Index has today called for the British government to deliver on its promise of real libel reform. Here Daisy Williams lists five cases demonstrate how libel law can stifle debate, curtail criticism and even endanger lives (more…)
The government of Azerbaijan, led by autocratic President Ilham Aliyev, thought the Eurovision Song Contest was the perfect opportunity to airbrush the country’s poor human rights record. Yet even after spending an estimated $750 million on Eurovision, thanks to Index on Censorship and its partners in the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan (IPGA), the message got out that free speech is not protected in Aliyev’s Azerbaijan.
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The landslide winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, Sweden’s Loreen, has thwarted Azerbaijan’s attempts to use the competition to whitewash its record on free speech.
Prior to the competition, the Euphoria singer had met Azerbaijani activists, and was quoted as saying: “Human rights are violated in Azerbaijan every day. One should not be silent about such things.”
On the night of the Eurovision final, there was huge support for Index’s petition on Azerbaijan with tweets from Stephen Fry, Graham Linehan, Owen Jones and Caitlin Moran and political support from Lord Ken MacDonald QC, Icelandic MP Birgitta Jonsdottir and MEPs Edward McMillan-Scott, Richard Howitt, Nessa Childers and David Martin.
The petition is just short of 4000 signatures – if you haven’t signed it – please sign now: Azerbaijanpetition.org
As Belarus’s Central Bank devalues the ruble, the European Union has expanded sanctions and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) invokes human rights mechanism. Mike Harris reports
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