Constitutional amendment proposal for Indigenous Voice defeated in Australian Referendum
By Mike Head The scale and social content of last Saturday’s overwhelming rejection of the Australian Labor government’s referendum to entrench an indigenous advisory body called the Voice into the country’s constitution is becoming clearer. Overall, the referendum was defeated by about 61 percent to 39 percent, with postal votes still being
Arundhati Roy and Kashmiri activist targeted by Modi government for criminal prosecution over 2010 remarks
By Kranti Kumara India’s Narendra Modi-led, far-right government is targeting internationally acclaimed author Arundhati Roy and former Central University of Kashmir international law professor Sheikh Showkat Hussain for criminal prosecution for remarks that they made at a conference held 13 years ago. This flagrant attack on free speech is part of
Mauritius Supreme Court upholds LGBTQ rights, dignity, and sodomy laws unconstitutional
By Staff Writer In two landmark judgments, delivered on Wednesday (12), the Supreme Court of Mauritius has struck down the provision in the 1838 Criminal Code that criminalized consensual anal sex between men, rejecting the law as a discriminatory colonial relic. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), one case was brought by
Popular cartoonist Awantha Artigala and journalist activist Shantha Wijesooriya petition against the Online Safety Bill
By Staff Writer Renowned Cartoonist Awantha Artigala and senior journalist Shantha Wijesooriya today (12) filed a case (SD No. 91/2023) in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka challenging the "Online Safety Bill", one of the draconian law proposals of the President Ranil Wickremasinghe's government. Since October 03, when the Bill was placed
British government seeks to outlaw pro-Palestinian protests
By Thomas Scripps. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman are utilising Israel’s war on Gaza and the Palestinians to launch the gravest attack on free speech and the right to protest in post-war British history. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman are using Israel’s
The citizens’ Right to Lie: why (most) lies are protected speech?
By Angel Eduardo. Even with our current climate of fake news, misinformation, disinformation, and election lies, we shouldn’t use government power to try enforcing the truth. Lies are a problem. In fact, one can persuasively argue that lies are the problem. Few behaviors are as corrosive to our social fabric or as foundational to our societal
India’s Modi government uses “anti-terror” laws to persecute NewsClick Journalist and Staffer
By Kranti Kumara In a move befitting a fascist regime, India’s Narendra Modi-led government is wantonly trampling on basic democratic rights to intimidate and silence the left-wing news website NewsClick. Following police raids Tuesday on its offices and the homes of scores of people associated with the website, police have arrested
Journalists across Europe face legal threats, judicial harassment, and declining safety
By Dunja Mijatović Following speech was delivered by Dunja Mijatović, on behalf of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, at the Conference “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword? Meeting today’s challenges to freedom of expression and the safety of journalists”, organised under the Latvian presidency of the Committee
Judge bans Trump from posting statements about court staff in New York civil fraud trial
By Kevin Reed On the second day of the New York civil trial of Donald Trump, his two sons and the Trump Organization for committing business records fraud, Judge Arthur Engoron issued an order barring parties in the case from posting information online about his staff. Justice Engoron of the state Supreme
Spanish-Russian journalist Pablo González still in “Polish Guantanamo” 18 months after arrest
By Alice Summers A Polish court has extended for a further three months the imprisonment of Spanish-Russian journalist Pablo González, arrested in February 2022 on unsubstantiated charges of spying for Russia. This is the sixth time his “provisional detention” had been extended. González’s lawyers will be able to appeal the decision,