Index on Censorship

Members of the band who have not yet been arrested are now in hiding, but they responded to interview questions by email.

The bill, which will curb aggressive libel lawsuits and protect free expression for journalists, writers and scientists, is the first wholesale attempt at reform since 1843.

The last year has seen tumultuous shifts for media freedom. But core problems still remain in the world’s troublespots, says Index on Censorship’s news editor, Padraig Reidy.

On 1 May, jailed journalist Eskinder Nega, facing the death penalty, receives in absentia the 2012 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. Thirty-two IFEX members are calling for his release, and an end to the use of national security legislation against all writers and journalists.

Hovhannes Ishkhanyan could be sentenced to up to two years in jail for his short stories about hazing rituals and abuse in the army.

The International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan is calling for an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into a brutal attack that left investigative journalist Idrak Abbasov in critical condition in hospital.

In advance of the Formula 1, 50 IFEX members and partners call for detained activists and human rights defenders to be freed, including blogger and activist Abduljalil Al-Singace and human rights activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, founder of IFEX member the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, who is ailing in prison since starting a hunger strike on 8 February.

Journalists routinely face harassment, intimidation and violence for pursuing stories that tackle everything from corruption to security concerns.