Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been denied a request to re-open his appeal against extradition to Sweden. In a statement issued today, the United Kingdom's Supreme Court said that the decision to reject the request made by Dinah Rose,...
Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi returns to Europe for first time in 24 years
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in Geneva today for the start of a 17-day tour of Europe, visiting the continent for the first time in 24 years. The politician, who returned to the southeast Asian country in 1988 and has led its...
Bahrain reaches verdict in medics case
A Bahraini court today acquitted nine of the 20 medics sentenced last year for treating anti-government protesters and reduced the sentences of nine others. Last year's sentences, handed down on 20 September, ranged from five to 15 years and...
French politician Marine Le Pen sues writer for libel
The leader of France's National Front, Marine Le Pen has announced plans to sue philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy for libel. Le Pen's move comes after an article posted on the website La Règle du Jeu, where Levy links the controversial politician to...
Iran to crackdown on usage of VPNs
Iran's cyber police will carry out a new crackdown on software used to circumvent the country's strict censorship media according to reports by local news agencies. The head of the specialised police unit examining security issues, claimed...
Yemeni journalist jailed for Facebook posts
A Yemeni court on Monday sentenced journalist Majed Karoot to one year in prison and fined him YR 200,000 for criticising local government officials on the popular social networking site Facebook. The director of corporate communications for the...
Bahraini human rights defender Nabeel Rajab re-arrested
Index on Censorship award winner Nabeel Rajab was re-arrested yesterday for allegedly insulting citizens of a predominantly Sunni village on the popular social networking site, Twitter. According to prosecutors, Rajab was taken into custody to...
The right to be offended
Sara Yasin: The right to be offended
Syria: activist and filmmaker killed while filming clashes in Homs
A well-known Syrian activist and filmmaker was slain on Monday while filming clashes in Homs. Bassel Al Shahade was a Fulbright Scholar studying at Syracuse University before leaving his studies in film to document his country's revolution at the...

Index award winner released from Bahraini prison
Index on Censorship welcomes yesterday’s release of prominent rights activist and Index 2012 Award winner Nabeel Rajab, and calls for all charges against the activist to be dropped
Bahrain: Abdulhadi Alkhawaja ends hunger strike
Prominent Bahraini rights activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja ended his hunger strike yesterday (28 May), according to his lawyer, Mohammad Al-Jishi. Alkhawaja, who was on hunger strike for 110 days, started his hunger strike on 8 February saying that he...
Prominent Bahraini rights activist Nabeel Rajab released on bail
Prominent rights activist and head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Nabeel Rajab was released on bail this morning according to his lawyer. Rajab was arrested upon his arrival to Manama's international airport earlier this month. The...