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)
17 May 2013 | Azerbaijan News, Europe and Central Asia, News
The Eurovision Song Contest gives a platform to some of Europe’s outliers on free expression. Photo: Sander Hesterman (EBU) / Eurovision 2013
Europe will once again be swept away by a sparkly hurricane of techno beats and pompous ballads, kitschy and/or traditional costumes, wind machines, pyrotechnics, heavily accented English, awkward host banter and nul points. Yes, Eurovision takes our breath away in more ways than one.
While first and foremost a showbiz spectacle, if you look beneath the layer of sequins you’ll soon discover the political tinge to the continent’s premier singing competition. From the start in 1956, it was designed as fun way of testing out new broadcasting technology. Those partial to the occasional conspiracy theory would have you believe this was also a convenient cover for pan-European satellite testing during the Cold War, which is why NATO members Turkey and Israel were invited to the party.
With the lifting of the Iron Curtain and the inclusion of the Eastern Bloc in 1990, much was said about the healing, unifying power of the contest. Since then, even more has been said about the tendency of the late arrivals to share their points amongst themselves. The UK, for instance, have been vocal about political, neighbourhood voting being the cause of their recent Eurovision failings, rather than, say, sending entries like this. And while Eurovision, somewhat censoriously, prohibits political songs that has not stopped artists from trying to get their meaningful messages across.
The most famous recent example is perhaps Georgia’s pun-tastic 2009 offering “We Don’t Want To Put In’‘, to be performed at final in — you guessed it — Moscow. They were told to change the song or drop out, and ultimately chose the latter. Krista Siegfrids, Finland’s entrant this year, has warned she might be planting a kiss on one of her female dancers in protest at her country’s failure to adopt equal marriage legislation.
Most significantly, Eurovision gives its entrants prime time access to some 800 million viewers around the world – an unparalleled platform on which to promote their nation should they choose to. Many have jumped at the opportunity, chief among them the land of fire; Azerbaijan. As 2012 hosts, the Aliyev regime poured millions of their significant oil wealth into reforming their international reputation as a repressive hereditary dictatorship. The only problem with this otherwise foolproof plan was that they forcefully evicted people to make room for an ambitious Eurovision-inspired urban renewal project in Baku, attacked journalists covering and speaking up about it, and generally conducted their notoriously human rights abusing business as usual. Not much has changed since the party left town a year ago — only this week, the regime announced they have extended libel laws to online speech ahead of October’s presidential election.
Before that, 2009 hosts Russia attempted to dazzle Europe and the world, with a spectacular stage show in the 25,000 capacity Indoor Olympic Arena in Moscow. However, LGBT activists seized the opportunity to shine the spotlight on the country’s poor record on gay rights, attempting to stage a Slavic-wide Pride parade on the day of the final. In a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression and assembly, the parade was banned. Many of the protesters who showed up anyway, were attacked and arrested. LGBT rights remain poor in Russia, with a 100-year ban on pride parades in Moscow announced only last year. The charm offensive of last year’s singing, dancing, baking grandma entry has this year been followed by the John-and-Yoko-esque ‘What If?‘, which among other gems, contains the lyrics “Together we can make a better place/ On this little island out in space”. Meanwhile, in Russia, internationally funded NGOs have to register as ‘foreign agents’, or risk fines and prison time.
You don’t have to host to be able to host to take full advantage of the promotional platform Eurovision. Like Belarus, you can condense your message to fit the 3-minute performance slot. In 2011, the country known as Europe’s last dictatorship sent Anastasiya Vinnikova to perform the subtly named “I Love Belarus“. Somehow, it didn’t progress to the final. Maybe the rest of Europe had some trouble reconciling the country described in the song, with its “fields full of gold” and “free, friendly and young people”, with the country where you’re put in prison for pointing out that your repressive dictator is, well, a dictator.
Also in the running this year is Hungary, the country with some of the most draconian press regulation on the continent. There’s Ukraine, where the former prime minister is serving a seven-year jail sentence for what is widely recognised as politically motivated charges. In Italy, the final will be broadcast on public broadcaster RAI, one half of the TV duopoly that poses a big threat to the country’s media plurality. In Greece, financial woes have also had a pretty detrimental effect on freedom of expression. Bulgaria’s web of cosy relationships between authorities and media leaves the country without an accurate picture of itself.
Yes, Eurovision is first and foremost one of the biggest parties in the world. However, as you’re watching the spectacle unfold on Saturday, spare a thought for the Europeans who are not as free to express themselves as their fellow countrymen on stage in Malmo.
17 May 2013 | In the News
BAHRAIN
What free speech means to Bahrain
In the last week, Bahrain’s treatment of its citizens and their right to free expression has been repeatedly in the news. Sara Yasin reports on a spate of developments that raise questions about the Bahraini government’s commitment to free speech. (Index on Censorship)
CANADA
Canada: ‘Israeli apartheid’ censorship row puts Toronto Pride funding in jeopardy
Pride Toronto faces the loss of its annual cultural grant over indecision as to whether the phrase ‘Israeli apartheid’ should be banned from the event, in a row which Peter Tatchell has called “straightforward censorship”. (Pink News)
IRAN
An election that might save books in Iran
Once the Islamic republic’s biggest cultural event, the Tehran International Book Fair – now in its 26th year — has wilted under President Mahmood Ahmadinejad’s hardline government. Raha Zahedpour reports on the recession in Iran’s publishing industry. (Index on Censorship)
KUWAIT
Rights group blasts Kuwait proposed tough media law
Human Rights Watch said Thursday a proposed media law by Kuwait would increase state control and curtail the right to free speech, as authorities suspended a popular talk show programme on a pro-opposition television channel. (Ahram Online)
UNITED KINGDOM
Sally Bercow pleads innocence over Lord McAlpine Twitter storm
Speaker’s wife says she was merely sharing random thought over Newsnight show that wrongly linked peer to abuse scandal. (The Guardian)
UNITED STATES
Free expression must not be attacked
Enough already. The public has the right to advocate causes, and the media the right to report news, without government intrusion. (Shelbyville Times-Gazette)
No Sex Talk Allowed
In a joint letter to the University of Montana, (intended as “a blueprint” for campus administrators nationwide) the Justice Department (DOJ) and the Education’s Department’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) define sexual harassment as “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,” verbal or nonverbal, including “unwelcome sexual advances or acts of sexual assaults.” (The Atlantic
15 May 2013 | In the News
GLOBAL
Challenging mainstream narratives with social media
A lot has been said about the impact of social media on the dissemination of news and the future of journalism. Opinions seem to span from believing Twitter and Facebook hold the power to bring down dictatorships, to despairing at the space it gives to armchair analysis and knee jerk reactions. One thing can be agreed upon: readers, listeners and viewers now have access to a platform to express themselves and challenge the mainstream narrative of events, Milana Knezevic writes. (Index on Censorship)
AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijani Parliament Passes Controversial Internet Libel Law
Azerbaijan’s parliament has legalized tighter Internet controls in a move the country’s opposition groups fear could be used to curb online dissent. (Radio Liberty)
EGYPT
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. Melody Patry reports. (Index on Censorship)
ISRAEL
Free Speech Under Attack in Israel
The Israeli Ambassador to London, Daniel Taub, entirely misses the point in his comments on Professor Stephen Hawking’s decision to pull out of a conference in Jerusalem as a protest at Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. (Shifting Grounds)
RUSSIA
Pussy Riot Doc Defends Free Speech But Skips the Messy Details
At the culmination of the documentary Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, band member Maria Alyokhina tells the court that “this trial is not just an evil, grotesque mask, it is the face that the government wears when speaking to the people of our country.” (The Nation)
RWANDA
Rwanda’s Media Law Opens Gates To Self-Regulation For Journalists
Contrary to critics alleging Rwanda on violation of Human rights, democracy and freedom of speech; the country’s recently adopted law on media regulation seems to shame such accusations and it rather demonstrates maturity in the said fields. (News of Rwanda)
UNITED STATES
Judge dismisses lawsuit, says no free-speech rights violated at Detroit-area Arab festival
A judge says free-speech rights weren’t violated when police officers asked Christian demonstrators to leave an Arab festival in Dearborn last year. (The Republic)
Lawyer says law against encouraging suicide violates free speech
The Minnesota Supreme Court is considering an appeal by a nurse who says his conviction for advising two people to kill themselves is unconstitutional. (UPI.com
Does Free Speech Protect Your Right to Criticize Religion? Duh!
I’m a lawyer by training. It’s one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever done because now I can recognize all the things otherwise smart people get wrong about the Constitution. And, boy howdy, there are a lot of people who misunderstand the Constitution.(Care2)
Facebook: A ‘Like’ is free speech for Hampton case
When a wrongful termination lawsuit involving six former employees of Hampton Sheriff B.J. Roberts goes before a federal appellate court on Thursday, those employees will have a prominent backer in their corner: Facebook. (The Daily Press)
