Turkey: Index award-winner Ferhat Tunç acquitted

November 4th, 2010

Kurdish musician Ferhat Tunç, who was facing 15 years in prison for a speech he made at a festival, was acquitted this morning from Diyarbakir Criminal Court in Turkey. The decision follows a petition signed by more than 1,000 supporters and campaigning from PEN. Tunç, who won the 2010 Index on Censorship/Freemuse Freedom of Expression Award for his “brave stand against censorship“, had been charged with spreading propaganda for PKK (Kurdish Workers’ Party) after speaking at the Siirt cultural festival in April.

Iraq play wins Amnesty award

August 28th, 2009

A play which looks at the war in Iraq from three different viewpoints has won the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award. Palace of the End by Judith Thompson was described by the human rights organisation as “a truly formidable piece of work”. Read more here