The Freedom of Expression Award for advocacy is given to Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab. Rajab is later imprisoned, in 2016, convicted of offences including “spreading fake news”. Index are part of several campaigns to free Nabeel, including writing open letters to governments around the world and protesting outside London’s Bahrain embassy. In June 2020 Nabeel is eventually freed.
Mirren Gutierrez becomes editor of Index, to be succeeded by Rachael Jolley, an award-winning journalist who had previously edited several magazines.
In September the award-winning Turkish journalist Can Dündar calls for German journalists to pick up the investigation he was forced to abandon and more generally for cross-country collaboration amongst journalists. Dündar has been in exile in Germany since 2016 following an arrest warrant against him in Turkey. Index campaign outside the Turkish Embassy, London, against this warrant and other intimidations of journalists in Turkey.
In October the Times Literary Supplement describes the magazine as “an archive of past battles won, and a beacon of present and future struggles. Its unique brand of practical, practising advocacy is as necessary as ever.”
In November magazine editor Rachael Jolley wins editor of the year award at the British Society of Magazine Editors. With the rise of Donald Trump the magazine is deemed to be of critical importance.