Index on Censorship weekly round-up
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Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Photos by: Background (Congerdesign), Toomaj Salehi ([link removed]), Donald Trump (White House/Shealah Craighead), Evgenia Kara-Murza (Ben Dance/FCDO), Ali Khamenei (Khamenei.ir), Alaa Abd el-Fattah (handout), Bashar al-Assad (Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom / ABr), Afghan women (Tanweerinvestments), Vladimir Putin (kremlin.ru), Alexei Navalny (Michał Siergiejevicz), Sophia Huang Xueqin (Frontline Defenders), Benjamin Netanyahu (US DoD/Sgt Jack Sanders), Vladimir Kara-Murza (Jindřich Nosek)
Hello, readers. This will be our final newsletter before Index wraps up for the holiday season. It’s been quite the year for freedom of expression, and whilst it’s not easy to summarise in one email, we’ve had a go. We’ve seen severe violations by repressive governments – but we’ve also seen remarkable acts of defiance by political activists, journalists and protesters.
These acts of defiance leave room for hope. In Russia, the year started with the suspicious death of Alexei Navalny whilst in detention, arguably Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic (you can read an obituary ([link removed]) by journalist John Sweeney here). But it was then punctuated with the release of opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza in a prisoner swap in August, after relentless campaigning led by his wife, Evgenia, who we ultimately awarded in this year’s Freedom of Expression Awards ([link removed]) .
Another huge win for international protest was the release of Iranian political activist Toomaj Salehi ([link removed]) in December, following his death sentence being overturned in June. Of course, there are many activists who remain behind bars and Index will continue to campaign for their release. Dozens of pro-democracy campaigners in Hong Kong – the Hong Kong 47 – were given harsh prison sentences of between four and 10 years in November, whilst prominent Chinese #MeToo activist (and previous Index award winner ([link removed]) ) Sophia Huang Xueqin was sentenced to five years in June. British-Egyptian political activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah ([link removed]) was also denied freedom, even after serving his five-year jail term.
Throughout the year, we’ve seen media workers and independent reporting targeted in the most pernicious ways, including through targeted murder, particularly in war zones such as Gaza. Palestine has now become the most dangerous place to be a journalist, and you can read Al Jazeera English journalist Youmna El Sayed’s first-hand account ([link removed]) on the risks of covering the conflict here. Meanwhile, media workers in Sudan ([link removed]) face similar threats and persecution with seldom international attention, in what has been described as the “forgotten war”.
Alongside the brave pursuits of journalists, regular citizens have also stood up to their governments – with varying degrees of success. Alleged fraudulent elections in Georgia ([link removed]) , Mozambique ([link removed]) and Venezuela have caused the public to take to the streets in defiance of corruption. Whilst peaceful protests have resulted in violent crackdowns, there is cause for hope: a citizen-led democratic activism project in Venezuela was used to capture accurate voting tallies, and could prove to be a blueprint for fighting election fraud globally in the future, reported Martin Bright ([link removed]) . And who could forget South Korea’s “no worries if not!” moment – when president Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempt at enforcing martial law was shut
down within six hours thanks to mass assembly.
As we approach 2025, an uncertain future awaits. Repressive laws in Afghanistan have caused it to become the world’s most silenced nation, particularly for women, who under terrifying Taliban morality laws can no longer speak in public. Next year, will the international community stand up for women in the country and rally against what human rights groups are calling “gender apartheid”?
In the USA, a second Trump presidency could also bring with it a chilling impact on free expression, particularly for minority groups. You can read Emma Briant’s fascinating piece on the potential effect on university free thought in the “Land of Liberty” here ([link removed]) . Meanwhile, the overthrowing of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s ([link removed]) repressive regime means thousands of political dissidents have been liberated from the dictator’s inhumane prisons – but what could a future rebel-run regime really mean for the country’s freedoms?
We’ll be back in January. In the meantime, do make sure you read our latest magazine issue, Unsung Heroes: How musicians are raising their voices against oppression ([link removed]) . If you’d like to subscribe, we have a special offer running until 3 January – you can enjoy 30% off an annual digital subscription by using the discount code Winter24 at checkout here ([link removed]) , meaning it costs just £12.60.
Wishing you all a restful break, and hopefully a brighter 2025.
Sarah Dawood, editor
** Can academic freedom survive Donald Trump’s plans for thought control?
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Photo by Evan El-Amin / Alamy Stock Photo
In the name of “free speech”, Donald Trump has laid out an authoritarian plan for his new administration to radically defund and gag universities. Now with a Republican Congress, he might just achieve it all and that spells disaster for freedom of thought, critical inquiry and an informed citizenry in the USA.
The incoming president’s aim to punish so-called “woke” ideology has chilling implications for free speech globally, writes Emma Briant ([link removed]) .
Donate to Index on Censorship ([link removed])
** Pakistan faces increasing internet censorship
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Pakistan Army soldiers stand guard in Islamabad amid ongoing protests by supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, during which time internet services were shut down. Photo by Raja Imran Bahadar / Pacific Press Media Production Corp. / Alamy Live News
In the last week of November, Pakistan went into what was essentially an internet blackout. Social media apps like WhatsApp were inaccessible after the authorities blocked internet and mobile phone services. This was ahead of a planned march to Islamabad by supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), in protest of Khan’s imprisonment.
Read the full story here ([link removed]) .
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** Book censorship is rife on Amazon.com, according to a report from The Citizen Lab
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The Amazon campus in Silicon Valley, California. Photo by Michael Vi / Alamy Stock Photo
What do rainbow-coloured hair extensions, Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Gay Science and Sex Addiction: A Survival Guide have in common? They have all allegedly been swept up in broad censorship measures by retail giant Amazon, according to a new report by The Citizen Lab, an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the University of Toronto.
The Citizen Lab, which studies openness and transparency on the internet, analysed the US storefront Amazon.com to uncover restrictions on certain products being ordered from specific regions. They found that the most common product category that is restricted is books, often with themes of LGBTQ+ lives, the occult, erotica, Christianity or health and wellness.
Read the full story here ([link removed]) .
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Come and celebrate the launch of Index on Censorship’s latest magazine issue, Unsung Heroes ([link removed]) , with an evening of music and poetry on Wednesday 29 January at The Jago in London in solidarity with musicians around the world who are facing censorship, persecution and worse for their work.
** From the Index archives
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** A very high price
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** by Mona Seif
Winter 2022
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This week marks the third anniversary of the sentencing of British-Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd el-Fattah to five years in prison for allegedly spreading "false news undermining national security".
The activist's family expected Alaa to be released in September due to time served in pre-trial detention but it was not to be.
Alaa's sister Mona wrote about her brother ([link removed]) for Index back in 2022 (scroll to end of article).
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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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