From London to Bangkok, defamation laws are a global chill on free speech. For repressive regimes, they are a common tool for silencing dissent; in liberal democracies, they remain one of the greatest challenges to press freedom. Index on Censorship assesses the use and abuse of the law in the name of reputation, with Floyd Abrams, Joshua Rozenberg, Michael Griffin, Harry Roque, Miklos Haraszti, Lawrence McNamara, Ilia Dohel, Sinfah Tunsarawuth, Oliver Spencer and Salil Tripathi

Plus
Wang Dan and Xinran discuss the legacy of the Tiananmen Square massacre

Poet Liu Hongbin reflects on exile from China

And
Fiction Jacqueline Rose on Yitzhak Laor
Shiv’a: a short story

Naomi Gryn asks if the BBC has lost its nerve

Martin Rowson’s stripsearch

Index on Censorship magazine, Volume 38 Number 2.