28 May 2025 | Europe and Central Asia, News and features, Newsletters, Russia
My predecessor Ruth Anderson used to joke that we weren’t working hard enough because we hadn’t been banned in Russia. Perhaps she was onto something. We’re still not banned there, as far as I know. Amnesty International though appears to have met the mark – or rather crossed a Kremlin red line. This week, Russian authorities labelled Amnesty an “undesirable organisation”, accusing it of being a “centre for the preparation of global Russophobic projects”. Any association with the group is now a criminal offence.
This is no empty label. Just ask Galina Timchenko, co-founder and CEO of the independent Russian-language news outlet Meduza. She’s now facing criminal charges for organising the activities of an “undesirable organisation” – namely, Meduza itself, which earned that designation back in January 2023 for its reporting on Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The charges stem from her publishing two videos, one in September 2024 and another in March 2025, which authorities claim were designed to “foment protest sentiment”. If convicted, she could face six years in prison.
But it’s not just human rights organisations and independent journalists in the Kremlin’s crosshairs. This week, a Russian court fined tech giant Apple 10.5 million roubles (approximately $130,900) across four administrative cases. Three related to alleged violations of the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ “propaganda” laws, which were made even more draconian in 2023. The fourth was for allegedly failing to delete content at the request of the Russian authorities.
A journalist from Mediazona, one of Russia’s last remaining independent outlets, covered the court proceedings and offered a glimpse into how such hearings operate. Here’s a telling moment: “Our reporter notes that the judge read the decision at such a rapid pace it was virtually impossible to grasp the precise details of the claims. We then approached the court’s press secretary to request that a summary of the official court record be released for clarity. The response was terse: ‘The hearing is closed.’”
In the past, Apple has received criticism for its compliance with Russian censorship demands, from removing VPNs to restricting certain apps. These are moves it has defended as the price of staying in the country. Now it’s paying a different, more literal price.
As for Index, we remain unbanned – and unbowed. We continue to report on Russia in both our magazine and online, including recently interviewing artist and musician Yaroslav Smolev, and Nadezhda Skochilenko, mother of political prisoner and Index award winner Aleksandra Skochilenko. This isn’t actually about provoking the Kremlin. It’s about doing our job: telling the truth, and shining a light on one of the most authoritarian regimes in the world.
23 May 2025 | Africa, News and features, Nigeria, Volume 54.01 Spring 2025
This article first appeared in Volume 54, Issue 1 of our print edition of Index on Censorship, titled The forgotten patients: Lost voices in the global healthcare system, published on 11 April 2025. Read more about the issue here.
With a growing population that now exceeds 200 million, Nigeria’s demand for effective healthcare is immense – but the sector is critically underfunded. Less than 4% of the country’s GDP has been spent on health in recent years, resulting in operational inefficiencies, the deterioration of medical infrastructure, health professionals migrating to other countries, and medical tourism, where wealthier Nigerians pay for healthcare abroad instead of at home.
This year, the health sector was allocated only 5.18% of the total governmental budget, which will further impact the provision of quality services and deepen disparities in access.
Last September, the World Bank approved a $1.57 billion loan for Nigeria, including $570 million to strengthen primary healthcare provision. This is one of many international funds provided to help improve the country’s healthcare infrastructure. However, systemic failures including corruption divert essential resources away from those who need them most.
A recent report from Transparency International – a global coalition against corruption – highlights corruption as a barrier to effective healthcare delivery globally and indicates that $500 billion is lost to the problem annually. Nigeria ranks 140 out of 180 in its Corruption Perceptions Index, reflecting its pervasive nature within the country’s institutions. In healthcare, corruption manifests in many ways, including organ trafficking and unethical transplants, counterfeit drugs and the diversion of humanitarian aid.
In north-east Nigeria, the illegal trade of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, which is intended for malnourished children, highlights the severe misuse of humanitarian aid, with healthcare workers implicated in diverting supplies for sale in local markets.
Systematic financial abuse has also been documented by organisations set up to help Nigerians access affordable, quality healthcare. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), for example, allegedly misappropriated more than 6.8 billion Nigerian Naira ($4.5 million) through illegal allowances between 2016 and 2017. Despite its mandate to reduce out-of-pocket healthcare spending, the NHIS has managed to cover only 5% of Nigerians since it began in 2005, with the majority of Nigerians still financing their own healthcare through out-of-pocket payments.
A report by the news agency Sahara Reporters revealed rampant corruption at the National Hospital Abuja in Nigeria’s capital, where patient-staff bribery and payments to private accounts are common. In another concerning account at a community health centre in Lagos, one anonymous healthcare worker told Index that contracted health workers who were paid to immunise young children had recorded discarded oral polio vaccinations as “administered”. This distortion not only alters public health data but also places entire communities at risk of preventable diseases. There was also alleged misuse of resources, with the source reporting that solar-powered lights intended for use in healthcare centres were installed in the homes of local politicians instead.
Challenges faced by whistleblowers
Amid these challenges, whistleblowing has emerged as a critical strategy for combating corruption. Experts identify it as an accountability tool that can promote transparency and reduce corruption in healthcare service delivery. However, it is fraught with challenges, including intimidation, a lack of legal protection and a culture of silence. Whistleblowers endure significant personal risks, including emotional distress, underscoring the need for protective measures and a supportive environment.
A major shortcoming is the law. Onyinyechi Amy Onwumere, of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), provides free, confidential and professional legal advice to victims and witnesses of corruption. She noted: “Nigeria does not have a comprehensive whistleblowing law. Existing protections are fragmented and insufficient, leaving whistleblowers vulnerable to retaliation.
“Whistleblowers in Nigeria’s healthcare system often encounter retaliation, including threats, suspension or sacking, and even physical harm. These actions create a toxic atmosphere where human rights violations thrive, and potential whistleblowers are discouraged from coming forward.
“The failure to adequately protect whistleblowers leads to a deteriorating healthcare system and a loss of public trust.”
There is also a lack of awareness among potential whistleblowers regarding their rights and the protections and reporting mechanisms that do exist, she added. According to the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity, a Transparency and Integrity Index the organisation compiled found that only 10 ministries, departments and agencies out of 512 in Nigeria have a whistleblower policy. “This is far from best practice,” said Onwumere.
Cultural and systemic barriers
Cultural and societal norms create a challenging environment for whistleblowers. Informal corruption networks thrive where they are tolerated, particularly when they benefit the community. Tosin Osasona, a programme manager at the NISER/MacArthur Foundation Research Grant Project on Corruption Control in Nigeria, explained: “In a society where loyalty is highly valued, speaking out against one’s institution can be perceived as a betrayal.”
This attitude discourages people from stepping forward.
Osasona highlighted the professional risks that whistleblowers face. “They often encounter blacklisting by seniors, reduced future job prospects and ostracisation. The reality is that potential whistleblowers are intimidated, isolated and discouraged.”
He stressed the need for a dedicated whistleblower reporting system tailored to the healthcare sector. “A reporting mechanism that guarantees confidentiality, independence, and impartiality is essential to breaking the cycle of corruption,” he said.
One community health officer told Index that patients who were already burdened by the cost of treatment could find themselves extorted for basic medical services. They explained how a patient recently reported a staff member for selling injections that were meant to be free and for inflating the cost of other items.
“Instead of facing disciplinary action, the individual was merely transferred to another clinic in the subdivision.”
And when staff members are the whistleblowers, they ultimately get transferred, “perpetuating a cycle of corruption and silence with no real change”, the source added.
This climate of suppression extends to the media, where censorship continues to stifle investigative journalism – particularly on financial embezzlement. Despite amendments, authorities continue to misuse the broad powers of the 2015 Cybercrimes Act to detain and prosecute journalists uncovering corruption.
The path forward
There are severe consequences of widespread corruption in healthcare, including loss of life, increased healthcare costs and a deterioration of the health sector, disproportionately affecting vulnerable people.
Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi, a pharmacist and director of research and thought leadership at the international organisation Global Health Focus, said: “Corruption in healthcare resource allocation damages patient care. It deprives people who need treatment of crucial supplies and funding. This problem leads to drug shortages, outdated equipment and neglected facilities – all of which put patients at risk. Some people turn to expensive private clinics or skip treatment entirely because vital resources have been syphoned away.”
A recent review from five English-speaking West African countries, including Nigeria, suggests that poor working conditions and low wages push some healthcare workers to engage in unethical behaviour. Adebisi emphasised that “a real solution calls for a detailed understanding of how corruption operates in each place so that decision-makers can craft effective strategies that address these problems at their core”.
Empowering healthcare professionals to safely report corruption and mismanagement requires a combination of legal protection, secure reporting channels and a supportive workplace culture. Adebisi said that whistleblower protection laws are “essential” and should be communicated clearly to staff “so they know they will be shielded from retaliation”. Secure, anonymous platforms – such as confidential hotlines or encrypted digital tools – can also help professionals speak up without fear of losing their jobs or facing harassment.
Training and awareness programmes on ethics and accountability can boost staff confidence. Adebisi suggested that “working with professional associations, non-governmental organisations and community groups adds an extra layer of support and helps create a culture where reporting is seen as a collective responsibility rather than an individual risk”.
International models provide useful insights into how Nigeria can strengthen its whistleblowing framework. For instance, in the UK, National Health Service organisations rely on “Freedom to Speak Up guardians” who serve as neutral, trusted people who staff can approach with sensitive concerns. In some Latin American countries, partnerships between government agencies and civil society groups have led to digital whistleblowing platforms that maintain user anonymity. These ideas could be tailored to Nigeria, said Adebisi, taking into account the “unique challenges” of different regions.
Artificial intelligence can also enhance these efforts. He explained that “tools powered by machine-learning can track procurement data, pinpoint suspicious patterns in drug prescriptions and flag irregularities that might indicate theft or bribery”. While technology alone won’t solve the issue, he believes that integrating AI with “robust legal frameworks” and education programmes could help to “significantly strengthen oversight”.
“There’s no single solution that works for every institution, so it’s important to combine strategies that promote accountability, protect staff and foster a culture of transparency.”
A lack of accountability can have real-world consequences. One nurse in a teaching hospital told Index how corruption in resource management exacerbated existing disparities.
“Some wards are fully equipped with state-of-the-art machines, have a constant power supply and are staffed with highly efficient medical personnel,” she explained. “Meanwhile, other units struggle with outdated equipment, erratic electricity and severe staff shortages.”
When whistleblowers have the support of the media and the public, their reports can lead to meaningful reform. Onwumere highlighted the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs scandal, where a whistleblower’s revelations of looting at the ministry prompted policy changes. Similar pressure in the healthcare sector could drive accountability and bring change.
Ensuring that those who expose wrongdoing in healthcare can speak out freely is not merely a matter of individual rights – it is a critical step towards a functional and equitable healthcare system for the tens of millions of Nigerians who depend on it.
23 May 2025 | Afghanistan, Africa, Americas, Asia and Pacific, El Salvador, Europe and Central Asia, Kenya, News and features, Palestine, Russia, Tanzania, Uganda, United States
In the age of online information, it can feel harder than ever to stay informed. As we get bombarded with news from all angles, important stories can easily pass us by. To help you cut through the noise, every Friday Index publishes a weekly news roundup of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression. This week, we look at the arrest of a human rights lawyer and how Russia has banned Amnesty International.
Detained for her work: Leading human rights lawyer arrested for supporting immigrants
Cristosal is one of the most prominent groups working to defend human rights in Central America. Over recent months, it has supported those wrongfully deported to El Salvador from the USA, and now one of its most prominent figures is paying the price for this work. Ruth López, chief legal officer in anti-corruption for Cristosal, has been arrested in El Salvador over a decade-old embezzlement accusation from when she worked in electoral courts.
Arrested late on Sunday 18 May, her family and legal team have no knowledge as to her whereabouts and are concerned about her safety. Numerous human rights organisations have come out in her defence, condemning her arrest as a violation of due process, and outlining the “environment of fear” that is prevalent in the country.
Cristosal wrote on Bluesky that Lopez is “likely the victim of short-term enforced disappearance”, constituting a “serious human rights violation under international law”. López has led multiple legal cases against the Salvadoran government, and Cristosal claims that she has been the target of smear campaigns and social media attacks coordinated by Nayib Bukele’s government, and that this is its latest attempt to silence her for her work.
No amnesty for Amnesty: Prominent human rights group banned in Russia
On Monday 19 May, Russia officially announced that it would ban the prominent human rights organisation Amnesty International from operating within the country, designating it “undesirable”. The Kremlin claims that Amnesty is the “centre of preparation of global Russophobic projects”, and that it “[justifies] the crimes of Ukrainian neo-Nazis”.
Amnesty has continually documented Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and the organisation has long been on Russia’s blacklist, with its website blocked and its Moscow office closed since the early days of the war. The group is far from the first to be banned by the Kremlin; since 2015 the register of “undesirable organisations” has been used to ostracise hundreds of human rights groups and media outlets. Amnesty International’s secretary general Agnès Callamard said that “you must be doing something right if the Kremlin bans you”, and outlined the organisation’s intentions to keep exposing Russia’s human rights violations in both Ukraine and Russia.
University protests: Student has degree revoked for pro-Palestine speech
Since Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, university campuses have become key battlegrounds in the fight for free expression in the USA. Some pro-Palestine protesters have been arrested on campus, others have been punished through suspension, and the Trump administration has threatened to withdraw funding from schools and universities that allow what it deems “illegal protests”. International students are at particular risk, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have detained and attempted deportations of student protesters who are in the USA on visas or green cards.
Despite the threats facing them, it appears that students are not being deterred from protesting. New York University (NYU) undergraduate Logan Rozos gave a pro-Palestine speech at his graduation ceremony last week, condemning the war in Gaza. “The genocide currently occurring is supported politically and military by the United States, is paid for by our tax dollars and has been live-streamed to our phones,” he said. NYU quickly announced that the university is withholding his diploma while it pursues disciplinary action against him.
Similarly, this week, George Washington University (GWU) student Cecilia Culver criticised her university’s ties to Israel and called for students to withhold donations to GWU in a graduation speech that went viral on social media. She has since been banned from campus, with some groups calling for the withdrawal of her diploma until she apologises.
In February it was announced that a federal government taskforce set up to tackle antisemitism would be investigating events that have occurred at 10 universities, and both NYU and GWU are on this list.
Media shutdown: Taliban fires 300 from national broadcaster in mass budget cuts
As part of an initiative to cut government spending, the Taliban has fired more than 300 members of staff from the prominent national broadcaster Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA), 91 of whom are women. Many were journalists and editors who had worked for the organisation for decades. The Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization (AJSO) believes that this is more than just a cost-cutting exercise.
In a statement on X, AJSO outlined how this continues a theme of media suppression by the Taliban, and that the decision is part of “the systematic exclusion of women from the public sphere, especially in the media”. The drive to remove women from the workplace has intensified since the Taliban regained control of the country in 2021; state-run nurseries in Kabul have reportedly seen more than 100 female staff dismissed, while hundreds of women professors have been fired from public universities across the country. At the end of last year, women were banned from training as midwives and nurses.
A 2024 UN report also outlined how the Taliban has devastated the country’s independent media landscape, with the latest cuts appearing to be a continuation of these efforts.
Freed on demand: Two activists released from detention in Tanzania following government requests
Boniface Mwangi, a prominent Kenyan activist and journalist, and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire have reportedly been returned to their home countries following a three-day detention in Tanzania. Mwangi and Atuhaire were in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Monday 19 May for the court case of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu when they were arrested. They were taken into custody, with their whereabouts unknown, and allegedly denied access or contact with either their lawyers or families.
The Kenyan government publicly protested the detention, calling on Tanzania to release Mwangi in an open letter on Thursday 22 May – later that day, Mwangi was dumped on the border of Kenya and Tanzania. Mwangi has recounted his experiences in detention, claiming that he and Atuhaire were tortured while in custody. Atuhaire was also found at the border of Tanzania and Uganda, after the Ugandan High Commission wrote to Tanzania seeking information about her whereabouts. Amnesty Kenya has condemned their detentions, and has called for an independent investigation into the allegations of torture and human rights abuses by Tanzanian officials.
21 May 2025 | Europe and Central Asia, Israel, Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Palestine, United Kingdom
On Saturday 17 May, veteran human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell was arrested. Tatchell is no stranger to arrest. When he celebrated his 70th birthday in January 2022, his post marking the occasion said he’d been arrested 100 times. At the end of that year he added another one to the list, this time in Qatar, where he was protesting the country’s criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people ahead of the World Cup. That arrest wasn’t exactly surprising. Qatar doesn’t tolerate protest, much as it doesn’t tolerate gay people.
But Saturday’s arrest was different. Tatchell was detained in central London while peacefully partaking in a large-scale pro-Palestine march. Another twist: Tatchell believes he was reported to the police by the protest organisers themselves because his message called out Hamas, as well as the Israeli government. He was carrying a placard that read: “STOP Israel genocide! STOP Hamas executions! Odai Al-Rubai, aged 22, executed by Hamas! RIP!” The police also said Palestine march stewards told them he shouted “Hamas are terrorists”, which he firmly denies.
Let’s pause here for a moment. For the past two months protests have been taking place in Gaza against Hamas. In response, Hamas has reportedly issued orders via one of its Telegram channels for the execution of all “traitors and troublemakers”. Odai Al-Rubai was one of them. According to his family he was brutally beaten and his lifeless body dumped outside his home with the message: “This is what happens to people who criticise Hamas.” According to Tatchell, who wrote a blog post on his website in response to Saturday’s arrest, others have suffered a similar fate.
Tatchell’s point was simple: if you care about Palestinian lives, you should care about all the forces threatening them – including Hamas. For that, he says, he was told by a small minority of protesters at the start of the march to “fuck off”, “get out of here” and called “Zionist scum” (the police incidentally did nothing) before being reported on and taken away.
The idea that calling out Hamas somehow makes you an enemy of the Palestinian cause is bonkers, frankly. And yet this idea has taken hold. I’ve experienced this myself. In the past 19 months I’ve frequently criticised Israel for its attacks on freedom of expression (and human rights more broadly). But the moment I mention Hamas, the tone shifts. Eyes roll. The atmosphere chills. It’s not just that people seem uncomfortable with the idea of pulling up anyone from Gaza, there’s a suggestion there too: “well, you would say that – you’re Jewish”.
For me the response has been frustrating – if we’re talking about freedom of expression violations we have to be consistent. Hamas isn’t exempt. Eye roll all you want; for others though, the treatment has been far worse. Add to the Tatchell example these: A recent report looking at the state of freedom of expression in the UK arts sector detailed how an artist was bullied out of a collective for criticising Hamas; Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Gazan peace activist living in the USA, is relentlessly targeted online — including with death threats — for condemning the group.
Such division, and the inconsistency in approach, is deeply unhelpful. At Index on Censorship we frequently defend the right of peaceful pro-Palestinian voices to be heard because they absolutely have experienced significant silencing – around the world, including in the UK – and that is wrong. Now some within those same spaces are turning on others. It’s a textbook case of free speech for me, not for thee – and it too is wrong.
That the police complied might also look like an anomaly. In truth, it was the result of several disturbing patterns converging. Tatchell was arrested at a protest, and whilst standing in a designated area, something he was forced to point out to the police. Stories like this are fairly par for the course with UK demonstrations these days since the last government pushed through sweeping anti-protest laws. In one of the most stark signs of police overreach, 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos was questioned earlier this year under caution by police in connection to his peaceful involvement in a pro-Palestine demonstration in January.
In many of these cases, the police don’t seem to be exercising much judgment. With Tatchell, they acted on a report and arrested a protester whose placard was critical, not hateful. He was accused of “racially and religiously aggravated breach of the peace”, and of being part of a counter-protest movement. Perhaps they saw the word Hamas and jumped to the conclusion that he was promoting the group? Perhaps they didn’t read his words before it accusing Israel of genocide? Perhaps they didn’t see his “Free Palestine” badge?
Whatever the reason, it’s lazy work. The police appear to be acting more like blunt algorithms than sentient beings, and it’s not unique to Tatchell. As The Economist warned in its latest issue, police in Britain are arresting 30 people per day for speech online, double the 2017 rate. Some are for serious crimes, while others are for posts that people have found offensive, which fall short of the threshold of being a crime.
So his arrest wasn’t surprising. But it was, and is, deeply worrying. And it was a reminder of several important things, one being that the UK’s draconian protest laws need to go. Several organisations are fighting the new legislation and others need to join in. Beyond these laws the police need to be better trained on the nuances around speech. Their job is to keep the public safe, not to reach for handcuffs every time someone gets reported on.
Finally, those in the protest movement who treat Hamas as beyond reproach should pause to reflect on the name Odai Al-Rubai – a young protester silenced by the very group claiming to defend his people. Great movements can come undone by the authoritarianism within them that they fail to confront, as much as by their enemies. To protect the cause, protesters must stop defending those who would never defend them.
