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Azerbaijan media print falsified version of Khadija Ismayilova’s appeal from jail *PEN case list
Ismayilova, published a letter in The New York Times on June 11 to mark the opening in Baku of the first-ever European Games. Two days later, state news media in Azerbaijan were distributing what purported to be the same letter in both comically broken English and Azeri, even mimicking the same headline of the original. RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY

Fears of new crackdown as China holds two former members of rights group
Two former members of a prominent Chinese human rights group have been detained, fuelling fears that the country’s crackdown on civil society has entered a new phase of repression that will see NGOs face increasing pressure. THE GUARDIAN

France moves to censor Google worldwide
France’s privacy watchdog on Friday called on Google to apply a European data protection ruling to its global domains or face financial penalties. The move relates to a decree from Europe’s top court last year that allowed anyone with connections to the region to request that links about themselves be removed from search engine results. THE NEW YORK TIMES

Israeli artists protest against government censorship
More than 2,000 Israeli artists have signed a petition warning against what they call anti-democratic measures being taken by the government against freedom of expression. THE GUARDIAN

Media freedom advocate Emin Huseynov flees Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani journalist Emin Huseynov was flown into exile in Switzerland on June 12, a few hours after the opening ceremony of the European Games in Azerbaijan. Fearing imminent arrest during the country’s crackdown on rights groups and the press, Huseynov, the director of media freedom group Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety, went into hiding. COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS

Chinese hackers circumvent popular web privacy tools
Chinese hackers have found a way around widely used privacy technology to target the creators and readers of web content that state censors have deemed hostile, according to new research. THE NEW YORK TIMES

Canada arrests Somali for alleged role in journalist kidnap
Canadian police have arrested a Somali national for what they say was his role in the 2008 hostage-taking in Somalia of two freelance journalists, Canadian Amanda Lindhout and Australian Nigel Brennan. REUTERS

EU agrees to privacy laws that could see new centralized privacy regulations
The changes would allow for a pan-European framework for privacy and the handling of European citizens’ data, instead of the current scenario where data privacy is regulated by watchdogs in the country of operation within Europe. THE GUARDIAN