A companion report: Freedom of expression in the arts and censorship in Kurdish Region, Diyarbakir, Batman In the course of its research Siyah Bant...
Cultural policy effects on freedom of the arts in Turkey
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CATEGORY: Religion and Culture
Five things banned from university campuses
The banning of a poster depicting the Flying Spaghetti Monster as God is the latest attempt by UK student unions to crack-down on the free speech of students
Russia’s Winter Olympics: A fake show of LGBT tolerance
Drawing a screen around the realities of life for gay Russians, President Vladimir Putin and the organizers of the Sochi Winter Olympic games are presenting a decidedly friendly face to international visitors. Elena Vlasenko reports
Indonesia’s democracy is no guarantee to freedom of faith
In the run up to this year’s elections, Indonesia’s politicians would have you believe that religious freedom is not a problem for the world’s largest Muslim population country. Endy Bayuni reports
China: Suppression of religious freedoms in Xinjiang continues
The Chinese Communist Party continues to develop expansive legal and political frameworks that repress the cultural and religious freedoms of its Uyghur population in Xinjiang province. Ahmed W Khan reports
Ireland’s RTE under fire for apology to Iona Institute
Irish state-run television broadcaster RTE has come under heavy criticism after offering a full apology and possible financial compensation to the Iona Institute, a conservative Catholic lobby groups declared “homophobic” by a talk show guest
Pakistan’s politics thwart launch of Malala book
Peshwar University found itself at the centre of a controversy surrounding the launch of I Am Malala when police refused to provide security for the event. Zofeen Ebrahim reports
Indian films at mercy of new censor board CEO — and his five-year-old daughter
The new CEO of India’s censor board has described his objection to some of India’s recent blockbusters based on the reactions of his wife and five year old daughter. Mahima Kaul reports
LGBT panel attacks global homophobia
A historical discussion by LGBT activists occurred at the recent World Economic Forum but who they picked to scrutinise was unexpected. Alice Kirkland reports
Limits on surveillance: A global right to privacy
The revelations by Edward Snowden last June about massive, unaccountable surveillance by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and its British counterpart GCHQ have raised one vital question. Is there a global right of privacy? Binoy Kampmark writes