Free Expression Digest: Wed., June 24
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PEN’s Free Expression Digest brings you the latest news and developments on censorship, mass surveillance, and other challenges to free expression worldwide. Subscribe to the Free Expression Digest to receive a daily curated email of the most important free expression-related stories from around the web. *This mailing list is currently in BETA. Daily emails will start once we reach a critical mass of subscribers. Please send your feedback to [email protected].
Blogger in Singapore faces financial ruin following defamation suit
The case was sparked by a blog post in which Roy Ngerng allegedly suggested Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had misappropriated funds in a state pension system. In November, the court ruled in favor of the prime minister. Past defamation rulings in favor of government officials have been highly punitive. COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS
How USA Freedom impacts ongoing NSA litigation
While USA Freedom will undoubtedly impact the court cases challenging the NSA’s mass surveillance, the full scope of this law and how the courts and even the government will interpret it remains unclear. ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION
Khadija Ismayilova: The making of an investigative reporter
Tracing Khadija Ismayilova’s long journey from a don’t-make-waves business reporter to a courageous investigative journalist who today sits in a Baku prison, facing an ever-evolving docket of charges. ORGANIZED CRIME AND CORRUPTION REPORTING PROJECT
New York reaches outline of settlement over Muslim surveillance
New York has reached the outline of a legal settlement with Muslim groups over police surveillance, a filing in the two-year-old lawsuit said.The suit in Brooklyn federal court alleged that the New York Police Department had trampled on religious liberties and constitutional guarantees of equality by monitoring Muslim communities. REUTERS
Al-Jazeera journalist accuses Germany of being manipulated by Egypt
Ahmed Mansour, who was released on Monday without charge, told a press conference on Tuesday he still had not been told why he ended up on a German police wanted list and why he was arrested while trying to leave the country on Saturday. THE GUARDIAN
Why people are willing to die for an idea?
People are capable sometimes of the strangest of transactions: they pay with their own lives for something as abstract and seemingly inconsequential as an idea. THE WASHINGTON POST
Armenian police target journalists in violent crackdown
Press freedom in Armenia has come under direct attack by police in Yerevan — with accredited journalists being beaten and detained, and their equipment destroyed. Authorities smashed phones, cameras, and video equipment of many journalists, even confiscating the memory cards of those who had filmed the heavy-handed police crackdown on protests. RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY
Council of Europe calls on U.S. to let Snowden have fair trial
The Council of Europe urged the United States on Tuesday to allow NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden to return home and make the case that his actions had positive effects, which is currently not a valid defense under the espionage act which he would likely be prosecuted under. THE INTERCEPT
Quebec leader defends limits on freedom of expression
Quebec’s premier said Tuesday that the government must “draw a line in the sand” on freedom of expression, as he defended legislation under consideration by provincial lawmakers that would restrict Islamic face coverings for women and hateful speech deemed to foment violence. THE NEW YORK TIMES