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ARTICLE 19 and Privacy International (PI) welcome US President Barack
Obama’s announcement on 21 January, of new policies enhancing public access
to government information, in one of his first official actions as President. These
changes mark a significant departure from previous policies.

This month, while the Cuban government celebrates the 50th anniversary of its revolution, English PEN as part of its Writers in Prison Campaign, highlights the continued illegal imprisonment of Léster Luis Gonzélez Pentón, right. Six years after his arrest, the Cuban government continues to use arbitrary detention to threaten and stifle freedom of expression.

The murder of Anastasiya Barburova (right) and Stanislav Markelov is part of a brutal trend. Russians who stand up for human rights may pay with their lives.

News that six Gambian journalists have been jailed for two years for “ridiculing the head of state” signal that the country has become one of Africa’s worst abusers of press freedom. The convictions could effectively be the end of the country’s independent press.

Eliseo Barron Hernandez was the second journalist to be murdered in Mexico in the last month whilst others have faced daily harrasment and attack. In this atmosphere of fear and intimidation, the government is also using more subtle measures, making it increasingly difficult for independent media to operate.

The Burmese people are still experiencing the backlash from the Saffron Revolution, right, with more and more writers, satirists and dissidents being locked up. ARTICLE 19 and Index on Censorship are immensely saddened by the plummeting situation, and the continuing deterioration of human rights and freedom of expression in the country.

Speakers for the evening include former British ambassador to Uzbekistan and author Craig Murray, Alisher Ilkhamov of the Open Society Institute, and Ania Corless, a member of English PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee. Hamid Ismailov, the Head of the Central Asia and Caucasus service, BBC World Service, will act as Chair.

English PEN was delighted to learn that Uighur Honorary Member Nurmuhemmet Yasin is one of the five shortlisted entries for the inaugural ArtVenture Freedom to Create Imprisoned Artist Prize.

On Sunday 9 November 2008, London witnessed the biggest one-day gathering concerning Somali language and literature in Europe. Around one thousand people, predominantly Somalis, from different parts of Britain attended a unique daylong festival promoting Somali language literature books mostly published in Djibouti and the UK.