United Kingdom - Alerts
Paul Chambers' conviction was quashed following a Divisional Court ruling that a Tweet in which Chambers jokingly threatened to blow up an airport was not objectively "menacing".
The rights group says that free expression protects jokes, even bad ones, and that Paul Chambers' Twitter joke about blowing up the Liverpool airport shouldn't result in a criminal conviction.
First academy on media law in South East Europe to kick off in Zagreb
Universal Periodic Review: Challenge UK to end arbitrary use of defamation
UK: Government promises defamation reform but backslides on expression and
*REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS / REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES
The Coalition Agreement that formed the current government clearly stated that IMP-style mass surveillance of the British public was unacceptable, but now the old policy seems to have risen from the grave as the innocuously-named Communications Capabilities Development Programme.
The Metropolitan Police are considering invoking the Official Secrets Acts to force journalists to reveal their sources.
The 30-day ban applies to any organisation planning to march in the boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Newham, Waltham Forest, Islington and the City.
The provision of personal data to the police sets a disturbing precedent in a western country and could have significant consequences in terms of setting an example for other governments, says RSF.
Trust in journalism cannot survive unless illegal practices involving corruption and violation of people's privacy are stamped out for good, says IFJ.
The review, chaired by the most senior civil law judge in the UK, provides new procedures on how to balance open justice and the right to privacy.
"This interference with Australian broadcasting sends the wrong message to many countries where the right to caricature is constantly denied," RSF said.
ARTICLE 19 welcomes the coalition government's programme to restore civil liberties, including free expression and the right to information.
Britain's ITV News criticised the police's handling of an investigation into the murder of a landscape architect whose body was found on the outskirts of Bristol in December 2010.
The hosting company for the Fitwatch website was contacted by a police inspector who demanded that the site be taken down.
Claudia Julieta Duque has been hounded by her country's intelligence services for years.
At the same time, Freedom House urged England and other countries with weak libel protections to reform their laws and prevent "libel tourism" lawsuits.
The new government has published its "Programme for Government" plan, which includes commitments to a number of reforms that will impact on freedom of expression and freedom of information.
Decision "sets an important precedent for open justice," says ARTICLE 19.
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