Museums and Missiles: Russia’s Attack on Ukrainian Heritage Highlights the Need to Protect Cultural Rights
Since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022, they have bombed, defaced, and looted sites of cultural significance to the Ukrainian people. UNESCO recently confirmed that 295 sites have been...
Democratic Descent in Niger: From Hope to Uncertainty
In the first peaceful democratic transition of power since the independence of Niger, Mohammed Bazoum was elected President by constitutional elections in 2021. Just two years later he was overthrown...
Holding Social Media Companies Accountable for Hate Speech in Times of Conflict and War: An Urgent Necessity
Imagine a world where the Nazis didn’t have a powerful propaganda tool like the newspaper Der Stürmer. Could the Nazis have perpetrated large-scale genocide without the help of media fuelling...
Religious Freedom versus Free Speech: Sweden’s Legal Tightrope
The United Nations Human Rights Council has passed a resolution aimed at combating religious hatred and blasphemy in Sweden following two distressing incidents in which the Qur’an, the holy text...
Protecting the Free Speech of Companies? The US Supreme Court decision in 303 Creative LLC v Elenis
In 303 Creative LLC et al. v Elenis, the US Supreme Court held that the petitioners were entitled to refuse to provide wedding website services in respect of same sex...
Sri Lankan High Court Delivers a Landmark Order as a Bulwark for Freedom of Expression
Within Sri Lanka, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) enabling legislation – the ICCPR Act No. 56 of 2007 – has only ever been used to persecute,...
Worrying Recommendations on Reform of Sedition Law from the Law Commission of India
Sedition, or inciting disaffection towards the incumbent Government, is prohibited in India. In particular, it is a criminal offence to ‘bring or attempt to bring into hatred or contempt, or...
India’s Regulatory Response to Online Misinformation Arguably Violates International Human Rights Law
Amid vehement opposition from media organisations, and following a flawed public consultation process, on April 6, 2023, India’s federal IT ministry amended Rule 3(1)(b)(v) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines...
لاہور ہائی کورٹ نے برطانوی نوآبادیاتی دور کے غداری کے قانون کو کالعدم قرار دے دیا
30 مارچ 2023 کو لاہور ہائی کورٹ کے جسٹس شاہد کریم نے ہارون فاروق بمقابلہ فیڈریشن آف پاکستان کیس کا تاریخی فیصلہ سنایا۔ اس فیصلے میں کہا گیا کہ پاکستان...
Lahore High Court Strikes Down Pakistan’s Colonial-era Sedition Law
On March 30 2023, Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court (LHC) delivered a landmark judgment in Haroon Farooq v Federation of Pakistan. This judgement held that the sedition...
The Coronation, the Public Order Act 2023 and ‘Free Speech’
In recent years, a lot has been written about ‘the right to protest’ and ‘the right to free speech’ in the UK. Yet neither phrase appears in the latest Public...
Make-Believe: Indictment of Two Activists Reveals the Truth About Freedom of Expression in Indonesia
On 3 April 2023, the trial of two Indonesian activists, accused of defamation by the Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs, began. The defendants, Fatia Maulidiyanti, Coordinator of the Commission...
