The Iranian Kurdish journalist fled Iran in May 2013. He travelled to Australia, where he was forcibly relocated to a “refugee processing centre” in Papua New Guinea
Maldives Independent, one of the country’s few remaining independent media outlets, has faced repeated harassment, from violent attacks to raids by police
While still a PhD student, the activist exposed the first known zero-day remote jailbreak, which made it possible to control any iPhone
Zimbabwean pastor Evan Mawarire, who was arrested upon his return after six months in exile, has risked his freedom to protest the lack of democracy in his country
Established in 2015, Turkey Blocks is an independent digital research organisation that monitors internet access restrictions in Turkey
With public sexual health awareness low, the three people behind Jensiat, an online graphic novel, saw an opportunity to link the issue with cyber security
The Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship programme offers direct support to groups and individuals striving to defeat censorship globally.
A well-known academic at the University of Rabat, Maati Monjib co-founded Freedom Now to campaign for free expression in Morocco, and now faces persecution
Arcoiris works at all levels of Honduran society to advance LGBT rights and provide support to many victims of violence
For his one-man protests, Ildar Dadin was sent to prison where he was tortured, before his conviction was quashed in February 2017
For exposing the realities of life in the Occupied Territories, Breaking the Silence has faced a barrage of attacks from the government
Hungary’s very own merry pranksters have gone from street performers to a principled voice against intolerance
The Freedom of Expression Awards and Fellowship is a key Index on Censorship programme designed to highlight and amplify the work of some of the world’s most courageous defenders of freedom of expression. Previous winners include Journalist Fergal Keane, novelist Ma Jian, lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, activist Malala Yousafzai, cartoonist Ali Ferzat, journalists Anna Politkovskaya and Fergal Keane, and Bahrain Center for Human Rights. Learn more.
