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As long as rights abuses continue in Tunisia, freedom of expression experts will continue to question the credibility of the UN World Summit on the Information Society if it is held there as planned this year. The free expression community is increasingly concerned about the country´s record on free speech, and worries that the Tunisian government is seeking to stifle dissent on the eve of the WSIS, scheduled to take place in Tunis, 16-18 November 2005. (30-SEPT-05) 
 

On 9 September, representatives from the international human rights community came together to issue a joint press statement, expressing their concern for the treatment of independent journalists, political activists, and human rights defenders in the Republic of Azerbaijan. They also called for free and fair elections, due to take place on 6 November. (23-SEPT-05)
 

ARTICLE 19, the Global Campaign for Free Expression, is inviting appplications for a one¨Cweek intensive training course on theoretical and practical aspects of promoting freedom of expression and freedom of information in the South Caucasus. The course, developed in conjunction with journalists, freedom of information centers, and human rights organisations from the region, will take place in Kyiv from 22 to 27 November 2005. (16-SEPT-05)
 

ARTICLE 19 has issued a public statement in the wake of the London bombings. The free expression organization has voiced concerns about how proposed security measures will affect fundamental freedoms. (30-AUG-05)

A Scots local newspaper editor is facing charges of incitement to racial hatred after he published an editorial opposing a proposed refugee centre in the north-east of Scotland. Index on Censorship reports (22-AUG-05).
 

The British government is proposing powerful new controls on freedom of expression as part of its current strategy to ward off fresh terror attacks on the country — including charging the worst offenders with treason and rewriting British human rights laws to make it all possible. Index on Censorship’s Rohan Jayasekera reports. (09-AUG-05)
 

By passing an act to outlaw incitement to religious hatred, the British government will create a quasi-legal forum for extremists ready to use one law while breaking others – to silence critics of their faith and punish apostates. Index on Censorship’s Rohan Jayasekera comments (22-JULY-05).

When one of China’s Internet users logs on to Google, everything appears normal. But websites without the government’s blessing – including the BBC, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Amnesty International – will not be found. And Chinese citizens won’t know the difference. While other states that censor the Internet do so blatantly, the Chinese operate in a more clandestine manner. Wendy Ginsberg reports for Index on Censorship (08-JULY-05)
 

A gathering of experts and international NGOs in Amsterdam has concluded with a joint  declaration on the main issues facing countries seeking to regulate online activity– including enforced regulation and filtering. Index on Censorship reports. (28-JUN-05)