8 Dec 2009 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Iranian authorities have threatened tougher action on protesters after tens of thousands marched at universities across the country in the biggest anti-government rallies since the disputed June elections. Dozens of people are reported to have been arrested after violent confrontations. Foreign journalists were banned from reporting on the rallies, and the Iranian authorities closed down mobile phone networks and severely restricted internet access. According to The Times dozens of government agents on motorbikes have surrounded the Tehran office of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the opposition leader, to prevent him attending rallies and the country’s chief prosecutor is threatening to arrest him. Read more here
25 Nov 2009 | Uncategorized
How strange to come away from an inquiry into policing feeling impressed and even a little touched.
But the report, by Denis O’Connor, the chief inspector of constabulary, into the past, present and future of public order policing, is such an exceptional piece of work that it deserves all the plaudits it will surely get. O’Connor goes at his huge task with real vigour, attacking it enthusiastically from all sides, and never hesitating to criticise the police when he feels that officers have made mistakes.
O’Connor has a very clear vision of the police force he wants to lead; it is a modern police force, making use of modern tools, but still adhering closely to the original ideals of Robert Peel that policing should be “approachable, impartial, accountable… based on minimal force and anchored in public consent”.
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9 Oct 2009 | Uncategorized
On the morning of Monday 12 October, Index on Censorship will be teaming up with Policy Exchange and Google to discuss free expression and the Internet. Later that day, Liberty and Index on Censorship will stage Protest! an exciting event encouraging students to exercise their right to free speech, with special guest Sir Hugh Orde, head of the Association of Chief Police Officers
Why, people might sensibly ask, is Index on Censorship engaging with one of the world’s leading technology corporations and one of Britain’s top police chiefs? The answer is because we no longer see free expression only through the traditional prism of outright state censorship of or violence against writers and journalists.
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29 Sep 2009 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Dozens of protesters were shot dead in a crowded football stadium by Guinean security forces at a demonstration against the country’s military leader Captain Moussa “Dadis” Camara on 28 September. As many as 58 people had been brought in to the Conakry morgue on Monday, according to a doctor who wished to remain anonymous.
Read more here
