Friday, 21 May 2021

Yulia Tsvetkova's hunger strike: "I have reached a dead end"

Yulia Tsvetkova, who won Index on Censorship’s 2020 Freedom of Expression Award in the arts category, was charged with criminal distribution of pornography in June 2020 for having published body-positive drawings on a social media group she had called the “Vagina Monologues”. She is facing up to six years in prison.

While the trial is ongoing, she is forced to remain in her home city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia’s Far East and has been on hunger strike. Read about her struggle in this piece by Index's senior policy research and advocacy officer Jessica Ní Mhainín.

Stop holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of Israel

Photo: Ran ZIsovitch / Alamy Stock Photo

Claims of a Zionist conspiracy are not protected speech but a racist attack on all Jews, writes former Index editor Jo Glanville.

Our CEO Ruth Smeeth fundamentally disagrees with the efforts of British parliamentarian, Matthew Offord, to stop the broadcast of an episode of Desert Island Discs featuring the comedian Alexei Sayle. Read her latest blog here.

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Letter to Croatian government: Do not extradite whistleblower Jonathan Taylor

Index on Censorship has written a joint letter to the Croatian Minister of Justice about the case of Jonathan Taylor, a whistleblower who was witness to a crime and cooperated with law enforcement bodies in seven different jurisdictions. He has been in Croatia for nearly 10 months appealing against a request for extradition from Monaco and should be released immediately and returned to the UK. Read our letter here.

China's global brand: a century of silencing dissent

Index looks back on 100 years of the Chinese Communist Party and how their censorship continues to shape the lives of people around the world and threaten their right to free speech. Inside are articles by exiled writer Ma Jian, Clive Priddle on whether Simon and Schuster's decision not to publish Senator Josh Hawley's book is censorship and an exclusive short story from acclaimed writer Shalom Auslander.

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 to Index you help us to protect freedom of expression and to support those who are denied that right.