Belarus’s dictator 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
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AZERBAIJAN
Europe criticizes Azeri leader over Internet defamation law
European institutions criticized Azeri President Ilham Aliyev yesterday for signing legislation making defamation over the Internet a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment as the country prepares for an autumn presidential election.
(Free Malaysia Today)
EGYPT
Columnist sentenced to prison for libel
Writer Osama Ghareeb did not know he had already been sentenced to one year in prison by a Cairo court until being summoned to Moqattam Police Station on Wednesday, according to the writer’s Twitter account. (Daily News Egypt)
GLOBAL
Gallery: Five free expression exiles
IFEX marks World Refugee Day, 20 June 2013, with profiles of five people living in exile for practicing the right to free expression through their professions (IFEX)
INDIA
Safeguards needed to protect privacy, free speech in India: HRW
The Indian government should enact clear laws to ensure that increased surveillance of phones and the Internet does not undermine rights to privacy and free expression, Human Rights Watch said today. (Business Standard)
Standing up to censorship central
A recent judgment on the airing of ‘low value’ television programming misinterprets the proportionality doctrine and raises the question: should the state be giving advice to adults? (The Hindu)
MALAWI
(Censorship Board Says Does Not Regulate Material On the Internet
The Malawi Censorship Board has said it does not censor materials on the Internet because it is not mandated to do so.(AllAfrica.com)
NEW ZEALAND
Racial stereotypes pervade
It was interesting watching the response last week after cartoonist Al Nisbet was allowed to draw cartoon stereotypes in the Marlborough Express about Maori and Pacific Islanders. (Auckland Now)
SINGAPORE
Web ‘blackout’ in Singapore to protest new online rules
Over 130 Singaporean bloggers blacked out their homepages Thursday to protest new licencing rules for news websites they say will muzzle freedom of expression. (NDTV)
TURKEY
Protests expose the extent of self-censorship in Turkish media
Only days after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called social media “the worst menace to society”, the country arrested 25 social media users in Izmir for allegedly “spreading untrue information” on Twitter. Sara Yasin gives a rundown on Turkey’s Twitter phobia. (Index on Censorship)
Turkey’s prime minister vows to continue Gezi Park development
Despite mass protests, Recep Tayyip Erdogan to push ahead with construction, saying it will make Istanbul more beautiful (The Guardian)
UKRAINE
Censorship by violence
One of my friends recently told me a story about the son of her friends. He had to be taken to a psychologist after watching news on TV about a mother killing her child. (Kyiv Post)
UNITED STATES
Documents: U.S. mining data from 9 leading Internet firms; companies deny knowledge
The National Security Agency and the FBI are tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies, extracting audio and video chats, photographs, e-mails, documents, and connection logs that enable analysts to track foreign targets, according to a top-secret document obtained by The Washington Post. (Washington Post)
Drawing Line On Free Speech
The freedom to say what we think, no matter how repugnant to others, is one of the greatest glories of our system of government. It also is the foundation supporting our other liberties. (The Intelligencer)
Lindsey Graham Hates Free Speech
Are we starting to get under the skin of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (RINO-S.C.)? At first glance it would appear that way … Graham, a frequent target of this website’s criticism (due to his frequent awfulness), suggested this week that bloggers don’t deserve one of the most basic freedoms guaranteed to all Americans under the U.S. Bill of Rights.
(Fits News)
IRS Attorney Carter Hull Sent Targeted Letters to ACLJ Tea Party Clients from Washington, D.C.
The Wall Street Journal reports that transcripts of interviews by congressional staffers point the finger to IRS attorneys in Washington, further confirming that the targeting of conservative groups originated by the IRS in Washington, D.C. and that it was not the mistake of a couple of rogue, low level IRS agents in one Cincinnati office as the Obama Administration and the IRS continue to claim. (ACLU)
New York Post hit with libel lawsuit over ‘Bag Men’ Boston bombings cover
Two Massachusetts residents sue New York Post on claims it falsely portrayed them as suspects in Boston Marathon attack (The Guardian)
ZAMBIA
Kasonokomona Wins First Round of Court Battle
Zambian activist Paul Kasonkomona has won an important first round in his court battle. In an interview on Zambian television in April he called for the recognition of gay and lesbian rights, as well as the rights of sex workers. He was arrested after the interview and charged under section 178(g) of the Zambian Penal Code. (AllAfrica.com)
AUSTRALIA
Photographers withdraw from Vivid over censorship claims
Two international photographers have withdrawn their works from an exhibition in Sydney in protest over what one has described as censorship. (ABC News)
AZERBAIJAN
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. (Index on Censorship)
CHINA
´Ai Weiwei´s work embodies freedom of speech´
The popularity of Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei in the Netherlands is largely fueled by the Dutch love of art that hovers on the edge of acceptability. This commitment to pushing the boundaries of freedom of expression is evident in the exhibition FUCK OFF 2 which he’s curated and which opens at the Groninger Museum on Sunday. (Radio Netherlands Worldwide)
ISRAEL
Al-Jazeera draws fire over self-censorship
The Qatar-based al-Jazeera network has been criticized over its decision to remove a controversial article posted on its website amid claims the story was “anti-Jewish” in a seemingly self-censoring act. (YNet.com)
RUSSIA
Interpol Rebuffs Russia in Its Hunt for a Kremlin Critic
Interpol has rejected a Russian request for a worldwide police hunt for William F. Browder, a British investment banker and a Kremlin nemesis who has made no secret of his whereabouts or of his battle against the government of President Vladimir V. Putin over accusations of human rights abuses. (New York Times)
Russia: Gay Rights Activists Arrested At Rally
Dozens of activists at a gay pride march in Moscow have been arrested by Russian police. (Sky News)
TUNISIA
Tunisia’s ‘topless feminist’ faces jail for having pepper spray
The lawyer of a Tunisian woman who gained notoriety for posting online topless pictures of herself as a protest says she faces six months in prison for carrying a dangerous object. (AP via CBS47)
TURKEY
Turkey Kissing Protest Held In Subway As Couples Defy Ban On Public Displays Of Affection
Dozens of couples have locked lips at a subway stop in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, to protest subway authorities’ admonishment of a couple that kissed in public. (AP via Huffington Post)
Turkey takes important steps to end human rights violations
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said on Thursday that Turkey has made significant improvements in human rights, especially in freedom of expression. (Turkish Weekly)
UNITED KINGDOM
Speaker’s wife faces £150,000 bill for online libel
SPEAKER’S wife Sally Bercow faces a legal bill of £150,000 after losing a libel battle with Lord McAlpine yesterday over a tweet which falsely linked him to allegations of sex abuse. (The Daily Express)
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. (Index on Censorship)
UNITED STATES
Microsoft Disables Comments For Xbox One Videos Following Harsh Criticisms
Want to let Microsoft know how you feel about the Xbox One? You won’t be able to do it on the official YouTube videos. If you head to Microsoft’s official channel for the Xbox One, the comments for the videos have been aptly disabled. (Gaming Blend)
Attacks on the press should come as no surprise
Freedom of the press. It’s a bedrock of our Constitution, right there in the very first amendment. That means it’s one of the most important freedoms and rights guaranteed to this country, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, all interlocked and interdependent. (Marietta Times)
As UN’s Censorship Alliance Lashes Out from Anonymity, UN Does Nothing
UN scribes from Reuters, Bloomberg News, Voice of America, Agence France Presse and others on the board of the UN Correspondents Association tried to get Inner City Press thrown out of the UN in 2012. In 2013 they have started anonymous social media accounts to falsely accuse Inner City Press of being funded by terrorists.
(Inner City Press)
AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijani journalist reports threats
The Index Award-winning Azerbaijani journalist Idrak Abbasov says he had been threatened by the family of a man who was arrested after an online posting, according to Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS). (Index on Censorship)
BURMA
Myanmar media test new freedoms
Myanmar is planning to hold elections in 2015. Key to the success of the elections will be a free and uncensored press. Recent changes to media law mean that there are more newspapers going to print and censorship has for the most part been lifted. Myanmar’s journalists are now busier – and freer – than ever before. (RFI)
EGYPT
Little regard for freedom of speech in the Arab World
Human Rights Watch published an article Monday evening in which the executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division, Sarah Leah Whitson, said there is a “disconnect between the public’s passionate demonstrations for freedom and their commitment to the legislative and institutional reforms needed to protect their rights against future abuses.” (Daily News, Egypt)
INDIA
India’s plan to monitor web raises concerns over privacy
The Indian government has been implementing a system to track and access calls, texts and online activities. (Index on Censorship)
IRAN
Iran Induces Internet ‘Coma’ Ahead of Elections
With the Iranian presidential elections coming up on June 14, high-speed, filter-free Internet access in the Islamic republic has become scarce. Earlier this month, the Iranian daily Ghanoon likened the state of the Internet in Iran to being in a coma — alive but barely functioning. (Al-Monitor)
IRELAND
Irish Justice Minister’s erotic novel referred to censor’s board
Alan Shatter’s 24-year old work of fiction sent to censor amid controversy over abortion and police contact. Padraig Reidy reports. (Index on Censorship)
ISRAEL
Al Jazeera Caves to Pro-Israel Advocates and Censors Columbia Professor
In what author and founder of website The Electronic Intifada Ali Abunimah, has called “an unprecedented act of political censorship,” Al Jazeera has deleted an op-ed by Colombia University professor Joseph Massad, bowing to pressure from pro-Israel advocates. (PolicyMic)
TUNISIA
Tunisian feminist Amina Tyler arrested for ‘immoral gestures’
Tunisian member of radical feminist group FEMEN was arrested Sunday after allegedly attempting to stage a topless protest. Sara Yasin reports. (Index on Censorship)
UNITED KINGDOM
UK arrest guidelines are a shift towards secrecy
Justice is better served by openness and transparency, writes Padraig Reidy. (Index on Censorship)
UNITED STATES
War on Free Speech: Is violating the Constitution the new normal for the government?
Back in 2010, it was said that if you were not “authorized” to have discussed “classified” information disclosed from WikiLeaks, then you could be implicated for crimes under the U.S. Espionage Act. One legal expert warned that the Espionage Act could make “felons of us all.” (ComputerWorld)