Venezuela is heading to the polls on 28 July but both national and international media are being stifled when it comes to reporting on the election

Venezuela is heading to the polls on 28 July but both national and international media are being stifled when it comes to reporting on the election
The plea deal reached between the WikiLeaks founder and the US government sets a worrying precedent
Contents
Our weekly newsletter leads on the announcement of a sentence we all feared for rapper Toomaj Salehi
Our editor-at-large opens up about his personal, complicated relationship with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
The director of a forthcoming documentary on Julian Assange speaks to Index about how he hopes it will motivate people to take action before it’s too late
On International Women’s Day, our CEO Ruth Anderson reflects on another deadly 12 months for female dissidents
The Mexican president is attacking independent institutions and publicly shared a critical journalist’s telephone number
Recent incidents add to an already worrying picture of the protest landscape in the respective countries
The final stage of Assange’s UK appeal begins today. The international community must unite in their support to free him