The Law Commission will review how sex and gender characteristics are treated within existing hate crime laws and whether new offences are needed.
Governments should not be policing thought
read more
Index on Censorship
Authors send letter to His Royal Highness Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Leading writers including Margaret Atwood, Elif Shafak and Claire Tomalin have signed an open letter to the king of Bahrain urging him to intervene in the case of a political prisoner being denied the right to read in jail.
NGOs call for full repeal of Egypt’s “cybercrime” law and block of dangerous law regulating media
Index on Censorship joins a coalition of some of the world’s leading human rights and digital rights organisations to call for full repeal of Egypt’s “cybercrime” law
We mustn’t let the news cycle forget the Reuters journalists locked up in Myanmar (New Statesman, 5 September 2018)
International publicity can curb day-to-day abuse by prison authorities and puts political pressure on the government to release those detained. Read the full article
Contents: The Age of Unreason
The autumn 2018 issue of Index on Censorship magazine looks at the ways in which we might be turning away from facts and science across the globe.
Podcast: The Age of Unreason
Are facts under attack? We explore this question in the Autumn issue of Index on Censorship magazine.
Condemn Myanmar’s attacks on press freedom – but look closer to home too (The Guardian, 4 September 2018)
We must loudly defend the two jailed Reuters reporters, and all the other victims of assaults on the media. Read the full article.
From Hong Kong with love: the threatening letters being delivered to UK mailboxes (New Statesman, 4 September 2018)
"I am writing to give you a quick update about your neighbour the Sanctimonious Benedict Rogers and his futile attempt to destabilise Hong Kong/China with his hatred of the Chinese people and our political system.” Thus read a letter sent to...
The age of unreason
The autumn 2018 Index on Censorship magazine asks whether we are turning away from facts, reason and science in favour of emotions. TV presenter Evan Davis speaks about why we are willing to believe lies, while philosopher Julian Baggini outlines the difficulties of sharing a viewpoint that is not popular. Meanwhile, Timandra Harkness illustrates how you can have an argument. We also have articles from Kaya Genç in Turkey exploring the current attack on science in the education system, from Stephen Woodman in Mexico on the rise of documentaries as an antidote to a biased media and from Dan Nolan in Hungary on increasing government interference in the arts and now sciences. Outside the special report, don’t miss Amanda Leigh Lichtenstein writing about the Tanzanian government’s attempt to muzzle bloggers through introducing fees that are more than most people’s salaries, and Nobel Prize-winning novelist and poet Herta Müller on being threatened by the secret police in Romania.
New Yorker succumbs to hecklers’ veto
Index CEO Jodie Ginsberg tweets her reaction to the announcement that Steve Bannon has been disinvited from a New Yorker event after protests about his inclusion.
Bangladesh must immediately and unconditionally release Shahidul Alam
We, the undersigned hereby call for the immediate and unconditional release of the renowned photographer, artist, teacher, curator and human rights activist Shahidul Alam.
Your elementary school kids should read these books before they’re banned (Washington Examiner, 2 September 2018)
Literacy has many positive effects, not the least of which is knowing how to read. A good book not only transports a child (or adult) to another world through words, but also teaches children about empathy, character, politics, relationships, and...