Index on Censorship weekly round-up

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Friday, 05 January 2024
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Photo: Bruno Cervera/Unsplash

There’s nothing funny about the world of free expression. Or so you might think. To interrupt our regular doom-and-gloom programming, here at Index we’re kicking off the New Year by immersing ourselves in the stand-up comedy scene. And we’re not talking about the side of Ricky Gervais that you may or may not have had with your Brussels sprouts over the festive period.

Over the last couple of weeks, comedy has been at the centre of debate in India, after an opposition MP mocked the vice president with an impersonation — which did not go down well. During the same time period, the latest issue of Index ([link removed]) has been zooming to subscribers (if you’re not one already, we’ve got a great idea for your New Year’s resolution ([link removed]) ), complete with our special report, Having the last laugh: the comedians who won’t be silenced. South Asia contributing editor Salil Tripathi asked the same questions about India’s ability to laugh that people are asking now, exploring a landscape where comedians are showing jokes to their lawyers before they tell them. “There are two Indias — the one that used to know how to laugh, and the one that now knows only how to growl,” he writes.

India is not alone. Kaya Genç writes about a comedian locked up in Turkey for cracking a joke. Unsurprisingly, Afghanistan’s Taliban is missing a funny bone. And the less said about the state of comedy in Russia, the better. Here in the UK, comedian Rosie Holt talks about the impact of legal threats on stand up, and how fellow comedian Louise Reay had to pre-submit her Edinburgh show to lawyers.

Holt somehow achieved the impossible — she made the Index team laugh about SLAPPs. And legal threats really aren’t very funny. So it was only fitting that we invite her to help us launch the winter issue. And what better way to launch a magazine about comedy than with — well, comedy. Holt, famed for her viral videos satirising the UK’s political landscape (“She’s almost like a parody of a Tory MP,” quips one eagle-eyed X/Twitter user), will be joining our line up at the Having the Last Laugh Comedy Show ([link removed]) at The Book Club on 24 January.

Also on the billing is the award-winning Ahir Shah, known for his takedowns of modern Britain and razor-sharp wit, along with newcomer Sharon Wanjohi, who is not afraid to shock. “My name is Sharon, because of colonisation,” she starts one show. Our fourth act is British-Pakistani comedian and cricket commentator (presumably a redundant skill on this occasion) Aatif Nawaz, who’s known for creating and starring in the BBC Three sketch show Muzlamic. And fresh from organising a festival in Ukraine telling Putin to “fuck off”, friend of Index John Sweeney is stepping into the spotlight to host.

Comedy has a lot of power. It holds authority to account, and it makes people think about difficult topics in new ways. Rosie Holt writes in her magazine piece: “All the best comedy is either unfiltered or appears unfiltered. That’s why those in power fear it so much.” With that in mind, we cordially invite you to join ([link removed]) an evening of unfiltered comedy that champions free expression. Unless you’re “those in power,” in which case, we invite you to be afraid.

Katie Dancey-Downs, assistant editor


** Chinese election interference tests Taiwan’s capability to defend freedom of speech
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Photos: Shufu Liu / Office of the President; Yu-Cheng Hsiao; Edithobayaa1; Chickenonline / Etereuti; GDJ

As Taiwan gears up for the presidential and legislative election on 13 January, the Chinese government is also ramping up its efforts to interfere, writes William Yang ([link removed]) . From sponsored trips to China for local leaders, economic coercion, fake opinion polls, and disinformation campaigns, some analysts say the wide-ranging tactics that Beijing has unleashed will have an impact on the election’s outcome.


** Jimmy Lai’s “co-conspirators” speak out after being named in Hong Kong trial
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Jimmy Lai at the appeal court in 2020 after allegedly breaching Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law, for which he is now on trial. Photo: Studio Incendo

The desperation with which the Hong Kong authorities and, by extension, the Chinese Communist Party are trying to stifle criticism has reached new levels this week, with fresh developments in the trial of Hong Kong-British businessman and publisher Jimmy Lai, writes Mark Stimpson ([link removed]) . The prosecution presented a list of people they termed as Lai’s co-conspirators, including Bill Browder, founder of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, and Benedict Rogers, founder of Hong Kong Watch.


** 2024, the year that four billion go the polls
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Tusk's election victory offers cautious hope to Poland's oppressed groups. Photo: Arno Mikkor (EU2017EE) (CC BY 2.0).

The rallying cry for 2024 must be: “Your freedom needs you!” If you are one of the four billion remember that your ballot is the shield against would-be despots and tyrants. It is the ultimate democratic duty and responsibility and the consequences go far beyond your immediate neighbourhood – so use it and use it wisely, writes our CEO Ruth Anderson ([link removed]) .


** Win one of our exclusive prizes with our
Moments of Freedom campaign
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A copy of Ramita Navai's amazing book City of Lies about life under the Iranian regime is just one of the many exclusive prizes on offer for those taking part in our year-end competition. Help us choose the most inspiring moment of freedom from the past 12 months and be in with a chance of winning this prize, with a personal dedication from Ramita. Vote now here ([link removed]) .


** From the Index archives
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** Two years after the ban
by Julian Petley
October 1990
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The Australian journalist John Pilger died earlier this week ([link removed]) at the age of 84. His investigative work into Cambodia, the drug thalidomide and the treatment of indigenous Australians was inspiring to many young journalists. He was also a vocal critic of US and UK foreign policy and some argued that he had become an apologist for some of the world's worst rulers. In this 1990 article ([link removed]) , Julian Petley talks about the censorship of Pilger's nuclear propaganda documentary The Truth Game.

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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.

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