Cathal Sheerin

A woman dressed as the French Republic national symbol 'La Marianne' walks on the Champs Elysee during a yellow vest protest, in Paris, France, 29 December 2018, Bruno Thevenin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

7,000 social media users taken into custody in Turkey in 2018, an IFEX member on hunger strike and the Yellow Vests

A roundup of key free expression news in Europe and Central Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

Dawit Isaak and the failure of silent diplomacy: In conversation with Björn Tunbäck

Björn Tunbäck of Reporters Without Borders (Sweden) and Swedish PEN has been involved in the campaign for journalist Dawit Isak’s release from the start. He told Cathal Sheerin about the campaign in Sweden and what states and intergovernmental organisations could be doing, but aren’t.

A demonstrator holds a photo of anti-corruption activist Kateryna Handziuk, a candle and a placard reading in Ukrainian "Who are the Murderers of Katia Handziuk?" during a rally outside the Interior Ministry in Kyiv, 4 November 2018, Danil Shamkin / Barcroft Media via Getty Images

65% of Turks fear sharing political views online, France bans ‘fake’ news, Ukraine imposes martial law

A roundup of key free expression news in Europe and Central Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

Two men hold pictures of murdered Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova (C) and murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya (L), during a vigil in Sofia, Bulgaria, 8 October 2018, NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP/Getty Images

Nudes, blasphemy and a hunger strike

A roundup of key free expression news in Europe and Central Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

A Russian police officer apprehends a youth during a protest rally against planned increases to the nationwide pension age in Saint Petersburg, 9 September 2018, OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP/Getty Images

The purple bra, the mad printer and the dictator’s honour

A roundup of key free expression news in Europe and Central Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

A portrait of Taner Kılıç, chair of Amnesty Turkey, is hung in front of a historic stock market building, in Paris, France, 6 June 2018; Kılıç was released on 15 August, FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images

Daphne’s birthday, a reporter found dead and the menstruation activists

A roundup of key free expression news in Europe and Central Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

A woman holds a portrait of slain Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya during a rally marking the 10th anniversary of her murder in Moscow, 7 October 2016, NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/Getty Images

Europe: Murder in Nizhny Novgorod – and has Turkey’s state of emergency really ended?

A roundup of key free expression news in Europe and Central Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

Protesters against internet censorship, wearing computers as helmets, are seen outside the Hanover Congress Centrum in Hanover, Germany, 15 March 2015, Alexander Koerner/Getty Images

Is the censorship machine coming? Plus good LGBTQI+ news in Poland

A roundup of key free expression news in Europe and Central Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

Police officers detain an opposition supporter attempting to stage a protest rally in Almaty, Kazakhstan, 23 June 2018, REUTERS/Mariya Gordeyeva

Video: Mass arrests carried out to pre-empt protest in Kazakhstan

On 23 June at least eight journalists were targeted and detained in a round of mass arrests ahead of a planned protest in the city of Almaty. This disturbing video shows people being grabbed off the streets by uniformed, often balaclava-wearing security agents.

Uzbek journalist Bobomurod Abdullayev (C), who was allowed to leave police custody, poses for a picture with relatives and supporters in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 7 May 2018, REUTERS/Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov

Resistance and defiance: Free expression in Europe and Central Asia in May

A roundup of key free expression news in Europe and Central Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

A Bulgarian media freedom group holds an action in solidarity with media professionals detained in Turkey demanding their immediate release, in Sofia, Bulgaria, 22 March 2018, DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images

Mass jailings and parallels in impunity: Europe and Central Asia in March

A roundup of key free expression news in Europe and Central Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

An inscription reading 'Denizfree' is seen at the headquarters of German newspaper "Die Welt" in Berlin, on 16 February 2018, after Turkey released German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel from prison, STEFANIE LOOS/AFP/Getty Images

Snap elections, SLAPP sentences and a Holocaust law

A roundup of key free expression news in Europe and Central Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

Sara Whyatt, (c) Stephen Brayne

Sara Whyatt on artistic freedom and re/shaping cultural policies

Freedom of artistic expression is increasingly treated as not simply ‘a nice thing to have’ – but as a fundamental right. Sara Whyatt spoke with Cathal Sheerin about how she became involved in artistic expression, her work on the report, and what inspires her to continue to defend this right.

A group of activists gather outside the Caglayan courthouse in Istanbul, Turkey on 31 January 2018, calling for the release of Taner Kılıç as the trial of eleven human rights activists resumed, YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images

Free Expression in Europe and Central Asia at the start of 2018

A roundup of key free expression news in Europe and Central Asia, based on IFEX member reports.

Peter Caruana Galizia, husband of Daphne Caruana Galizia, attends a ceremony at a press conference room named in honour of the slain journalist, in Strasbourg, France, 14 November 2017, Elyxandro Cegarra/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Free expression in Europe and Central Asia at the end of 2017

A roundup of key free expression news in Europe and Central Asia, based on IFEX member reports.