Funny doesn’t work for dictatorships because funny usually involves humanity and vulnerability. This is the appeal of the viral video challenge.
CATEGORY: Europe and Central Asia
Macedonian journalists alarmed over government’s attempts to control private media
In Macedonia, concerns have been raised over the new round of amendments to the Law on Audio and Audiovisual Media Services (LAAMS). Christina Vasilaki reports
Nick Davies: Ipso could have killed phone-hacking investigations
Davies, the investigative reporter who unveiled the extent of the phone-hacking scandal, discussed his new book Hack Attack at the Frontline Club in London
#FreeMaryam: Protesters deliver message to Foreign Office
Today a protest was held outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office calling for the UK government to condemn the regime in Bahrain and support the release of human rights campaigner Maryam Alkhawaja and her father, Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, who has been in prison in the country since 2011.
Azerbaijan: Azadliq journalist detained in continuing crackdown
In the latest move against civil society in the country, Seymour Hazy, a reporter working for Azadliq, Azerbaijan’s last independent newspaper, was sentenced to two months pretrial detention on Monday, charged with disorderly conduct. Andrei Aliaksandrau reports
Padraig Reidy: Dismiss Lady Apostle’s ludicrous lawsuit
The English High Court should dismiss a ludicrous lawsuit against the British Humanist Association.
Padraig Reidy: Censors demand we take them seriously — here’s why we shouldn’t
Let’s not block out calls for censorship. But perhaps we can turn the tables on the cries of the censors, smile politely and continue about our grown-up business
26 Awst: Rhyddid Celf Cymru (Google Hangout, 11.30am)
Mae Index on Censorship yn falch o gyhoeddi y cyntaf o ddau ddigwyddiad mewn cyfres o drafodaethau ar-lein am ryddid mynegiant artistig yng Nghymru. Mae’r trafodaethau yn ran o raglen sydd yn edrych ar sut y mae rhyddid artistig yn cael ei ystyried, ei gefnogi, ei drafod a’i hyrwyddo ar draws y sector gelfyddydol, yn y cyfryngau, gan y cyhoedd, gan ariannwyr ac gan wnaethurwyr polisi yn y DU.
Why we’re boycotting the Internet Governance Forum
Yaman Akdeniz and Kerem Altiparmak, two renowned Turkish internet rights advocates, are boycotting the internet governance conference which this year takes place in Istanbul
Azerbaijan: Letter from imprisoned human rights activist Rasul Jafarov
The renowned Azerbaijani dissident, held at a pre-trial detention centre in the capital Baku, has written an appeal to the international community