Index on Censorship weekly news round-up
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Friday, 05 May 2023
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The Royal Family has a carefully cultivated image that has been shaped by censorship. Photo: Handout
Dear [DEL: subjects :DEL] readers,
For those in the UK, the coronation of King Charles III is upon us. While we do not wish to dampen your spirits any more than the ghastly weather forecast we have some bad news - the British Royal Family censor too. Our winter magazine special ([link removed]) looked into just how much. Spoiler - a lot.
We spoke to a series of historians and journalists, people whose work was frustrated by royal top dogs being exempt from freedom of information requests as a result of changes to legislation in 2010. Today hundreds of files related to the Royal Family in the UK's National Archives are inaccessible. We also discovered that the desire to control information goes far beyond just the National Archives and indeed 2010. They have long shrouded themselves in secrecy. Princess Margaret burned rubbish bags of letters between Princess Diana and the Queen’s mother; Lord Louis Mountbatten went across Europe on “raiding parties” to retrieve sensitive royal documents.
Biased as I might be, the report is fascinating. If you haven't read it already do so now, here ([link removed]) .
Working at Index, where we hear daily about the worst human rights violations, we recognise that our historians don't face the sorts of challenges as say those in Russia, some of whom languish in jail because of their research. But struggles to access information on our Royal Family matter. Hence alongside the report we launched a campaign earlier this year to #EndRoyalSecrecy.
We also recognise that when it comes to protesting against our Royal Family the stakes are nowhere near as high as say Thailand, where Article 112 of Thailand's criminal code says anyone who "defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir-apparent or the regent" will be imprisoned for between three and 15 years. But we are nevertheless deeply concerned by parts of the 2023 Public Order Act, which came into force on Wednesday and which empower British police to take stronger action against peaceful protesters. While many will be spending tomorrow in a garden decked with bunting, some are heading down to London's Trafalgar Square to protest the coronation - as is every bit their right. The Metropolitan Police have already tweeted this though:
"Our tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low. We will deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining this celebration."
This is not the language of a robust democracy and it has done nothing to assuage our concerns about the new legislation.
We can't predict how the weekend will unfold. All we can say is we'll be watching any infringements to our free expression just as closely as the coronation.
Jemimah Steinfeld
Editor-in-chief
** Belarus grandmother given more jail time
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[link removed] Hnauk, a political prisoner from Belarus, was sentenced to another year in prison this week, apparently for disobedience. The 66-year-old grandmother was first sentenced to two years of home confinement for participating in the so-called “dancing protest” on 13 September 2020 in Brest. We published a letter ([link removed]) she wrote from prison, which serves as a powerful document of what life is like for Belarus' political prisoners and why a simple letter is so important.
** YouTube becomes site of choice for young Turks as election looms
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[link removed] in Turkey are heading to the polls in just over a week in one of the most fiercely contested elections in years. Given Erdogan's tight grip on the media, people are turning to alternative sources to get their information. Read more here ([link removed]) .
** Our next event, 30 May | Freedom of expression in Kuwait
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In 2013, Kuwait’s parliament authorised a law that made blasphemy a capital crime. Although this decision was successfully vetoed by the Emir of Kuwait, it highlighted the precarious sanctity of freedom of speech in a religiously conservative country. In An Unlasting Home, Mai Al-Nakib imagines an alternative reality where this law comes to pass.
Join Mai Al-Nakib in conversation with Index on Censorship’s Katie Dancey-Downs as she discusses her debut novel’s approach to censorship and blasphemy in the Middle East. Described by Ira Mathur as ‘an exquisite discourse on the nature of freedom’, An Unlasting Home is out now in paperback and published by Saqi Books. Book your free ticket ([link removed]) for this online event on 30 May here.
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** From the archive
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** Royally Silenced
Pavin Chachavalpongpun
Winter 2020
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When students campaigned against lèse-majesté laws in Thailand in 2020, a Thai exile and royal critic with a Facebook group of two million followers shared ([link removed]) his own story of being charged under the draconian law.
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Index on Censorship defends people's freedom to express themselves without fear of harm or persecution. We publish censored writers and artists, monitor and campaign against censorship, and encourage debate.
We rely on donations from readers and supporters. By donating ([link removed]) to Index you help us to protect freedom of expression and to support those who are denied that right.
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