The latest on threats to freedom of expression around the world

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Friday, 10 February 2023
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More than 20,000 have died in the destruction following earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Photo: Hilmi Hacaloğlu/VOA

At first glance, natural disasters might not seem like freedom of expression territory. But after the huge and devastating loss of life following earthquakes in Turkey and Syria this week, there is also cause for concern in the free speech world. As is Index tradition, we start our newsletter with plenty of doom and even more gloom.

Following Monday’s earthquakes, criticism was levelled against the Turkish government, largely for their response to the disaster. Turkey’s relationship with the free press is rocky, to say the least. Just pick up the latest copy of Index ([link removed]) and revisit Kaya Genç’s feature, The Truth is in the Telling ([link removed]) , to refresh your mind on how the Turkish government has weaponised information over the years. Subscribe to the magazine, and we promise more on this theme next issue. With this in mind, the government’s reaction to the criticism wasn’t entirely surprising.

Firstly, it brought in the Disinformation Notification Service, an app where people are encouraged to report “fake news” found on social media. Reports have emerged throughout the week of journalists, academics and social media users being detained and arrested if they post criticism online. In response to this accusation, president Recep Erdogan’s special adviser Ilnur Cevik told the BBC on Wednesday: “I haven’t heard of anything like that.”

And then, following the declaration of a three-month state of emergency - which must not last longer than absolutely necessary says our CEO Ruth Anderson ([link removed]) - came the 12-hour Twitter restriction. To find out what exactly happened and why it was such a cause for concern, we spoke to Alp Toker ([link removed]) , founder and director of Netblocks - the successor to Turkey Blocks, which won the digital activism prize at Index’s Freedom of Expression Awards in 2017.

“This was targeted censorship of Twitter,” Toker told us, describing how people impacted by the earthquake in the very worst ways were left unconnected for hours. He said it was an “absolute reminder that freedom of expression, the right to impart knowledge, is more vital than ever in a crisis and must not be curtailed.”

While most eyes are rightly on Turkey and Syria, the focus has slipped further from Afghanistan. We, however, refuse to blink. This week, an Afghan journalist who escaped the Taliban only to face further persecution in Pakistan, showed in heartbreaking detail ([link removed]) why the UK government must do more.

“I have gone through hell,” she told Index. “I am asking for assistance in relocating to any safe country where I could continue my journalism safely, complete my education and work to support myself and my family.”

This is not the only communication like this we have had (they regularly appear in our inbox) and yet few Afghan journalists have been welcomed to the safety of Britain, despite government promises to help them escape the Taliban.

We’re also not forgetting about Jina Amini. To the world, the woman whose murder sparked an uprising in Iran is known as Mahsa Amini. But the suppression of her Kurdish name, her real name, is part of a tactic to deny Kurdish existence, British-Kurdish writer Elif Sarican told us ([link removed]) . “Mahsa” Amini does not exist.

Meanwhile, what our editor-in-chief Jemimah Steinfeld describes the “travesty of a show trial” that began in Hong Kong this week ([link removed]) . She readily admits that she could not contain her fury. The Hong Kong 47, including democracy leaders, health care workers and even a disability activist, were put on trial accused of “conspiracy to commit subversion.”

"The trial is a sham,” she writes. “The 47 are walking into court with their guilt presumed.”

We repeat the names twice in our coverage, so that they are not forgotten. For those at the back, here they are again:

Joshua Wong, Benny Tsai, Claudia Mo, Au Nok-hin, Ray Chan, Tat Cheng, Sam Cheung, Andrew Chiu, Owen Chow, Eddie Chu, Andy Chui, Ben Chung, Gary Fan, Frankie Fung, Kalvin Ho, Gwyneth Ho, Kwok Ka-ki, Lam Cheuk-ting, Mike Lam, Nathan Lau, Lawrence Lau, Ventus Lau, Shun Lee, Fergus Leung, Leung Kwok-hung, Kinda Li, Hendrick Lui, Gordon Ng, Ng Kin-wai, Carol Ng, Ricky Or, Michael Pang, Jimmy Sham, Lester Shum, Sze Tak-loy, Roy Tam, Jeremy Tam, Tam Tak-chi, Andrew Wan, Prince Wong, Henry Wong, Helena Wong, Wu Chi-wai, Alvin Yeung, Clarisse Yeung, Winnie Yu, Tiffany Yuen.

To end our usual smorgasbord of bad news, we’ll offer a partial antidote. On Wednesday night, editor-at-large Martin Bright took over Pushkin House with author Zinovy Zinik ([link removed]) , to a packed out audience. Keep your eyes on social media for clips of the event — as long as your respective governments don’t cut off Twitter access in the meantime.
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** A weekend gift
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If you haven’t subscribed to Index on Censorship magazine yet (and you really should) don’t forget that you can use the promo code CROWNCONFIDENTIAL for 50% off digital subscriptions with Exact Editions. ([link removed]) The issue includes a special report on the censorship of British royal history, and the results are eye-opening. The number of historic files on the Royal Family which are unavailable, and the absurdity of the reasons for denying access to some of them, is staggering. Many historians and journalists are unable to carry out their work as a result.

Beyond our special report, we interview the Ukrainian author and 2022 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards winner Andrey Kurkov; Vandana Shiva tells us how the control of seeds silences farmers in India; and Chris Havler-Barrett looks at how Mexico's overreaching military tightens its firm grip in a country mired by violence.
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** From the archive
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** Coffee-house blues
Kaya Genç
September 2010
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One of the first people who sprung to the collective Index consciousness this week was our contributing editor from Turkey, Kaya Genç. We were relieved to hear that he and his family are safe. We look back on one of his early pieces for Index, just as relevant today, wherehe talks to Kurdish musicians about making their voices heard ([link removed]) .
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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 ([link removed]) to Index you help us to protect freedom of expression and to support those who are denied that right.
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