British whistleblower held overnight in Croatian psychiatric hospital

A British oil industry whistleblower was detained this week by armed police in Zagreb (pictured above) and held overnight against his will in a psychiatric hospital after British diplomats raised concerns about his mental health.

Jonathan Taylor has been stranded in Croatia since July last year, when he was arrested while entering the country for a holiday with his family. The authorities in Monaco, where he worked for oil company SBM Offshore, have accused him of extortion and requested his extradition to the Principality. He is awaiting a decision from the Croatian Supreme Court. Read the shocking story here.

100 days in prison in Belarus: MP calls for Andrei Aliaksandrau's release

This week, Index’s friend and former colleague, Andrei Aliaksandrau, spent his 100^th day in detention in Belarus. He is accused of paying the fines of hundreds of protesters who were detained between August and November 2020, using funds sent to him by the London-based BY help fund. As we renew our calls for his immediate and unconditional release, we are joined by Christine Jardine MP who becomes his honorary godparent as an expression of her solidarity.

The right to speak out depends on the
right to breathe

"George Floyd’s heinous murder permanently changed the world. It reinvigorated a demand for equality, it made the current civil rights movement a global phenomenon and it reminded us all of why our own voices become so much more powerful when they are one of many. George Floyd’s murder demanded change from every one of us, at an institutional level, at a human level. Change that we must strive together to deliver."

The death of the man that spawned the Black Lives Matter protests serves as a constant reminder of the ultimate right to free expression, says our CEO Ruth Smeeth in her latest blog.

Ten years on: Celebrating the legacy of
photojournalist Tim Hetherington

On 20 April 2011, Tim Hetherington was killed by shrapnel from a mortar blast in Misrata, Libya. Hetherington was a prominent photojournalist whose work was acclaimed by his peers. He was once described as one of ‘brightest photojournalists of his generation’ and his work included co-producing the Oscar-nominated Restrepo, a 2010 documentary film about US soldiers in the war in Afghanistan. His legacy lives on through his work and through an eponymous fellowship with Index on Censorship.

Read how he is being remembered in this article from current Tim Hetherington fellow Benjamin Lynch.