Free Speech
Bundestag Fines AfD MP €1,000 for Quoting Colleague's Own Words
The Bundestag fined AfD MP Martin Reichardt €1,000 on October 15, 2026, for using an anatomical term that Die Linke MP Kathrin Gebel had introduced to the chamber seven months earlier without any disciplinary consequence.
Police Watchdog Orders Met to Reopen Linehan Arrest After £25,000 Payout
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has ordered Scotland Yard to reinvestigate whether Graham Linehan's September 2025 arrest at Heathrow was discriminatory. The Met had already paid £25,000 in compensation and issued two apologies, but no officers faced any disciplinary action.
175 Executions This Year: Saudi Court Sentences Sri Lankan, 24, to Death for Facebook Post
A Saudi appeals court sentenced Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker, to death on September 17 for a Facebook comment insulting the Prophet Muhammad that he deleted and apologised for. Saudi Arabia had already executed at least 175 people in 2026 as of October 5, according to Amnesty International.
Five Charges for Silent Prayer: Isabel Vaughan-Spruce Before Birmingham Court
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, 49, faces five criminal charges for silently praying within the 150-metre buffer zone around a Birmingham abortion clinic on five separate days across a six-month period. She is the first person charged under buffer-zone legislation that came into force in October 2024.
Four Years for €37: Moscow Jails Yabloko Member for Navalny Donation
A Moscow court sentenced 60-year-old Yabloko member Elena Perepelitsa to four years in a penal colony for seven donations totalling €37 to Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, the longest known real custodial sentence imposed on a woman for this offence.
Five Official Posts Found: Dutch PM Told Parliament No AI Was Used
Prime Minister Rob Jetten told parliament on September 29 that no AI was used on his official accounts. De Volkskrant then identified five AI-generated posts on those same accounts, directly contradicting his written answer.
Four Officers, One Post: 15-Year-Old Arrested Over a 'Rent Boy' Facebook Comment
Four West Midlands Police officers arrested 15-year-old Reform UK activist Fraser in August 2026 over Facebook posts mocking a Conservative councillor's dress. More than two months on, no charge has been filed, while the Free Speech Union prepares a wrongful arrest lawsuit.
All Four Grandparents Born in Britain: Polanski's Nazi-Flight Story Unravels
Birth records show all four of Green Party co-leader Zack Polanski's grandparents were born in northern England, the youngest in 1934, contradicting his repeated public claim that his family fled Nazi persecution.
62,199 arrested for speech offences: Britain's five-year record
British police arrested 62,199 people for speech offences between 2021 and 2025, according to Freedom of Information data compiled by Big Brother Watch. Fewer than one in five of those arrested was ultimately convicted.