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Amnesty International said it deeply regrets the choice of Swiss voters on Sunday to introduce a ban on the construction of minarets into the constitution. The ban, which takes immediate effect, violates the freedom of religion of Muslims living in the country.

Attack on the headquarters of The Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights was conducted following the NGO’s report on torture in Yemeni prisons. The chairperson of the Forum, Ms. Amal Al-Basha, has been terrorized by spraying a liquid in her face and subjected to serious threat as recently the security system for the rear brakes of her car was willfully damaged.

The “Kurdish question” requires debate, but it is almost impossibe to discuss it openly. Media have been allowed to use Kurdish language but still forbidden to
discuss Kurdish issues freely, says Reporters Without Borders.

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is seriously concerned for the health of two detained writers in Vietnam, Tran Khai Thanh Thuy and Nguyen Van Ly. International PEN seeks immediate assurances of their well being, urges that they be given full access to all necessary medical care and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of writers on humanitarian grounds.

Film screening followed by panel discussion chaired by Malu Halasa, with anthropologist and filmmaker Ziba Mir-Hosseini and
filmmaker and editor Simon Ardizzone.

OSCE media freedom watchdog Miklos Haraszti welcomes United Kingdom’s decriminalisation of defamation, urges other states to follow. ‘This is a crucial achievement not only for the country’s own freedom of speech, but a great encouragement to many other nations,’ Haraszti said.

As Index on Censorship and English Pen launch “Free Speech is Not For Sale”, a damning report on English libel laws, John Kampfner highlights the pressing need for reform: “London is the global centre of libel tourism. From Middle Eastern potentates to Russian oligarchs, the rich and powerful use our legal system to bully people.”

ARTICLE 19 calls on the Mexican authorities to fully and immediately investigate the killing of journalist José Bladimir Antuna García, in the state capital of Durango in northern Mexico. So far, nine journalists have been killed in Mexico this year, while eight remain missing and hundreds more have suffered threats or aggressions.

43-year-old scion of a wealthy, politically influential family and a long-time oppositional figure in the republic of Ingushetia, was recently killed when his car was strafed with gunfire, as he drove along a federal highway, adding another name to the list of activists, who have been killed lately in the Northern Caucasus.