12 Mar 2012 | Africa, Index Index, minipost
A female journalist has been threatened with genital mutilation after exposing the practice in Liberia. Mae Azango, a reporter for the daily newspaper FrontPage Africa and news website New Narratives was forced into hiding after receiving threatening phone-calls, saying “they will catch me and cut me so that will make me shut up”. Azango published an article on Thursday about Liberian tribes practicing female genital mutilation on as many as two out of every three girls in the country. Several people confronted the journalist about the article, and it was widely discussed on radio programmes.
9 Mar 2012 | News and features
Index on Censorship and the Institute for Human Rights and Business hosted the launch of Rebecca MacKinnon’s new book, Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom on the 27 February. If you missed out, you can listen here.
Rebecca MacKinnon is the co-founder of Global Voices Online. In her new book she argues that a global struggle for control of the Internet is now underway. At stake are no less than civil liberties, privacy and even the character of democracy in the 21st century. Listen for a discussion with the author, along with writer and journalist Salil Tripathi. Chaired by Jo Glanville, Editor of Index on Censorship.
9 Mar 2012 | Azerbaijan News, Index Index, minipost
An award-winning journalist in Azerbaijan has been threatened with blackmail. Khadija Ismayilova received photographs of an intimate nature with a threatening note saying unless she stops “behaving improperly”, she will be “defamed.” Ismayilova, who has caused public scandal by writing investigative articles exposing corruption among high-ranking Azerbaijani officials and their families, said on Facebook that the threat was not a surprise to her. The journalist has been targeted by pro-government forces in previous incidents.
7 Mar 2012 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost
Around 100 journalists were attacked by a large crowd in India yesterday, whilst covering local elections in northern state Uttar Pradesh. The journalists were forced to lock themselves in a school, which was being used as an election centre, after clashes broke out between supporters of the parties involved in the election. The crowd of approximately 4,000 turned on the journalists on the evening of the election, after the results had been announced. They were assaulted, and their equipment and vehicles were damaged by the crowd. The journalists were able to leave the school early on Wednesday morning.
