DIRTY, AWFUL, OBSCENE Forbidden books, censored folktales and reading freely

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Friday 19 July 2019

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DIRTY, AWFUL, OBSCENE

This week, Index's Jodie Ginsberg appeared on the British Library's Anything But Silent podcast to discuss forbidden books and the joys of being able to read whatever you want. Listen now

Ginsberg was also quoted in Matthew D'Ancona's Tortoise media piece arguing that free speech isn't just for right-wing, white men: "As Jodie Ginsberg, chief executive of Index on Censorship, told Tortoise in May: 'It is having a hugely damaging effect on freedom of expression because it sends the message that free speech is only for privileged white men, rather than a universal value that benefits all, and in particular minority and progressive groups.'

The point that both Ginsberg and D'Ancona are making: That free speech is for everyone, no matter what part of society they hail from is the subject of two forthcoming Index on Censorship projects in both the UK and US: Free Speech Is For Me will offer media training to individuals from diverse backgrounds interested in acting as advocates for the value of freedom of expression. (The projects will be formerly launched in the coming weeks.)

Writing in The Telegraph, Jodie Ginsberg schooled the Metropolitan Police on press freedom after comments by Neil Basu, a high-ranking officer, threatened journalists who publish leaked information.

"The Metropolitan Police’s Assistant Commissioner – who said on Friday that those who did so could face criminal charges – was wrong, not just because his comments risk deterring the media from publishing information that is in the public interest, but because the role of the police is to uphold the law. That includes those laws which protect free media. Seeing journalists only as troublemakers to be punished, rather than viewing media freedom as a right to be legally protected, is a threat to the public’s right to know."

Index on Censorship editor Rachael Jolley moderated a session on press freedom at the 1st Afghanistan-UK Media Conference: “Afghan Media for Democracy” held in London on Friday 12 July 2019.

Her panel included Afghan journalists Muslim Shirzad (Ammaj News) and Rafi Sediqi (Khurshid TV) plus Vahid Nick Pay, who is a fellow at the University of Oxford and is the author of a book called Republican Islam. The panelists discussed the challenges of reporting ahead of the upcoming Afghan elections, expected this autumn, as well as what the biggest challenges were for journalists working in Afghanistan in terms of fact checking and dissecting propaganda.

Jolley said: "It was particularly interesting for me to spend the day with journalists working in the challenging conditions of Afghanistan right now, and the session before mine which covered the particular obstacles women reporters face was really important. The discussions generally had plenty of challenge from the other journalists in the room and the debate was often very passionate."

A team from Index took part in #ORGcon19, a daylong conference exploring the implications for personal privacy unleashed by the spread of invasive technology. The keynote was given by Edward Snowden.

IN MEMORY

Judith Vidal-Hall, former editor of Index on Censorship magazine, remembers her friend and a former Index magazine editor Andrew Graham-Yooll

Just before he was about to return to Argentina for the first time since his escape from the military junta in 1976, Andrew gave me a bulky package, asking that I take care of it in his absence. It was 1983/84 and he did well to be cautious; he was badly beaten up as he prepared to testify to the ‘disappearances’ under the military.

On his return he opened the parcel – which I’d kept under my bed untouched – and showed me the documents inside. Long lists of names, dates, details he’d recorded between 1973 and his departure three years later. These were the ‘disappeared’, the only record at the time, meticulously recorded by Andrew and the reason for the junta’s attempt on his life shortly before his departure.

Also read
Andrew Graham-Yooll, the man who dared to report on Argentina's missing (BBC)
When plainclothes policemen came to the Buenos Aires Herald's office brandishing machine guns, the newspaper's staff knew they were coming. It was 22 October 1975 and the police were looking for the small Argentine newspaper's news editor, Andrew Graham-Yooll.

A JustGiving campaign has been set up to support Index by Andrew Graham-Yooll's family.
Andrew's daughter Ines wrote: "Dad felt passionately about the work undergone by Index on Censorship."

MAGAZINE

Law and the new world order

Index editor Rachael Jolley argues in the summer 2019 issue of Index on Censorship magazine that it is vital to defend the distance between a nation’s leaders and its judges and lawyers, but this gap being narrowed around the world

It all started with a conversation I had with a couple of journalists working in tough countries. We were talking about what kind of protection they still had, despite laws that could be used to crack down on their kind of journalism – journalism that is critical of governments.

They said: “When the independence of the justice system is gone then that is it. It’s all over.”

We need YOU to join the fight against censorship

Index is asking everyone to support our projects around the world. Become a member today.

MEMBER EVENT
Limited tickets available for Index members

Alexa, how sexist are you?

When: Monday 22 July, 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Where: The AllBright Mayfair, 24-26 Maddox Street, London, W1S 1QH United Kingdom
Tickets: Index members can email [email protected]

AI is an industry dominated by the male agenda, and the ever accommodating, servile Alexa is just one example of how women and minorities are perceived in this burgeoning tech sector. As the launch of 5G heralds a new age in AI, the online tech retailer Soda Says gathers together leading women to debate this thorny issue, including Tabitha Goldstaub, Director of CogX – the Festival of AIl Things AI and Jodie Ginsberg, Chief Executive of Index on Censorship, the non-profit that defends free expression worldwide. To attend this event as an Index member, join the 1972 Club as a Free Speech Champion.

EVENTS

At Latitude? / Join Index in the Faraway Forest
Forbidden, filthy and uncensored folktales

As dusk falls and the witching hour approaches, gather in the Faraway Forest for sordid, uncensored folk tales as you have never heard them before: Gryla the mountain-troll in Iceland who eats naughty children and killed her first husband, Rapunzel’s sordid late-night tumbles with her prince or Cinderella’s step-sisters chopping off their own toes. Folk stories from around the world have been censored and edited by collectors for years in a bid to remove “taboo” material

Full details

2-4 August / Index at the Cambridge Folk Festival
Folk tales for grown ups

Join Index on Censorship for a weekend of talks and performances in the Flower Garden at Cambridge Folk Festival (1-4 August 2019).

Full details

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.