Index on Censorship weekly round-up
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Friday, 01 November 2024
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London, UK, 26 October 2021. Richard Ratcliffe embarks on a hunger strike outside the Foreign Office in aid of his Free Nazanin campaign. Photo by Jessica Girvan / Alamy Live News
Hello, readers. This week, the news in the UK has been dominated by the Budget, alongside anticipation of next week’s USA presidential election. Whilst a lot of media attention has been focused on the Chancellor’s number crunching, the Prime Minister also started the week with a proclamation of the importance of press freedom.
Writing for The Guardian on Monday ([link removed]) , in an article coinciding with the News Media Association’s week-long Journalism Matters campaign ([link removed]) , Keir Starmer vowed to protect journalism, the “lifeblood of our democracy”, and stressed the vital role of the media in holding politicians such as himself to account. “And yet this is not a given. All around the world, journalists put themselves at risk in defence of those values,” he wrote, paying tribute to press who have been killed or detained whilst operating in war zones and under authoritarian regimes.
It’s heartening to see this strong defence of free speech from the Prime Minister. But around the world, we are still seeing activists become prisoners of conscience for simply speaking their mind, some of whom have British citizenship.
This week marked the two-year anniversary of the arrest of Toomaj Salehi, an Iranian rapper who refused to stop singing his political protest songs criticising his government's policies. He was sentenced to death on 24 April 2024, and while this has thankfully been overturned, he remains behind bars. This week, his cousin Arezou Eghbali wrote a piece for Index ([link removed]) , calling on the international community to demand his release.
Perhaps one of the most high-profile cases of unjust imprisonment overseas is that of British-Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Spending nearly six years in detention in Iran, her situation was made worse by false comments made by former foreign secretary Boris Johnson about the purpose of her visit to Iran. You can read an article from Zaghari-Ratcliffe below ([link removed]) , where she calls for the release of Salehi.
Then there is Alaa Abd el-Fattah ([link removed]) , an Egyptian-British software developer and pro-democracy political activist, who was due to be released following a five-year prison sentence in Egypt on 29 September, yet remains behind bars. His family have spoken out about the lack of government support he has received, and his mother is currently on hunger strike. “I’m keeping it up until Alaa is free or I’m taken to hospital in a terrible state,” she told the BBC last week ([link removed]) .
When he was shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy criticised the Conservatives and called for “serious diplomatic consequences” if Abd el-Fattah was not granted a consular visit and ultimately freed - but since becoming Foreign Secretary, he has not raised the case publicly. A Foreign Office spokesperson told the BBC that the government is prioritising his release: “We continue to raise his case at the highest levels of the Egyptian government.”
Another British citizen who remains behind bars is Jimmy Lai - a Hong Kong political figure and activist, who was arrested in 2020 for fraud and involvement in pro-democracy protests. Whilst Starmer has said ([link removed]) that securing his release is a “priority”, Lai’s lawyer has criticised past and current governments, and says that David Lammy has failed to meet with herself or Lai's son to discuss the matter. She says that David Cameron is the only foreign secretary of the past five to meet with Lai’s legal team. “This is a disappointing and flawed approach that stymies crucial efforts to free Jimmy Lai and fundamentally undermines the government’s official position that he must be released,” she told the BBC.
As we mark two years since Toomaj Salehi’s arrest, we reflect on all the political prisoners globally who have been punished for challenging their governments or speaking out against injustice. In doing so, we return to Starmer’s optimistic statement about championing free speech and ensuring politicians are held to account. Let us hope his new government uses this rhetoric and its diplomatic power to fight for its citizens around the world.
Sarah Dawood, Editor
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** "My cousin remains behind bars"
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A Free Toomaj Salehi protest. Photo by Joe Flood / Flickr
“Toomaj has always been outspoken, never backing down from telling the truth. While many Iranian artists use metaphors to cloak their criticism, Toomaj’s music speaks plainly and directly.”
Two years after Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi was arrested for the second time, he remains behind bars. His cousin, Arezou Eghbali, writes for Index ([link removed] ) about the experience of campaigning for a loved one’s release, and why the world must not remain silent.
** The music of Toomaj Salehi
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Protestors in the streets of Paris show solidarity with the Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi. Photo by MAXPPP / Alamy Stock Photo / Alamy Live News
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a former hostage in Iran and author of the forthcoming book A Yard of Sky: A Story of Love, Resistance and Hope, introduces an English translation of Toomaj Salehi’s song Normal ([link removed]) .
If you haven’t listened to Toomaj’s music before, consider this your invitation.
** Press freedom in peril
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Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Photo by MetmetQ / Alamy Stock Photo
Index recently joined a fact-finding mission in Georgia to gather information about the country’s implementation of its freedom of expression and media freedom commitments. The results were stark. We found a deterioration of press freedom, rising polarisation and a climate of fear. Along with other human rights and media freedom organisations, we have published a detailed report of our findings ([link removed]) .
** Inconvenient Truths
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The latest issue of Index has now landed with subscribers. In the autumn 2024 issue, we dig into how scientists are being silenced around the world, exploring the science in China that is served with a side of propaganda, the deadly world of scientific censorship in Iran and the pathologists in Uganda being stopped from uncovering the truth behind mysterious deaths.
We hear from Murong Xuecun, Marina Litvinenko and Boris Akunin, amongst many other important voices.
If you want the next issue of Index on Censorship through your letterbox, subscribe to our magazine today ([link removed]) .
** From the Index archives
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** Turkey's newfound Russophilia
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** by Kaya Genç
July 2022
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Turkey is the latest country to announce plans for a foreign agent law, a common chapter in the authoritarian playbook and synonymous with — but by no means unique to — Russia. A coalition of civil society groups has called for a rejection of Turkey’s proposed law, which they say will restrict freedom of expression through broad definitions. We look back on contributing editor Kaya Genç’s exploration of Russia’s influence in Turkey, written only months after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. From Volume 51, Issue 2. Read it here. ([link removed])
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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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