17 Nov 2016 | Index in the Press
Christians in the UK believe their views are being “shut down” by wider society, the CEO of Index on Censorship Jodie Ginsberg has said.
Speaking at Spiked’s ‘Enemies of the state: Religious freedom and the new repression’ event in London on Wednesday, Ginsberg said it was “vital” for everyone to be able to express their conscience even when some views “challenge the status quo”. Read the full article
16 Nov 2016 | Bahrain, Bahrain Statements, Campaigns, Campaigns -- Featured, Middle East and North Africa, Statements
Women’s rights defender, writer and blogger Ghada Jamsheer remains in jail in Bahrain serving a combined ten-month sentence for exercising her right to free expression on Twitter. On 7 November 2016, Jamsheer appeared before Judge Mohamed Al-Khalifa of the High Criminal Court of Appeal to request that she be freed to serve out the remainder of her sentences outside of jail due to health concerns, however, the judge has not yet informed her of his decision.
The undersigned more than 20 rights groups from around the world call for the sentence to be overturned, as it violates her right to free expression, and for Jamsheer to be freed immediately so she can receive proper treatment for her debilitating rheumatoid arthritis.
Jamsheer, President of the Women’s Petition Committee (WPC), is being held in connection with multiple sentences imposed relating to her tweets exposing corruption within the management of King Hamad Hospital, which is run by members of the ruling family.
Jamsheer was detained on 15 August 2016 upon arrival from London where she was receiving medical treatment for her arthritis. She reports that she needs medication to ease the pain but fears that she will risk her health if she takes the medication in jail because it compromises her immunity. Jamsheer showed the Judge her medical reports, which have been translated into Arabic.
Following the hearing on 7 November, she was returned to Isa Town women’s prison, where conditions are cold and unsanitary. She was told she would receive a decision within a week. The hearing was well-attended by lawyers and other observers, including a representative of the United States Embassy.
On 22 June 2016, Jamsheer was sentenced on appeal to prison by the Second High Criminal Court for four cases of defamation related to her tweets. She was originally misinformed that she was facing one year, but was told after her arrest in August that she is serving a ten-month term. She has now spent three months in prison this year, in addition to three months served when she was first arrested under the same charges on 15 September 2014.
Jamsheer has 12 charges against her related to this case. She was fined 10,000 dinars (approx. USD$26,500) for defamation of the management of the hospital. In addition, she was also sentenced to one year in prison (suspended) on trumped up charges of allegedly “assaulting a police officer” while in custody.
Jamsheer was featured in the #SheDefends campaign on 28 October, organised by the Women Human Rights Defenders Middle East and North Africa Coalition.
Over 250 people have called for her freedom by signing a petition in support of Jamsheer and women human rights defenders in Bahrain. Supporters are still signing the petition athttps://action.manifesta.net/petitions/ask-the-king-of-bahrain-to-stop-persecuting-women-human-rights-defenders
We, the undersigned organisations, call on the government of Bahrain to:
- Immediately and unconditionally free Ghada Jamsheer;
- Overturn the sentence against Ghada Jamsheer, which violates her right to free expression;
- Immediately and unconditionally free all detained human rights defenders in Bahrain;
- At the very minimum, ensure all prisoners, including Ghada Jamsheer and other human rights defenders, have access to proper medical treatment and ensure conditions in prison necessary to maintain health; and
- End all forms of reprisals against human rights defenders and other activists, including travel bans, in violation of their rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression.
Signed:
Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain
Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
Article 19
Association for Women’s Rights in Development
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights
Civicus
Front Line Defenders
Gulf Centre for Human Rights
FIDH, within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Brian Dooley, Human Rights First
Index on Censorship
International Service for Human Rights
Lawyer’s Rights Watch Canada
Nazra for Feminist Studies
No Peace Without Justice
Reporters Without Borders
Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights
Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition
Women Human Rights Defenders Coalition in the Middle East and North AfricaCoalition
World Organisation Against Torture, within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
16 Nov 2016 | Magazine, mobile, News and features, Volume 45.03 Autumn 2016 Extras
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“It is an extremely important year for publishing on freedom of expression issues, from Bangladesh to Mexico writers face threats and sometimes death just for writing something that someone disagrees with,” said Index on Censorship magazine editor Rachael Jolley after receiving a British Society of Magazine Editors’ award.
The British magazine industry gathered last night at the Sheraton Grand Park Lane Hotel in London for the annual BSME awards.
Jolley was awarded Editor of the Year in the special interest brand category for her work at the helm of a publication which has achieved a constantly high editorial quality within its sector over the past 12 months.
Jolley, who joined Index on Censorship in 2013, has commissioned special reports on issues as diverse as taboos, how Shakespeare can be used as protest and threats to anonymity.
She said: “There are also other challenges to freedom of expression, from ensuring there is academic freedom on campuses to governments using financial pressure to stop media reporting uncomfortable news, plus increasingly sophisticated social media propaganda techniques used to stop the public knowing the truth.”
“This award from the BSME recognises the importance of those stories, and that they, vitally, must continue to be published,” she added. “It is also a recognition of how hard the magazine team, from designer to sub-editors work on each magazine.”
Jeremy Leslie, founder of the magCulture magazine shop and one of the BSME judging panel, said: “This year’s BSME Awards, announced last night, reflect the rise of the small independents.”
Index on Censorship magazine, published by Sage, was created in 1972 and has a team of global contributing editors and regular correspondents. It has readers in 178 countries.
Ziyad Maher, Sage’s global publishing director, said: “We’re so proud of our long-standing relationship with Index on Censorship. Congratulations to Rachael and the team at the magazine for this well-deserved recognition.”
A full list of BSME award winners is available here.
Each quarterly magazine is filled with reports, analysis, photography and creative writing from around the world. Index on Censorship magazine is published four times a year by Sage, and is available in print, online and mobile/tablets. You can subscribe here. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]
