The rally of Belarusians on August 16, 2020, will forever be written into the modern history of Belarus. Hundreds of thousands gathered in central Minsk against fraudulent elections, lawlessness, and violence. We rose for freedom and democracy – and we continue that fight today.

The last piece of work I commissioned during my tenure at Commission for Countering Extremism explored how to balance counter extremism with defending free speech. Out now with contributions from Jacob Mchangama, Prof. Eric Heinze, author and academic Liam, Poppy Coburn, Martin Bright & many others. gov.uk/government/col…

Today in 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Poland, Bulgaria, & Hungary . The invasion stopped Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring liberalisation reforms. coldwarconversations.com/the-prague-spr…

The anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia reminds us that freedom is never given—it must be defended. We honor the heroes of 1968, including Belarusians who supported the Prague Spring, as we continue our own struggle for freedom and democracy in Belarus.

57 years ago, Soviet tanks crushed the Prague Spring. Yet Czechs & Slovaks reclaimed their freedom. Belarusians, too, will win our struggle. Freedom can be delayed, but not denied—because the will to be free lives within us all. Tyranny can slow history, but it cannot stop it.

Journalism lecturer Martin Bright of LiFTS_at_Essex has written about his work exposing Islamic extremism for a government-commissioned collection of essays exploring the delicate balance between countering extremism and defending free speech. brnw.ch/21wVmpl

The arrest of Graham Linehan over a series of posts on X has been a stark example of overpolicing what we say online in the UK. Index's Martin Bright writes about the episode: indexoncensorship.org/2025/09/the-ar…

Excellent work from Scott Nover on the “Margaux Blanchard” story. A warning here for all of us. washingtonpost.com/business/2025/…

Fantastic work on an extraordinary story

I first wrote about Omar al-Bayoumi and the Birmingham connection to the Pentagon bombers just after 9/11. Congratulations to Amardeep Bassey and the Sunday Times for the great scoop this weekend.

The Art Of Nonce. Mandelson must go. See my book Hunting Ghislaine.

The motivation of the man who shot Charlie Kirk isn't clear (although he's probably mentally unstable--duh). What is clear is it was another example of American gun violence.

After more than five years of unjust imprisonment in Belarus, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Ihar Losik has been released. “This phase of his [Ihar's] excruciating and wholly unfair ordeal, which stretched beyond five years, is finally over,” said Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President & CEO Steve Capus.

Politician Mikalai Statkevich, unjustly sentenced to 14 years, was released today in Belarus. At the Belarusian-Lithuanian border, he is refusing the regime’s attempt to deport him from his homeland. Even after 5 years in prison, he shows immense strength and courage. ⬇️

Finally free, brought to Lithuania. Freedom to all political prisoners in Belarus 🤍❤️🤍

Heartbreaking words of former political prisoner Larysa Shchyrakova, who served her entire sentence while her mother passed away & today Larysa was forcibly deported from #Belarus. This is the essence of Lukashenko's inhumane regime. There are thousands of such stories in Belarus

My dear dear friend Ihar Losik is finally free. His imprisonment in Belarus was full of horrors. Even while forcibly exiled into Lithuania, Lukashenka’s regime transported him with a bag on his head. Today, Ihar is sad that he can’t reunite with his family — they’re in Belarus.

We welcome news that Mikola Dziadok and Larysa Shchyrakova were released from prison in #Belarus yesterday. Dziadok was featured in our Letters from Lukashenka's Prisoners campaign and Shchyrakova wrote for our magazine. They should never have been arrested in the first place.