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Four months ago, a reporter for the weekly Uralskaya Nedelya was attempted murder victim. This week another opposition journalist suffered attempt on his life in the Kazakh capital Astana. The situation in the country is worrying as dissident journalists can expect censorship, arrest, intimidation and attacks.

Illegal, inhuman and impervious to recession, there is one trade that continues to thrive, just out of sight. The international sex trade criss-crosses the entire globe, a sinister network made up of criminal masterminds, local handlers, blind politicians, eager consumers and countless women and children.

A year ago Belarusian human rights defender Ales Bialiatski, chairman of the Minsk-based “Viasna” human rights center and the vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), was jailed on politically motivated charges. Belarusian and international NGOs demand to release him immediately and unconditionally, and to drop all charges against him.

This week the UK‘s high court overturned the conviction of Paul Chambers saying that his Tweet in 2010, in which he jokingly threatened to blow up Nottingham’s airport, was not a “menacing communication”. Article 19 intervened in the case arguing that criminalising jokes online is a violation of the right to freedom of expression.

A young Belarusian journalist has been arrested and detained – for publishing photographs of teddy bears. The bears were dropped over Belarus on 4 July by a Swedish advertising agency designed to promote free expression. The Belarusian government denies the flight.

In the aftermath of the Eurovision Song Contest, the Azerbaijani authorities have targeted critical journalists and activists.

Russia’s Parliament has recently passed a number of new bills aiming to restrict freedom of action of civil society and to silence critical voices. Last week the Russian State Duma adopted a new law which limits freedom of information on the Internet.

English PEN has announced the winner of 2012 Pen Pinter Prize. The fourth recipient of the award poet Carol Ann Duffy is rewarded for outstanding contribution to literature and her commentary on contemporary events.

English PEN will present the annual PEN Ackerley Prize for memoir.