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On the 19th anniversary of the crackdown on students and other peaceful pro-democracy protestors in Tiananmen Square, hundreds gathered to commemorate those who lost their lives on that tragic day. English PEN and other free expression advocates called for greater freedom of expression in China during a peaceful demonstration outside the Chinese Embassy in London on the evening of 4 June. (6-JUNE-08)
 

Sarwa Abdul Wahab Al Darwish was a 36-year-old Iraqi journalist from Mosul. On 4 May, Sarwa was in a taxi, returning from the market with her mother. The car was stopped and she was dragged out by two men attempting to kidnap her. Sarwa screamed and struggled against her would-be abductors. They shot her twice in the head and drove away. Her death is shocking for us who knew her. Tragically, this kind of thing happens to women all over Iraq on a daily basis. (16-MAY-08)
 

As World Press Freedom Day approaches, Burma’s military regime continues to crack down on dissent. On 10 May, it plans to push through a new constitution that will give the armed forces more power and secure the junta’s control over the media. The country’s brutal ruling military junta will stage the national referendum on 10 May to rubber stamp a Potemkin constitution that will give the armed forces a guaranteed 25 per cent of seats in the national assembly. (01-MAY-08)
 

Journalist Arat Dink was among those honoured at the 2008 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards on 21 April. The Awards honour people around the world who have made outstanding contributions to free expression. (23-APR-08)

ARTICLE 19 and the World Association of Community Broadcasters (AMARC) are among those condemning the murder of two community journalists in Mexico on 7 April. Teresa Bautisto Merion and Felicitas Martinez Sanchez are the latest victims of an ongoing campaign against journalists in the state of Oaxaca. (17-APR-08)

The imprisonment of journalist Bersihar Lubis, right, columnist with the leading Indonesian-language daily Koran Tempo , shows how colonial-era laws are being used to stifle historical debate in Indonesia. Lubis was sentenced to one month in prison for “insulting” state prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office (AGO). (05-MAR-08)
 

13 February, the UK´s Court of Appeal overturned the convictions of five young men charged under the Terrorism Act, signifying a change in how the courts deal with extremism. The main evidence against the five young men was the extremist material they had downloaded and shared on the Internet. They were prosecuted under Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000 for possessing articles for the purposes of terrorism. (19-FEB-08)
  

On 22 January, a young journalist was found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to death for downloading and distributing an article that insulted Islam. The upper House of Parliament issued a statement on 30 January backing the death sentence then withdrew it the following day. Will Islamic Republic of Afghanistan remain defiant in the glare of the world’s media? (01-FEB-08)
 

President Viktor Yushchenko is to campaign internationally for the Ukrainian famine that killed possibly as many as 10 million people in 1932-3 to be recognised by the United Nations as genocide. But the battle over the legacy of the event threatens to divide the country. (25-JAN-08)