Fifty years after the establishment of the Tunisian Republic on 25 July 1957, the country is still ruled by the same party, the Neo-Destour, nowadays renamed the Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique (RCD). Habib Bourguiba, the historic leader...
Yemen and Kuwait have both bound themselves to a number of international human rights treaties guaranteeing freedom of expression, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the right to ‘seek, receive,...
Getting 16-year-old Linda Playfoot to take her school to court for not letting her wear a ‘purity ring’ to classes was as clever a way of wrong-footing liberal folk as I’ve seen. Strict adherence to school uniforms is the sort of thing religious...
What took al Qaeda so long? Ayman al Zawahiri has been a little slow in making a response to Salman Rushdie’s knighthood. Is it perhaps because there actually hasn’t been much Muslim anger – beyond a few pockets of politically motivated protest? Al...
‘If I see you’re involved in self-censorship, or covering up information, I’ll fire you myself!,’ Alexei Venediktov, editor-in-chief of Ekho Moskvy, the independent Russian radio station, tells his staff at a meeting discussing the current media...
Taking offence seems to be turning in to a full-time occupation in Iran. Just days after being gravely offended by the awarding of a knighthood to Salman Rushdie (an author who, ironically, was honoured by the Iranian literary establishment for his...
How many times is Israel going to make an example of Mordechai Vanunu? He was released from prison in 2004 after serving 18 years – much of it in solitary confinement. He has just been jailed again for ‘talking to foreigners’. The stringent terms...
Journalists and environmental activists investigating deforestation in Cambodia are facing harassment, death threats and censorship after a report accused senior officials within the country’s government of involvement in illegal logging,...
Salman Rushdie is back in the limelight in the Islamic world – this time as Sir Salman. His inclusion in the Queen’s birthday honours list this year has rekindled memories of 1988-89, when the publication of his controversial book The Satanic...
Anyone who believes in the rights to freedom of expression and information must welcome Gordon Brown’s promise of a more open government. An open government is one which hears the voices of its citizens - all its citizens - even when their demands...