Friday, 11 March 2022

Does Russia's war have popular support? Navalny says not

Some 14,000 people, including children, have been detained for protesting the war. Putin's pollsters say Russians support it, writes Mark Frary

"My heart is with the people of Ukraine"

"I feel shell-shocked, unable to turn off the news, unable to look away from the devastation being wrought by the Russian military on innocent civilians. Of course, we only know what is happening in Ukraine because we are lucky enough to have independent journalism and media plurality. And as much as I keep holding onto that – it’s the images of the shelled hospital in Mariupol, the pregnant women stumbling from the wreckage, the children sobbing as they looked for help, that I cannot move on from." Read the latest weekly blog post from our CEO Ruth Smeeth.

Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/PA Images

Lament for Hong Kong

China's President Jiang Zemin with The HM Queen Elizabeth II, during his 1999 state visit to Britain. Photo: Tony Harris/PA Archive/PA Images

Watching the crushing of Hong Kong’s media is heartbreaking and confirms the dictum that censorship inevitably degenerates into absurdity and corruption, writes David McNeill. He says things are far different from when Jiang Zemin visited the UK in 1999.

Join Index at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival

Index is once again partnering with the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. It takes place from 17-25 March and screenings will be both digital and in-person – at the Barbican in London.

In partnership with the festival, we are partnering on the screenings of the following films relating to freedom of expression: Myanmar Diaries, Eternal Spring and Boycott.

Support Index on Censorship's ongoing work

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.