Monday, 12 May 2025
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Dear friends,

This is Jemimah Steinfeld, the CEO of Index on Censorship ([link removed]) . I’ve worked here for more than eight years, and I can tell you without hesitation: this is the most unsettling moment I’ve lived through in the fight for free speech.

I often say, somewhat grimly, that we’re the gravediggers in the famine – busier than ever, for all the worst reasons. But this isn’t just a metaphor. Every day, people are punished, silenced and even killed simply for speaking the truth.

Just in the past few months, we’ve reported on:
* A Belarus artist who died ([link removed]) [link removed] years into his prison term, cause “unknown”
* A singer in Iran who was lashed 74 times ([link removed]) because of his lyrics
* A Ugandan blogger who's in prison ([link removed]) for satirising the president online
* The women hiding in their homes ([link removed]) throughout Afghanistan following laws that ban them from speaking in public
* Venezuela’s opposition, also in hiding ([link removed]) , and a British school teacher ([link removed]) too

But here’s the part I want you to hold on to: Index is fighting back. And we’re making a real difference.

We’re supporting exiled journalists, writers, artists and scholars, publishing stories that no one else is paying attention to (or in some instances won't touch) and pushing campaigns that have freed prisoners and changed laws. While we're a small team we’re strategic, relentless and loud in the places that need it most. Spozhmai Maani, an Afghan journalist we support, told us: “Index on Censorship helped me when it seemed impossible to return to journalism after fleeing Afghanistan. Their support gave me stability, helped me secure asylum, and gave me my voice back.”

Stories like hers are what keep us going. Still, we can't do it alone. We need your help.

If just 100 people gave £10 a month, it would cover our core legal costs. A £250 donation pays for a story from a Kashmiri journalist, keeping media freedom alive in one of the most heavily censored regions on Earth.

Whether you can give £10 or £10,000, your donation will have direct impact.

👉 Please give today here ([link removed])

Together, we can make sure someone is always watching, always reporting, always speaking out. We may be the gravediggers in the famine. We are also the witnesses, the resistors, and above all, the fighters.

Please stand with us.

With hope and determination,
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