Friday, 25 September 2020

Academic freedom under severe threat in Hong Kong

A 12-year-old girl tackled by police and pinned to the ground, a media tycoon in handcuffs, dozens of activists in court – these have become the familiar images from Hong Kong since the passage of the national security law. But there’s another victim of the amplified censorship and persecution happening in the city – academia, writes Jemimah Steinfeld. Hong Kong’s classrooms and lecture theatres are increasingly at the receiving end of pressure to conform – or else. Read the full story here.

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Sir Harold Evans: a staunch advocate for free speech

The former Sunday Times editor, who died this week, was a fearless editor who challenged the establishment and stood up for victims. He was also a long-standing friend and supporter of Index, says our CEO Ruth Smeeth.

Read about Sir Harold's work with Index as both a patron and a contributor to the magazine and why he will be missed in Ruth's weekly blog for Index. Photo: David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0

In July, Index on Censorship held a virtual round table to discuss what measures can be taken to protect journalists in Europe against strategic lawsuits against public participation (Slapps). These are vexatious legal threats and actions taken out by powerful people and are intended not to succeed in court but to saddle critics with prohibitively expensive, time-consuming, and nerve-wracking legal processes.

Read our new report Breaking the Silence on how journalists might regain their voices.

Dissenters speak to a future age: the inspirational Ruth Bader Ginsburg

In her role as a Supreme Court Judge, the Notorious RBG's dissenting opinions (which opposed the majority views that gave rise to judgements) were legendary. The fact that dissents do not carry the weight of the law did not dissuade Ginsburg from putting forward extensive opinions on everything from women's rights to Donald Trump, writes Jessica Ní Mhainín. Image: DonkeyHotey

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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