China: Censors close whistle blowing site

A website allowing Chinese citizens to blow the whistle on official bribery, www.ibribery.com, has been shut down. Site creator Chen Hong copied the idea from Indian site ipaidabribe.com. Censors blocked access to Hong’s site after it received 200, 000 unique visitors in just two weeks. The 28 year old PR consultant then closed the site, fearing repercussions from the authorities. Several other bribery sites, which appeared soon after Hong’s, have also been shut down.

Uzbekistan: Libel trial raises questions over EU conduct

Recent developments in a libel trial involving Uzebkistan’s first family have raised concerns about the EU’s involvement with the Karimov family. The claim was brought by President Karimov’s daughter, Lola, against French website Rue89 after one reporter branded her father a “dictator”. Documents produced in court last week, which were originally intended to establish the credibility of the family, have raised questions about why the EU was communicating with Lola Karimov-Tillyaeva about the allocation of $3.7m worth of charitable funding.