Category: freedom of expression

Extremist Measures: The UK Government Further Obstructs the Right to Protest – Oxford Human Rights Hub

Posted April 11th, 2024 in demonstrations, freedom of expression, news, public order by sally

‘On March 1, UK Prime Minister Sunak delivered a divisive impromptu speech, much of which was spent demonising groups calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. He claimed that protests have been hijacked by Islamist extremists using “vile, antisemitic tropes” – a reference to the ambiguous phrase “from the river to the sea”– to create an unsafe and hateful atmosphere within the country. This rhetoric accompanies a sweeping government redefinition of extremism, which observers fear will be used to arbitrarily quash lawful dissent.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 9th April 2024

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

CPS says it was wrong to pursue case against press photographer – The Guardian

Posted April 10th, 2024 in assault, Crown Prosecution Service, emergency services, freedom of expression, media, news, photography, police by sally

‘The Crown Prosecution Service has admitted it was wrong to press on with a case against a news photographer arrested as he tried to lawfully take pictures at a crime scene.’

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The Guardian, 9th April 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

New UK laws to curb ‘disruptive protests’ come into force – The Independent

Posted April 5th, 2024 in bills, criminal justice, demonstrations, freedom of expression, government departments, news, public order by michael

‘New public order powers to prevent “disruptive” protests in the UK will come into force from Friday [5th April].’

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The Independent, 5th April 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

BSB will not investigate barrister over misgendering trans lawyers – Legal Futures

Posted April 2nd, 2024 in barristers, freedom of expression, human rights, judges, news, transgender persons by tracey

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has decided not to investigate a gender-critical barrister who was accused of being transphobic by misgendering two trans lawyers.’

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Legal Futures, 2nd April 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Julian Assange faces further wait over extradition ruling – BBC News

Posted March 28th, 2024 in appeals, death penalty, extradition, freedom of expression, news by tracey

‘The US must assure Julian Assange has freedom of speech protections and will not receive the death penalty before he is extradited, judges have ruled. The UK High Court said the Wikileaks founder could be allowed to launch a new appeal against being sent to the US without those commitments.’

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BBC News, 27th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Former CPS chief says clampdown on protests risks creating ‘thought crimes’ – The Guardian

Posted March 25th, 2024 in Crown Prosecution Service, demonstrations, freedom of expression, government departments, human rights, news by tracey

‘The former director of public prosecutions for England and Wales has warned against the risk of creating “thought crimes” amid the recent clampdown on protesters and demonisation of demonstrators by politicians.’

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The Guardian, 24th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Discrimination, belief and the “fundamental party rights”: the judgment in Ali v Green Party of England and Wales – Cloisters

Posted March 20th, 2024 in chambers articles, county courts, employment, employment tribunals, equality, freedom of expression, gender, human rights, news, police by sally

‘The County Court has given judgment in Ali v Green Party of England and Wales [Central London County Court, 9 February 2024]. For the first time, the court had to consider the interaction between the Equality Act 2010 association provisions, the protected characteristic of belief, and the rights of political parties and their members under the European Convention on Human Rights. The decision will be of great interest to political parties and campaigners of all kinds.’

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Cloisters, 9th February 2024

Source: www.cloisters.com

How has UK extremism definition changed and why is it attracting criticism? – The Guardian

Posted March 15th, 2024 in freedom of expression, government departments, news, proscribed organisations, terrorism by sally

‘The communities secretary, Michael Gove, has laid out a new definition of extremism. Here the Guardian examines what has changed and why, and the reason it is attracting criticism.’

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The Guardian, 14th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

A heckler’s veto on Christian street preaching in the UK – Law & Religion UK

Posted March 1st, 2024 in Christianity, freedom of expression, news, police, religious discrimination by sally

‘In Britain, there have been a number of incidents in which Christians have been prevented from preaching in public spaces by the police. For example, the recent incident of Pastor Dwayne Lopez in Uxbridge garnered much media attention. Pastor Lopez was asked to stop preaching by several Metropolitan Police officers because it had been reported by an individual that they found him to be offensive.’

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Law & Religion UK, 29th February 2024

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Lawyers question effectiveness of new anti-SLAPPs law – Legal Futures

Posted February 26th, 2024 in bills, costs, defamation, freedom of expression, news by tracey

‘The government last week backed a private member’s bill aimed at extending the new law on SLAPPs beyond economic crime to all types of litigation.’

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Legal Futures, 26th February 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Ofcom rejects Brewdog complaint over BBC documentary – BBC News

Posted February 20th, 2024 in BBC, complaints, freedom of expression, media, news, privacy, public interest by tracey

‘A complaint by Brewdog about a BBC documentary that highlighted allegations of inappropriate behaviour against the beer giant’s chief executive has been rejected by Ofcom.’

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BBC News, 19th February 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Julian Assange to find out next week if he can appeal against extradition to US – The Guardian

Posted February 19th, 2024 in appeals, confidentiality, extradition, freedom of expression, news, spying, whistleblowers by tracey

‘In a matter of days Julian Assange will find out if he has exhausted all potential challenges through the British courts to being extradited to the US, where he could spend the rest of his life in prison. The two-day hearing is scheduled to take place in London on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, as he seeks leave to appeal against his extradition for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents.’

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The Guardian, 16th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office plans new protest offences and anti-Zionism is a protected belief – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 14th, 2024 in bills, criminal justice, demonstrations, employment, employment tribunals, equality, freedom of expression, government departments, human rights, international law, Israel, news, public order, unfair dismissal, universities, war by sally

‘The Home Office has announced its intention to create new offences relating to actions taken by attendees at protests. The plans include making it an offence to possess flares or pyrotechnics at a protest, to wear a face covering at a protest, and to climb on war memorials. The changes will be added as amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill. The Home Office has emphasised that the new rules are not a blanket ban on face coverings, and only apply where the protester’s intention is to conceal their identity.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 12th February 2024

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Shahrar Ali wins ‘gender critical’ court battle against Green Party – BBC News

Posted February 9th, 2024 in damages, employment, equality, freedom of expression, gender, news, political opinion discrimination, political parties, unfair dismissal by michael

‘The Green Party discriminated against former deputy leader Dr Shahrar Ali during a row over his gender critical beliefs, a court has ruled.’

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BBC News, 9th February 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Freedom of expression and offensive political Emails: an important assertion of a fundamental right – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 8th, 2024 in electronic mail, freedom of expression, malicious communications, news by tracey

‘In a significant ruling, the Court of Appeal has quashed the conviction of the appellant for an offence contrary to Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 based on an email written to local councillors in a political dispute. In R v Casserly [2024] EWCA Crim 25, The Court gave guidance on – and placed emphasis on the importance of – directing juries on the right to free speech under Article 10 ECHR. The appeal considered the interaction between s 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and Article 10.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 8th February 2024

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

DPP appeals to supreme court in case of protesters who called MP ‘Tory scum’ – The Guardian

Posted February 1st, 2024 in Crown Prosecution Service, freedom of expression, judicial review, news, political parties, prosecutions, threatening behaviour by sally

‘The director of public prosecutions is appealing to the supreme court in an ongoing and expensive battle to overturn the acquittal of two protesters found to have acted reasonably in calling Iain Duncan Smith “Tory scum”.’

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The Guardian, 31st January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Financial Sanction and Free Speech in the High Court – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 26th, 2024 in Administrative Court, freedom of expression, human rights, media, news, Russia, sanctions, Ukraine, war by sally

‘Graham Phillips, the Claimant, is a British national and video blogger who posts content from the Donbass dressed in Russian military fatigues. He says he is a journalist who provides a “counterbalance” to widespread western misunderstanding of the true situation in Ukraine but the Administrative Court disagrees. On 12 January 2024, it handed down judgment in R (Phillips) v Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs [2024] EWHC 32 (Admin), in which it upheld the Government’s view that the Claimant is a propagandist for Russia who is lawfully subject to a sanctions regime which allows the state to freeze his assets.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 25th January 2024

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

UN expert condemns UK crackdown on environmental protest – The Guardian

Posted January 24th, 2024 in climate change, demonstrations, environmental health, environmental protection, freedom of expression, juries, news, United Nations by sally

‘A severe crackdown on environmental protest in Britain with “draconian” new laws, excessive restrictions on courtroom evidence and the use of civil injunctions is having a chilling impact on fundamental freedoms, the United Nations special rapporteur has said.’

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The Guardian, 23rd January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Social worker wins discrimination case over gender critical beliefs – The Guardian

Posted January 10th, 2024 in compensation, employment, equality, freedom of expression, gender, local government, news, social services by sally

‘A social worker who was suspended after sharing gender critical beliefs online has won her claim against her employer for discrimination.’

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The Guardian, 9th January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Students can make provocative remarks if they do not break law, watchdog says – The Guardian

Posted December 14th, 2023 in freedom of expression, harassment, inciting racial hatred, inciting religious hatred, news, universities by sally

‘University staff and students can make provocative statements on subjects such as Israel and Gaza as long as they do not break laws on incitement or harassment, under proposals by the government’s campus free speech tsar.’

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The Guardian, 14th December 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com