7 Jun 2013 | In the News
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)
6 Jun 2013 | In the News
INDEX REPORT
Taking the offensive – defending artistic freedom of expression in the UK
Widespread self-censorship and fear of offence is suppressing creativity and ideas in the United Kingdom, according to a report published by Index on Censorship.
INDEX EVENTS
10 June: Caught in the web: how free are we online?
The internet: free open space, wild wild west, or totalitarian state? However you view the web, in today’s world it is bringing both opportunities and threats for free expression.
22 June: Turkey vs the UK: what’s the score on free expression?
The Turkish Writers Football Club is coming to London to play the England Writers Team and the pressure is on. But it’s not just about sport. Index on Censorship is grabbing the chance to bring both sides together to debate the state of free expression in both countries.
GLOBAL
U.N. Free-Speech Envoy Blasts “Extremely Disturbing” Government Mass Surveillance
From the FBI’s desire to wiretap Gmail to the U.S. government’s monitoring of journalists, government surveillance has attracted much attention in recent months. Now, a U.N. special envoy is calling for urgent action to tackle the untrammeled rise of mass-surveillance technologies. (Slate)
AUSTRALIA
Child porn — or art censorship by wannabe Tory pollies?
Police removed works by well-known collage artist Paul Yore’s Everything is Fucked installation at a St Kilda gallery in Melbourne on the weekend, after claims the art amounted to child pornography. No charges have yet been laid, although Yore was interviewed by Victoria Police on Monday and released pending a court summons. If charged and found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison for producing and possessing child pornography. But did the tip-off to police come from someone with an agenda? (Crikey)
BURMA
Violence against Muslims on the rise in Burma
Burma’s Muslim minority has come under increasing attack from Buddhist mobs. Tom Fawthorp reports from Meiktila and Yangon on the racism that is clouding the country’s future.
(Index on Censorship)
CANADA
Regina lawyer Tony Merchant sues CBC for libel
A Regina Senator, her prominent lawyer husband and the law firm that bears his name have launched a libel suit against the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (The Star Phoenix)
EGYPT
Tamarod movement to oust Morsi gains ground in Egypt
A campaign called ‘Tamarod’ has already gathered millions of signatures calling for the ousting of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. Shahira Amin reports on the growing discontent with the country’s first post-revolution president (Index on Censorship)
GREECE
An open letter to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso
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.(Index on Censorship)
MALAYSIA
Online censorship – gov’t shooting itself in the foot
When a line is crossed too often, there will come a time when it will cease to exist and it will become second nature for ‘trampling’ to take place. This is in light of Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek’s comments yesterday on the possibility of the government mimicking Singapore to regulate news portals. (MalaysiaKini)
TUNISIA
Femen protests: Tunisia expels three in Ukrainian feminist group
Three members of a radical Ukrainian feminist group have been expelled from Tunisia on suspicion of planning a topless protest in front of the court where their colleagues were being tried on charges of public indecency, the interior ministry said on Wednesday. (The Guardian)
TURKEY
Turkey protests: ‘Woman in red’ pepper sprayed by police becomes symbol of Istanbul’s Occupy Gezi unrest against Prime Minister Erdogan
Endlessly shared on social media the image of the woman in red has become the leitmotif for female protesters (The Independent)
Turks skip suspected censorship with Internet lifelines
Turks are turning to encryption software to thwart any ramp up in censorship of the Internet after six days of anti-government demonstrations and a wave of arrests reportedly for urging people to protest on social media sites.
(Reuters)
Turkey cracks down on Twitter users
About 25 Twitter users have been arrested in Turkey on charges of inciting demonstrations and spreading propaganda following days of at times violent protests against the government, CNN Turk reported Wednesday. (The Hindu)
UGANDA
Free speech groups protest violence against Ugandan journalists
Index on Censorship has joined Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda) in writing a letter of protest to the country’s president President Yoweri Museveni, after the network’s national coordinator, Geoffrey Wokulira Ssebaggala was attacked and arrested by police (Index on Censorship)
UNITED KINGDOM
Former Tory treasurer Peter Cruddas wins libel action over ‘cash for policy’ claims
Former Conservative Party co-treasurer Peter Cruddas has won his libel action over an allegation in the Sunday Times about charging £250,000 to meet David Cameron. (Evening Standard)
UNITED STATES
Verizon order: NSA collecting phone records of millions of Americans daily
Top secret court order requiring Verizon to hand over all call data shows scale of domestic surveillance under Obama.
(The Guardian)
Facebook ‘censorship’ of mastectomy photos angers breast cancer awareness advocates
Revealing photos of men and women displaying mastectomy scars are part of the healing and awareness-raising process for some breast cancer survivors, but the amount of skin on display sometimes triggers Facebook’s nudity censors. (NY Daily News)
Enemedia Watch: Look Who’s Supporting Free Speech Restrictions
Obama’s Department of Justice seeks to criminalize criticism of Islam — a declaration of war on the first amendment. (Jewish Press)
Senator Lindsey Graham tweets about bloggers and free speech
Senator Lindsey Graham seems to have backpedaled on previous statements that insinuated that bloggers may not have the same right to constitutionally protected free speech as journalists. On Wednesday, he tweeted ‘Just to be clear, every blogger is entitled to constitutionally-protected Freedom of Speech.’ (Examiner.com)
Campaign public financing takes away free speech
North Carolina can restore free speech in elections by completely eliminating taxpayer welfare for politicians – better known as public financing of campaigns. (The Fayetteville Observer)
5 Jun 2013 | Burma
Burma’s Muslim minority has come under increasing attack from Buddhist mobs. Tom Fawthrop reports from Meiktila and Yangon on the racism that is clouding the country’s future.
Twelve of the 13 mosques in Meiktila were damaged. (Photo: Tom Fawthrop for Index on Censorship)
The attacks on Muslims started over a year ago with a campaign against the stateless Rohingya, which Human Rights Watch as described as ethnic cleansing. In recent months, organized mob attacks on Muslim citizens have been inspired by the speeches of Ashin Wirathu, a Buddhist monk, who has toured the country preaching the dangers of Islam spreading and swallowing up Buddhism, and the 969 Buddhist Chauvinist campaign, which encourages shop owners not to serve Muslim customers.
The ideology of hate is driven by paranoid predictions of an Islamic takeover of Burma – despite the fact that only 4% of the country’s 60 million citizens are Muslim. The anti-Muslim campaign erupted as the country’s military government loosened restrictions on the press and speech as part of the transition to civilian rule. New media outlets have popped up and the country’s citizens have embraced social media.
TODAY ON INDEX
Tamarod movement to oust Morsi gains ground in Egypt |
Free expression in the news | Turkey losing its way on free speech
INDEX EVENTS
Caught in the web: how free are we online?
The internet: free open space, wild wild west, or totalitarian state? However you view the web, in today’s world it is bringing both opportunities and threats for free expression. 10 June. More information
The town of Meiktila was the scene of an attack on 21-24 March that claimed the lives of at least 44 people, according to official numbers, and up to 148, according to unverified reports. Armed with knives, swords and staves a Buddhist mob damaged over 1,250 homes and seriously damaged 12 out of 13 mosques. Burmese authorities claim that the violence displaced 12,846 people, of whom 8,441 remained in seven temporary camps in Meiktila as of April 9.
Hundreds of armed police were mobilised, but — far from protecting fleeing Muslims — they sided with the Buddhist mobs, according to a report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).
Bill Davis, former Burma project director for Physicians for Human Rights and Andrea Gittleman, senior legal advisor reported, “In Meiktila, investigators found that police were complicit in the violence against Muslims–they marched unarmed Muslims toward an armed civilian mob, then refused to protect them from beating, stoning, and murder; they did not help injured Muslims; and they failed to apprehend perpetrators. The police force’s actions in Meikhtila are in violation of the UN code of conduct for law enforcement officials, and the general lack of an effective response from the central government is a monumental failure to protect its citizens from organised and targeted violence.”
In the small town of Kyo Bin Kauk, about 120 kilometres north of Yangon, an Associated Press photographer was among a group surrounded by a gang engaged in destroying Muslim properties. Their lives were threatened and their photos were seized.
This spiralling tide of violence moves on from one district to another. On 28 May, anti-Muslim violence erupted in the town of Lashio, Shan State, with clashes continuing on Wednesday, according to a report.
Muslims all over Burma feel threatened. They worry about whether their community will be next.
“We can’t sleep at night. We worry all the time. The government does not protect us”, Zaw Myo Lwit, a Muslim teacher in Yangon, told Index. But he was adamant this is not a religious or a communal conflict.
“It is a political problem. Most Buddhist monks and monasteries have tried to protect us with sanctuary inside their temples. The problem is the government side and the order of make genocide against Muslims”.
Ashin Issariya, one of the monks who led the 2007 “Saffron revolution” observes that Buddhists and Muslims in Burma have lived together harmoniously, when they are not being manipulated by shadowy groups with military connections and racist social media websites. His network of 800 monks is trying to rebuild friendship and inter-faith understanding. His group is sending rice, clothes and other aid to camps housing displaced Muslims.
A month after the Meiktila rampage, Burmese President Then Sein was the recipient of “In Pursuit of Peace” award given by the International Crisis Group in New York on Monday in recognition of the democratic reforms and peace efforts. Thein Sein has called for “an end of communal violence” as if two equal parties were engaged in a bloody dispute.
4 Jun 2013 | In the News
INDEX REPORT
Taking the offensive – defending artistic freedom of expression in the UK
Report Contents: Summary | Introduction | What is artistic freedom of expression? | What are the limits to freedom of expression? | Institutional self-censorship | Reinforcing support for artistic freedom of expression | Conclusion | Appendix I: Audience Feedback and Statistics | Appendix II: Conference Programme | Appendix III: Cases of Censored Artwork | Artist Videos | Full report in PDF
INDEX EVENTS
10 June: Caught in the web: how free are we online?
The internet: free open space, wild wild west, or totalitarian state? However you view the web, in today’s world it is bringing both opportunities and threats for free expression.
22 June: Turkey vs the UK: what’s the score on free expression?
The Turkish Writers Football Club is coming to London to play the England Writers Team and the pressure is on. But it’s not just about sport. Index on Censorship is grabbing the chance to bring both sides together to debate the state of free expression in both countries.
GLOBAL
UN report calls for freedom of expression in post-2015 development
Calling for a transformation in the approach to global development that includes a larger role for freedom of expression, the United Nations’ High Level Panel of Eminent Persons released its Post-2015 Development Agenda report, Milana Knezevic writes. (Index on Censorship)
BAHRAIN
Bahrain court jails three protesters
A Bahrain court on Monday jailed three protesters for up to 15 years on charges including attempting to kill a policeman and taking part in anti-government demonstrations, a lawyer said. (AhramOnline)
CANADA
CJFE disturbed by arrest of Toronto Star reporter
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is concerned about the arrest and treatment of Toronto Star journalist Alex Consiglio, charged with trespassing for taking photos on June 2 of an injured GO Transit officer at Union Station in Toronto. (Press Release)
CHINA
7 things you can’t talk about in China
They’re like George Carlin’s seven dirty words, except it’s not the FCC who’s banning them, but the Communist Party of China. (Global Post)
JORDAN
Jordan blocks over 200 ‘unlicensed’ websites
The Jordanian government began blocking over 200 websites on Sunday for failing to obtain licenses under a strict set of new guidelines, Ruth Michaelson reports. (Index on Censorship)
MALAYSIA
‘Tanda Putera’: Let the public decide, say legal activists
Show the movie Tanda Putera and let the public decide – as to do otherwise would amount to stifling freedom of speech, say legal activists. (The Sun)
MIDDLE EAST
Freedom of Expression: The Second Arab Battle
Syria and the uprisings in Bahrain and other countries represent one of the two important battles underway in the Arab world, whose outcomes will largely determine the future shape of Arab political systems. The second battle is not about who rules in a country, but rather about the right of a citizen to express him or herself. (Cairo Review of Global Affairs)
RUSSIA
Shutting down Russia’s LGBT community
Elena Vlasenko reports on the continuing official campaign against lesbians and gays. (Index on Censorship)
SINGAPORE
Singapore’s new website licensing seen as censorship
The Government in Singapore has introduced new rules meaning popular news websites have to apply for a licence if they want to keep operating. (ABC/Radio Australia)
TAIWAN
Taiwan backs off plan to block sites violating copyright laws
Taiwan’s authorities in charge of intellectual property protection have decided to give up a plan to block overseas Internet services that violate copyright laws amid opposition to the plan from free-speech advocates.
(Focus Taiwan)
TUNISIA
In Tunisia, a free speech tussle could land a professor in jail
Last year a Tunisian academic complained that a member of the constitutional drafting committee had watered down free speech protections in the document. (Christian Science Monitor)
TURKEY
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 (Index on Censorship)
“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 (Index on Censorship)
Turkey protests: Union to start two-day strike
One of Turkey’s big trade union groups is staging a two-day strike to support continuing anti-government protests in a number of cities. (BBC News)
UKRAINE
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 (Index on Censorship)
UNITED STATES
AFDI to Protest Justice Department’s Attempt to Criminalize Criticism of Islam
The human rights organization American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) is holding a demonstration for free speech in Tennessee, at the site of a Justice Department initiative advising the application of civil rights laws to shut down criticism of Islam. (Press Release)
Christian Group Believes Atheists Have Right to Post Monument at Fla. Courthouse
A member of a Christian organization that posted a Decalogue outside a Florida courthouse said an atheist group posting a monument in the same location has the right to do so. (The Christian Post)
Terminated employee’s free speech case appealed to U.S. Supreme Court
An attorney monitoring a First Amendment case from Ohio being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court says it could set a precedent for religious freedom in the United States.
(One News Now)
The United States vs. Freedom of Speech
The criminalization of journalists in the United States is not a new occurrence, but the overt and veiled threats to reporters and their sources is becoming less of a rarity. (Huffington Post)
Pitching a Tent Is Free Speech, Says ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio has filed a lawsuit against the City of Columbus on behalf of the local Occupy Wall Street group. The complaint, filed on May 30 in U.S. District Court, claimed that placing a tent or other structure that “is not easily movable” in a public space qualifies as free speech protected by the First Amendment and the state constitution.
(National Review)
U.S. Attorney says Muslim tolerance event will discuss free speech rights
An event federal prosecutors and the FBI are planning Tuesday to discuss the enforcement of civil rights laws to protect Muslims will also focus on what kinds of speech are guaranteed by the First Amendment, U.S. Attorney Bill Killian said in a statement Monday.
(Politico)
The Distasteful Side of Social Media Puts Advertisers on Their Guard
As social media sites pursue advertising in a bid for new revenue, they are finding that they must simultaneously create a safe space for the advertisers they attract.
(The New York Times)
