Russia’s new blasphemy law is censorship under the guise of protection for believers, says Padraig Reidy
Vladimir Putin and the new defence of the faithful
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CATEGORY: Europe and Central Asia
UN extends mandate of Special Rapporteur on Belarus
A resolution that was adopted today in Geneva extends the mandate of Miklos Haraszti, a Special Rapporteur on human rights situation in Belarus, for one more year. Andrei Aliaksandrau reports
Related: The first rule of dictator club…
Lord Lester slams Leveson royal charter
Leading human rights lawyer Anthony Lester has said proposed press regulation agreed by politicians and Hacked Off campaigners is “unprecedented in the free world”. Padraig Reidy reports
Libel Act to commence “before end of year”
The Justice Minister has said defamation reform will be fully in place within six months. Padraig Reidy reports
What’s Russia blocking on the web?
April saw a bizarre variety of sites blocked by the Russian authorities or internet service providers – among them Pussy Riot videos, Wikipedia, the Yandex search engine, and sites promoting bribery and corruption. Compiled by Andrei Soldatov
The first rule of dictator club…
Belarus’s president Alexander Lukashenko will be able to count on some “like-minded” friends when it comes to a vote on his human rights record at the UN this week. Andrei Aliaksandrau reports
Turkey’s Taksim Square cleared after violent clashes
In a bid to gain control of Taksim Square, Turkish security forces last night clashed with antigovernment protesters camped out in Istanbul’s centre. Sara Yasin reports
Anti-gay law passes in Russia
New legislation against “homosexual propaganda” has been passed against backdrop of piousness and machismo of Putinism, says Padraig Reidy
Greeks protest public broadcast closure
Antonis Samaras, prime minister and leader of the Greek coalition government, announced that the state TV channel ERT, the equivalent of the BBC, would be shut down from midnight on 11 June. Dawn Foster reports. Plus: Index condemns ERT move
National security should not be used by governments to justify mass surveillance
Index on Censorship, English PEN, Privacy International, Open Rights Group and Article 19 are calling on the Foreign Secretary’s speech to the House of Commons on the GCHQ links to the Prism scandal, we the undersigned condemn the collection and surveillance of British citizens’ online communications and activities through the US Prism programme.