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.
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).
“I interviewed Lankaran resident Shahin Agayev, whose daughter was beaten at school, on 14 January and posted it on the internet,” Abbasov told the IRFS.
Agayev was arrested on drug charges on 6 February and a verdict is expected to be announced soon. Abbasov says the charges are clearly false as Agayev “is really poor, he lives literally in a hut.”
Abbasov said that the man’s family blamed him for the arrest via a phone call on 13 May. The family representative told Abbasov that they had “an agreement with the police” that Agayev would be released if he stopped covering the story.
Subsequently, Abbasov reported to Index on Censorship that a man identifying himself as Agayev’s brother-in-law called and told him the police had demanded the original video, above, be deleted, despite widespread sharing.
Two days later, the man called Abbasov again — this time to arrange a meeting about a potential story.
“I have worked in Azerbaijan for long enough to understand it is a trap,” Abbasov said. Sources confirmed his suspicions. The plan had been to attack him during the meeting, potentially wounding or leaving him for dead.
“To protect myself I had to publicize the plan, and so far it has been quiet,” said Abbasov, who has been violently attacked for his work as an independent journalist.
Tunisian activist Amina Tyler was arrested on Sunday (19 May), after allegedly attempting to stage a topless protest in the central Tunisian city of Kairouan.
Tyler, who heads Tunisia’s branch of feminist movement FEMEN, first faced controversy in March, after posting topless photographs online. Ukranian feminist group FEMEN is notorious for its brand of bare-chested protest.
Hardline Salafi group Ansar al-Sharia was set to hold their annual congress in Kairouan on Sunday, but authorities banned the gathering. Tyler passed through the heavily guarded checkpoints around the city, set up to enforce the ban on the Salafi gathering. Salafis in the city clashed with security forces shortly before Tyler’s arrest.
The activist reportedly painted the word “FEMEN” as well as anti-salafist slogans on a cemetery wall near al-Okba mosque, one of Tunisia’s most important and historic religious sites. Collective blog Nawaat released a video of Tyler’s arrest — which occurred shortly after she was surrounded by local residents yelling for her to leave. Local police said that residents became enraged once Tyler attempted to take off her clothes.
A spokesman for Tunisia’s Ministry of Interior on Monday called Tyler’s protest “an act of provocation”, and “against the morals and traditions of Tunisian society, which is a Muslim society.” Tyler has not yet been charged, but she will appear in court today. Public indecency is punishable under Tunisian law, and if charged Tyler could face up to six months in jail.
Sara Yasin is an Editorial Assistant at Index. She tweets from @missyasin
