Index Award-winning Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis addresses an open letter to President Barroso. Vaxevanis is due to stand trial on 10 June for violating privacy laws in connection with the publication of the Lagarde list of alleged Greek tax evaders.
CATEGORY: Europe and Central Asia
Turkey losing its way on free speech
The protests erupting across Turkey have shown a wider audience – domestic and international – the increasingly problematic nature of Turkish democracy, and its growing authoritarian tendencies. Index on Censorship CEO Kirsty Hughes writes
“There is now a menace called Twitter”
Against a backdrop of unrest that started in an Istanbul park last week and has spread throughout the country, Ece Temelkuran asks why the Turkish government is afraid of the internet
Shutting down Russia’s LGBT community
Russia's drive against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people continues unabated as the country's Duma considers a law banning "homosexual...
Ukraine holds first gay pride parade amidst intolerance and suppression
Ukraine successfully held the country’s first ever gay pride parade, but the level of intimidation faced by the LGBT community is growing. Andrew Connelly reports from Kiev
Related: Shutting down Russia’s LGBT community
Elena Vlasenko reports on the continuing official campaign against lesbians and gays.
Self-censorship stifling UK artistic expression
Theresa May betrays our values by banning extremists from the airwaves
Theresa May’s proposals to ban radical preachers from the airwaves and block extremist websites are illiberal, impractical and may breach the UK’s commitment to human rights, Michael Harris writes.
Index responds to Theresa May comments
Theresa May’s comments on the Andrew Marr Show have lead to a round of speculation around the actions that the Home Secretary will take in the wake of Woolwich, especially in regard to the shelved Communications Data Bill.
Could “snooper’s charter” stop terror attacks?
Some UK politicians have said the murder of a soldier in Woolwich, London this week demonstrates the need for greater surveillance of communications data. But would a “snooper’s charter” really have made a difference? Index asked
Emma Carr of Big Brother Watch and Jamie Bartlett of Demos for their views
In Azerbaijan, authorities use ‘Harlem Shake’ to silence activist
The recent arrest of Ilkin Rustamzadeh highlights how Azerbaijan’s authorities use trumped up charges to silence messages they are not comfortable with, blogger Ali Novruzov writes from Baku.