, according to reports.
Laura: A Novel You Will Never Forget which features a politician pressures his lover to have an abortion, is currently available on Amazon, coming with the lone user review:
this book by alan is his only novel. its about the traumas of adoption in ireland with a bit of fact based on fiction..parts of this book could be true as i was involved with a real life case similar to this book…it,s a must read and should be republished..have plenty tissues at the ready as many a tear will appear in the eye.
Shatter is currently at the heart of a political storm after he used information learned from a Garda briefing to him in his role as Justice Minister to attack a political opponent, flamboyant independent TD (member of parliament) Mick Wallace.
Speaking on a live TV debate, Shatter revealed that Wallace had escaped censure from traffic police after he was seen using his mobile phone while driving. Wallace has been campaigning against the overturning of motoring infringement penalty points for high profile and well-connected figures.
Meanwhile, Shatter’s Fine Gael party has come under attack from anti-abortion activists who believe the centre-right party is set to liberalise Ireland’s strict abortion law. Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny faced protests from anti-abortion protesters during a visit to Boston yesterday.
Over 200 publications are banned in Ireland, including books on abortion and several sex manuals.
The majority of the rest of the banned titles are soft and hardcore porn magazines, including Playgirl and Scamp magazine.
Read the full list below
Register of Prohibited Publications in Republic of Ireland 2010
16 May 2013 | In the News
AUSTRALIA
ASIC request sparks internet censorship
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s use of internet censorship powers caused the accidental blocking of more than 1000 websites in April.(The Australian)
AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijan extends libel law to web speech
Index on Censorship and partner organizations have strongly condemned moves by Azerbaijan’s government on Tuesday to criminalise online slander and abuse in the run-up to the country’s October Presidential election. (Index on Censorship)
BAHRAIN
Bahrain blogger given asylum in UK
A Bahraini blogger and human rights activist said he had been granted asylum in Britain after being in hiding for two years. (Gulf News)
Bahrain court jails six for insulting king on Twitter
A Bahraini court jailed six people for a year on Wednesday for insulting King Hamad bin Issa al Khalifa in messages on the microblogging site Twitter, the official news agency said. (Reuters)
BRUNEI
Brunei: ‘Slow Internet is Almost Like Censorship’
Brunei internet users are complaining against the slow and unreliable internet connection in their country. (Global Voices)
CANADA
U.S. man’s “supportive” web chat with suicidal Canadian teen “free speech”: lawyer
An American man convicted in 2011 of posing as a young, depressed woman in an online “suicide chat room” and helping a Canadian teenager kill herself in 2008 has appealed the verdict to Minnesota’s top court, arguing this week that the free-speech provisions of the U.S. First Amendment should have protected his “supportive” conversations with the distraught Carleton University student. (Canada.com)
CHINA
As China’s social media takes off, Beijing’s censorship campaign heats up
A few well-regarded intellectuals known to be critical of the Communist Party have drawn millions of followers on China’s Twitter. (Christian Science Monitor)
Blog of Critic of Chinese Censorship Deleted
It will hardly come as a surprise to anyone to learn that a popular writer and well-known critic of China’s pervasive censorship system has run into trouble for his views. (Reason)
EGYPT
Bassem Youssef’s fight for free speech wins cheers at AMF
Egypt’s Bassem Youssef, the TV host called to court for poking fun at President Mursi, was applauded at this week’s Arab Media Forum (AMF) after making a rousing argument for free speech. (AlArabiya)
Egyptian artists declare war on sexual harassment
Since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak two years ago, artists have been active in breaking Egypt’s age-old taboos around sexual violence, especially since sexual harassment has been on the rise. In the period after the revolution, artists — including women — have covered the country’s walls with murals and slogans, using them to amplify calls for change. Melody Patry reports. (Index on Censorship)
IRELAND
Irish mobile phone shutdown may be allowed during G8
The Irish government will allow the mobile phone network to be shut down in border areas during the G8 summit. (BBC)
KUWAIT
Kuwait: Draft Law Threatens Free Speech, Says HRW
Kuwaiti authorities should amend a proposed new press law that would increase state control of the news media and further curtail the right to free speech. The draft should be revised to protect free speech, consistent with requirements under international law, not curtail it, Human Rights Watch said. (Eurasia Review)
LIBYA
Young Libyans Find Escape in ‘Secret’ Cinema
In the basement of a villa in central Tripoli, young Libyans seeking an escape from violence and disorder watch an American movie classic screened using a simple projector and laptop. (Reuters via Voice of America)
RUSSIA
Russian bird lovers targeted as ‘foreign agents’
An organisation behind a nature reserve dedicated to the protection of Russia’s cranes has been ordered to register as “a foreign agent” under the country’s non-governmental organisation law. The case highlights how arbitrary implementation is chilling free expression in the country, Andrei Aliaksandrau reports. (Index on Censorship)
UNITED KINGDOM
Letter: Free speech, extremism and a university’s duty
Institutions have a legal obligation to promote free speech, and that may involve allowing controversial, indeed sometimes offensive, opinions to be expressed. (The Times)
UNITED STATES
The DOJ’s Freedom of Speech Breach
The seizure of AP’s phone records is legal, but that doesn’t make it an acceptable course of action for the Justice Department to take. (The American Prospect)
Lawmakers accuse Obama administration of abusing free speech rights
U.S. lawmakers accused the Obama administration on Wednesday of trampling on free speech rights and evading questions about the Justice Department’s secret seizure of Associated Press telephone records. (Reuters via The Chicago Tribune)
IRS targeting not only chills speech, it attacks 1st Amendment freedoms
The news that an office of the Internal Revenue Service targeted for review a number of groups with names that included “patriot” or “tea party” is chilling enough to hear – but there’s more reason to be concerned from a First Amendment perspective. (TriCities.com)
14 May 2013 | In the News
ARGENTINA
From the Magazine: The press and the maiden
In Argentina, media organizations take sides: for or against the government. Graciela Mochkofsky tells the story behind the turf war between President Fernández de Kirchner and Grupo Clarín. (Index on Censorship)
CHINA
Hollywood Films Face China’s Strict Censorship
Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” was re-released in China after censors made changes to the film to meet the country’s strict standards.(Edge on the Net)
GHANA
Former Adentan MP Partly Blames Censorship Board For Recent Crimes
In the wake of the security challenges confronting Ghana, the former Member of Parliament for Adentan constituency, Kojo Adu Asare has questioned the competence of the various censorship boards in the country in the execution of their duties.
(Peace FM)
INDIA
Will social media be a game changer for Indian politics?
Election fever has completely gripped the Indian media. Though general elections are scheduled for 2014, the news cycle regularly carries rumours of early elections every time another corruption scandal breaks. Pundits, analysts and party spokespersons, appearing on television every night, attempt to connect with India’s growing middle classes. And a big topic of conversation: the potential for social media to become a game changer in the next election, Mahima Kaul reports from New Delhi. (Index on Censorship)
TUNISIA
Rights group frets over Tunisian ‘loopholes’
Certain aspects of a draft constitution under review in Tunisia contain “loopholes” that could undermine basic civil liberties, Human Rights Watch said. (UPI.com)
TURKEY
Turkish Court Imposes Media Clampdown on Reyhanli Bombing
A court in the small town decided on a “reporting ban,” applicable nationwide, about this act of terror. (Al Monitor)
UNITED KINGDOM
Nesbitt pushes ahead with free speech law for Ulster
The first draft of a law to strengthen the defence of free speech in Northern Ireland has been written — two months after the News Letter revealed that Stormont had vetoed the Defamation Bill. (Belfast Newsletter)
UNITED STATES
IRS abuses power in targeting tea party
The extraordinary revelation this week that the Internal Revenue Service targeted tea party groups for more aggressive enforcement highlights exactly why caution is needed in any response to the much-vilified Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC. It also shows how all Americans, from the most liberal to the most conservative, should closely guard their First Amendment rights, and why giving the government too much power to limit political speech will inevitably result in selective enforcement against unpopular groups. (CNN)
Some NFL Players Have Less Margin For Their Free Speech
If Mrs. Burke’s civics class taught us nothing, it’s that the First Amendment to the Constitution gives us unfettered rights to free speech. We can say whatever we want, whenever we want, without fear of consequence or repercussions, right? (WYPR News)
Campaign finance reform cannot include chilling of free speech
I’m going to get slammed by some of my friends for this, but this piece by directors of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office explains why I cannot support Move to Amend. I will not work to amend the constitution to silence free speech by those whose opinions I disagree with. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Catholic Bishop Suggests ‘Freedom of Speech’ Does Not Allow Religious Disagreements
Katherine O’Connor is an art student at Carnegie Mellon University who allegedly decided to dress as the pope and march in a campus parade — or, at least, dress as the pope from the waist up. Police charged her with public nudity because she allegedly wore nothing at all below the belt. (Think Progress)
ACLU sues Worcester over anti-panhandling laws, citing freedom of speech; city eyes safety
The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday filed a federal lawsuit against the city, claiming that two new anti-panhandling ordinances violate the constitutional right to free speech. (The Republic)
Rush Limbaugh still faces assault on free speech and expression
It is a sad commentary that liberals, progressives, or whatever extremists call themselves, would use their freedom of speech and expression to repress and oppress others rights to free speech and expression. It is pathetic they would abuse their constitutional rights to shut down, shut out, and shut up others. It is a disgrace these people call themselves Americans. (Washington Times Communities
Obama Administration Scraps Free Speech
Two years ago, this column, along with others, raised an alarm about the Obama administration’s decision radically to diminish the due process rights of those accused of sexual harassment on American campuses. (The Patriot Post)
