Saturday, 28 June 2025
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** The fog of war lifts in Iran
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As I wrote the newsletter last week we were closely following events in Iran but didn’t have a full picture in terms of free speech ramifications, in part because of censorship itself – internet blackouts and media bans meant that information was slow to leave the country. One week on, it’s different. Many alarming stories have emerged.

The conflict between Israel and Iran was of course marked from the start by free speech violations – early on there was the bombing ([link removed]) of Iranian state television. Then later there were strikes on Tehran’s Evin Prison. While these acts may have been intended as symbolic blows against key institutions of Iranian repression, the consequences were grimly real: media workers killed, political prisoners endangered ([link removed]) . And in between? Lots of repression.

At Index, some developments were personal, including when our 2023 Arts Award winner – the rapper Toomaj Salehi – disappeared for three days. Beyond our immediate network, according to the Centre for Human Rights in Iran, more than 700 citizens have been arrested in the past 12 days, some for alleged “espionage” or “collaboration” with Israel. There have also been six executions on espionage charges carried out, with additional death sentences expected.

The Supreme Council of National Security announced ([link removed]) that any action deemed supportive of Israel would be met with the most severe penalty: death. The scope was broad, ranging from “legitimising the Zionist regime” to “spreading false information” or “sowing division”.

As mentioned above, Iran also began restricting internet access before shutting down access altogether ([link removed]) . Officials claimed the blackout was necessary to disrupt Israeli drone operations allegedly controlled through local SIM-based networks. The result: ordinary Iranians were cut off from vital news. International journalists from outfits like Deutsche Welle (DW) were banned ([link removed]) from reporting inside Iran. The family of a UK-based journalist with Iran International TV was even detained ([link removed]) in Tehran, in an attempt to force her resignation. Her father called her under duress, parroting instructions from security agents: “I’ve told you a thousand times to resign. What other consequences do you expect?”

Yet amid the bleakness, there have been a few positive instances. Iranian state media aired a patriotic song by Moein ([link removed]) , a pop icon long exiled in Los Angeles. Some billboards replaced ([link removed]) religious slogans with pre-Islamic imagery, such as the mythical figure Arash the Archer. There has also been an unexpected digital reprieve: on Wednesday, following the agreement of an Israel-Iran ceasefire deal brokered by the US administration the day before, Iranians reported unfiltered access ([link removed]) to Instagram and WhatsApp for the first time in two years.

Given everything else it feels unlikely that this openness will last. This week’s proposals by Iran’s judiciary officials to expand espionage laws ([link removed]) and increase the powers of Iran’s sprawling security apparatus imply as much, too. So while the world’s eyes might have moved away from Iran, our gaze is still there – documenting the free speech violations and campaigning for their end.

Jemimah Steinfeld

CEO, Index on Censorship


** More from Index
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From Kenya to Belarus: The week in free expression ([link removed])

A round-up of the key stories covering censorship and free expression from the past seven days ([link removed])

Death by a thousand cuts in Hong Kong ([link removed])

Five years since the National Security Law passed: how much has free expression deteriorated? ([link removed])

The gravest threat facing Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalists so far ([link removed])

Broadcasters at the US-funded radio station are becoming “double dissidents” ([link removed])

The world’s “coolest dictator” is ruthlessly opposed to free speech ([link removed])

Under Nayib Bukele, El Salvador has the highest global incarceration rate ([link removed])

Index and others call on Keir Starmer to meet son of Jimmy Lai ([link removed])

We call on the UK prime minister to meet the son of jailed Hong Kong publisher ([link removed])


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** Land of the free? Magazine launch and panel discussion
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Donald Trump’s campaign against free expression is sending shockwaves across the USA and beyond. What does this mean for democracy, independent journalism, and the right to speak out?

Join us on Tuesday 5 August at St. John’s Waterloo for the launch of our latest magazine issue, Land of the Free?
REGISTER ([link removed])


** From Kenya to Belarus: The week in free expression ([link removed])
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** >> HUNGARY: ([link removed]) LGBTQ+ march to go ahead in violation of police ban ([link removed])
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** >> KENYA: ([link removed]) Protests against government cruelty result in further loss of life ([link removed])
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** >> USA: ([link removed]) Pro-Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil released ([link removed])
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** >> AUSTRALIA: ([link removed]) Journalist wins court case after losing her job over Gaza repost ([link removed])
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** >> BELARUS: ([link removed]) 14 political prisoners freed from prison following US official visit ([link removed])
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** >> UKRAINE: ([link removed]) Journalist killed in war awarded the Orwell prize ([link removed])
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** Flashback
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Ahead of Budapest Pride tomorrow: The EU is losing patience with Hungary ([link removed])

by Sarah Dawood ([link removed])

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has warned anyone going to the now-banned Budapest Pride tomorrow will face “legal consequences.” ([link removed]) In March, his government passed new legislation banning LGBTQ+ marches.

This week, we look back at an article by our editor, Sarah Dawood, which asked how long EU nations will allow Orbán’s impunity to continue. Read the story here. ([link removed])


** Support our work
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The world is becoming more authoritarian and our work calling out human rights abuses and promoting freedom of expression in countries such as Iran, Kenya and Belarus has never been more important.

By supporting Index on Censorship today, you can help us in our work with censored artists, jailed musicians, journalists under threat and dissidents facing torture or worse.

Please donate today ([link removed])

Photos by: (Bombed-out building, Tehran ) ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo; (Demonstrators against Orban) Valentina Stefanelli /LaPresse / Alamy Stock Photo

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