13 Aug 15 | Campaigns, mobile, Statements
Index on Censorship calls on the National Youth Theatre (NYT) to publicly and transparently disclose its consultations with police and council officials in the lead-up to the cancellation of the play Homegrown.
The team behind the production, which explored Islamic radicalisation among young people in the United Kingdom, released a statement that details the cancellation from their point of view. It is now up to the other parties involved to fully disclose their decision-making process to allow the public — including tax-payers who are funding this production — to understand this violation of free expression.
“We were deeply shocked to find out in an email that the company had decided to cancel the production of Homegrown 10 days before the first preview,” read the statement, which was signed by Mina Aidoo (choreographer), Omar El-Khairy (writer), Paris Erotokritou (associate director), Nadia Latif (director), Lorna Ritchie (designer) and Keziah Serreau (associate director).
The production was two weeks into rehearsals when the cancellation was announced, The Guardian reported. The show, which had been in development for six months, was the product of workshops with British young people between the ages of 16 and 25.
It is very worrying that an arts project exploring an important subject that young people of all ethnicities need to be able to discuss and debate has been closed down. Equally concerning are the actions of Tower Hamlets council, some allegations about police involvement and the absence of any clear and transparent public statement on the part of NYT.
Without even a line of legislation being debated, the government has created an atmosphere whereby a play about extremism can be cancelled with no reason given, in a completely opaque way with no respect for freedom of expression.
Police, councils and arts organisations have a duty to respect and protect freedom of expression — even, and most especially, where they disagree with the message or find it controversial.
• Cancellation of Homegrown is very worrying
13 Aug 15 | Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Statements, Campaigns, mobile, Statements
Index on Censorship strongly condemns the sentencing of Leyla and Arif Yunus to 8.5 and 7 years in prison, respectively. The ongoing and capricious judicial harassment of Azerbaijan’s civil society by the government of President Ilham Aliyev has reached a new low.
Leyla Yunus, founder and director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, and her husband, historian Arif Yunus, have been detained since summer 2014 when they were arrested on charges of treason and fraud.
Index calls on the international community to take concrete actions to pressure the government of Azerbaijan to respect freedom of expression and release all journalists and human rights activists in prison.
[smartslider2 slider=”35″]
[timeline src=”https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_rMZeC8deu7lQgoJPEESF0IqNO9u7aVuESqWMualEJw/pubhtml” width=”620″ height=”600″ font=”Bevan-PotanoSans” maptype=”toner” lang=”en” ]
12 Aug 15 | Events, mobile
Photo – Ramy Essam, Tahrir Square – Festival 800
Join us in Lincoln for Festival 800, a celebration of the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta – a unique and powerful statement that began the world’s march to freedom and liberty.
Index on Censorship are delighted to be supporting Festival 800 and Freemuse who are staging a special day focused on musicians who have been banned from performing their work in their own countries. Events include:
13:30 – Listen to the Banned
Listen to the Banned is a compilation album that features the music of banned, censored and imprisoned artists from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Project co-founders, music producer Deeyah Khan and Ole Reitov, executive director of Freemuse discuss the album’s origins and their wider work. Khan is a critically acclaimed composer, award-winning documentary film director and celebrated human rights activist. (£8)
16:00 – Talking With the Banned
Two international musicians who have faced censorship, “exiled bard of the Egyptian revolution” Ramy Essam and Basque artist Fermin Muguruza, join others including Deeyah Khan, editor of Index on Censorship magazine Rachael Jolley, and author and academic Martin Cloonan (chair) for a conversation about censorship. (£5)
19:30 – The Banned – Live and unplugged in concert.
A live gig featuring folk musician Ramy Essam who was catapulted to fame by the events of Tahrir Square; Lavon Volski, an icon of Belarusian rock music and Fermin Muguruza, who sings against the oppression that he feels Spain has over Basque Country. With Attila the Stockbroker as MC. (£10)
When: Saturday 5 September 2015, timings as above.
Where: Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, LN6 7TS (map)
Tickets: Special Index offer for whole day £15, quote INDEX when booking.
11 Aug 15 | Academic Freedom, Magazine, mobile, Student Reading Lists
Articles from this list explore the topic of how minority groups are both being censored and also evade censorship. Includes Kerry Brown on the censored minorities of China at the time of the 2008 Olympic Games and Akeel Bilgrami on the plight of India’s Muslims after 9/11.
Students and academics can browse the Index magazine archive in thousands of university libraries via Sage Journals.
Minority groups and censorship articles
Minorities and the media by Anthony Smith
Anthony Smith, March 1975; vol. 4, 1: pp. 105-106
A study in the use of media by the Mexican Chicano Movement
Enemies Within by Kerry Brown
Kerry Brown, May 2008; vol. 37, 2: pp. 152-161
Kerry Brown on the censored minorities of China
Speaking in Tongues by Lambros Baltsiotis, Leonidas Embiricos
Lambros Baltsiotis, Leonidas Embiricos, March 2001, vol. 30, 2: pp. 145-151
A deconstruction of minority languages in Greece and a look at the battle to keep these languages alive
Just a Question of Money? By Moussa Awuonda
Moussa Awuonda, April 2003, vol. 32 no. 2 187-191
Kenyan journalist Moussa Awuonda details the report pressing the Swedish government to pay more attention to its minority presses
India’s Muslims Post 9/11 by Akeel Bilgrami
Akeel Bilgrami, November 2006, vol. 35, 4: pp. 15-21
Akeel Bilgrami delivers an explosive narrative on how India’s Muslim minority has responded to the aggressive ideology of the majority Hindus
Silencing the disabled: Only the state may help the disabled; others who try are repressed by Steven Marc Glick
Steven Marc Glick, October 1981, vol. 10, 5: pp. 32-33
Author Steven Marc Glick reports from the former Soviet Union on the plight of disabled individuals and new attempts by some to help them
Down The Welsh Road by George Jones
George Jones, July 2001, vol. 30, 3: pp. 206-211
George Jones on the linguistic rights of the Welsh-speaking minority in Wales
Speaking in Tongues by Ayer Neier
Ayer Neier, March 1996, vol. 25, 2: pp. 139-141
The ex-executive director of Human Rights Watch on the danger of suppressing minority languages worldwide
Daring to speak one’s name: A reflection on gay censorship by Alberto Manguel
Alberto Manguel, January 1995, vol. 24, 1: pp. 14-31
As Russian law relaxes and allows homosexual writers a voice, Alberto Manguel reflects on gay censorship in the country
The landscape for religious freedom in the new Egypt by Shahira Amin
Shahira Amin, June 2013, vol. 42, 2: pp. 102-109
Two years after the revolution in Egypt, Shahira Amin reflects on the minority communities who are still trying to get their voices heard
The reading list for minority groups and censorship can be found on the Sage website
10 Aug 15 | Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan News, Campaigns, mobile
Photo: IRFS
The Sport for Rights coalition resolutely condemns the brutal murder of Azerbaijani journalist Rasim Aliyev, who died on 9 August in a Baku hospital, after he was severely beaten on 8 August by a group of people. Rasim Aliyev had reported receiving continuous threats and intimidation via social media networks for three weeks leading up to his death.
Azerbaijani authorities have launched an investigation into the attack and detained at least one individual so far. Officials are connecting the attack to a Facebook post from 3 August in which Rasim Aliyev had criticised a football player. The relatives of the football players are alleged to have been responsible for the beating.
However, prior to the Facebook post in question, Rasim Aliyev had already been receiving threatening messages connected to a series of photos he had posted online showing police brutality and social discontent, such as protesters carrying a banner reading “Resign”. Rasim Aliyev reported receiving a threat stating “You will be punished for these photos”. He publicised the threat on 25 July, and filed a complaint with the police, who failed to take action to protect Rasim Aliyev.
Rasim Aliyev was a board member and employee of Azerbaijan’s leading media freedom organisation, the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), and was elected as the organisation’s chairman in October 2014. Rasim Aliyev had faced many forms of pressure in his work with IRFS, including being beaten by police in a 2013 incident that was captured in a widely circulated photograph.
Notably, the attack against Rasim Aliyev took place exactly one year from the date IRFS was forcibly closed by the Azerbaijani authorities and IRFS founder and chairman Emin Huseynov was forced into hiding to ensure his own safety, on 8 August 2014.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the murder of Rasim Aliyev”, said Index on Censorship’s senior advocacy officer Melody Patry. “The attack on Rasim takes place in a deteriorating environment for media professionals and civil society in Azerbaijan. Rasim was an independent journalist who kept working after his employer, IRFS, was sealed shut by the authorities. IRFS existed to provide support to journalists like Rasim, especially at a time when threats, intimidation and violence against journalists are commonplace in the country. We call on the authorities to conduct a full and transparent investigation into the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice”.
Rasim Aliyev’s murder is the latest incident in a vicious cycle of violence against journalists in Azerbaijan. Over the past decade, there have been hundreds of attacks against journalists in the country, including the murder of Monitor magazine editor-in-chief Elmar Huseynov in 2005, and writer and journalist Rafig Tagi in 2011. Both murders remain unsolved, as do nearly all other cases of attacks against journalists. Another journalist, Tolishi Sedo newspaper editor-in-chief Novruzali Mammadov, died in 2009 while serving a 10-year prison sentence on politically motivated charges.
This attack takes place amidst a brutal human rights crackdown in the aftermath of the European Games and in the run-up to November’s parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan. In recent weeks, another Azerbaijani journalist, Berlin-based Meydan TV Director Emin Milli, reported receiving a high-level threat, which was shortly followed by pressure against many of his relatives. Four Meydan TV employees were later prevented from leaving Azerbaijan.
“Further evidence of the on-going efforts of the Azerbaijani authorities to silence all forms of criticism and dissent can be found in the many violations taking place in the cases of human rights defenders Leyla and Arif Yunus and journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who are currently standing trial on politically motivated charges”, said FIDH Honorary President Souhayr Belhassen and OMCT Secretary General Gerald Staberock, whose organisations work together within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. The prosecutor has requested staggeringly long prison sentences for the Yunus couple, despite the fact that both have serious and worsening health problems and should be immediately released on humanitarian, if not political grounds.
Sport for Rights calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to conduct a full and transparent investigation into Rasim Aliyev’s murder, and to bring the perpetrators as well as the masterminds behind the crime to justice. The cycle of violence against journalists in Azerbaijan must stop, and those responsible must be prosecuted. Threats against journalists must be taken seriously, and the threatened journalists and their families must be afforded adequate protection. The coalition also calls for the authorities to take concrete steps to improve the broader human rights situation in the country, including the immediate and unconditional release of all jailed journalists and human rights defenders.
Sport for Rights further calls for the international community to maintain its attention on Azerbaijan now that media attention has shifted away from the country following the European Games. As Rasim Aliyev’s murder shows, critical voices are at greater risk now than ever before. The international community must act now to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its human rights obligations and promote much-needed reforms in the country.
Supporting organisations:
Article 19
FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Front Line Defenders
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Human Rights House Foundation
Index on Censorship
International Media Support
Netherlands Helsinki Committee
PEN American Center
Polish Green Network
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
[smartslider2 slider=”35″]
10 Aug 15 | Magazine, mobile, United States
Edgar Lawrence Doctorow, a supporter of Index on Censorship, passed away on 21 July 2015 at 84.
A lifelong champion of free expression and considered one of the greatest novelists of the twentieth century, Doctorow’s passing comes at a time when freedom of speech is being challenged across the USA, from no-platforming in universities to the banning of books and materials.
Doctorow was born to second-generation Russian Jewish parents in the Bronx, New York, an area he loved and one which formed the basis for many of his novels. He had his first literary work published while still a teenager in his high school magazine and went on to study with the poet John Crowe Ransom at Kenyon College, Ohio, where he majored in philosophy.
He started his literary career in publishing but began writing novels in the late 1960s. His first published work was The Book of Daniel, a fictional account of the trial and execution of convicted US communists Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, written from the viewpoint of their children. Ragtime, his next novel, was published in 1975 and is considered his best, named at number 86 in the top 100 American novels of the twentieth century by the Modern Library editorial board. A work of historical fiction, Ragtime focuses on a wealthy family in early twentieth century New York. He went on to pen nine further books, three more of which were award-winners (World’s Fair, Billy Bathgate and The March), and in 2014 he won the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.
Doctorow championed numerous causes promoting the right to global freedom of expression. In the January 1988 issue of Index on Censorship magazine, he was noted, along with a multitude of other American writers, as having been monitored extensively by the FBI due to his works being considered, “subversive, suspicious or unconventional”. In the late 1980s, he was on the board of the Fund for Free Expression, New York, who assisted and supported Index’s work.
Later in life, in 2013, he was one of over one hundred signatories on a letter calling on the Chinese government to respect its population’s right to freedom of expression, and he was heavily involved with the work of PEN America, serving on their board and judging at their literary awards. He refused to be silenced in his efforts to draw the world’s attention to the plights of censored writers until his death.
07 Aug 15 | Bangladesh, Campaigns, mobile, Statements
Index on Censorship deplores the killing of blogger Niloy Chakrabarti in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and calls on the authorities to investigate the murder and ensure that those responsible are found and brought to justice.
“We strongly condemn Niloy Chakrabarti’s brutal murder,” said Index’s senior advocacy officer Melody Patry. “We fear the death toll will increase if the authorities fail to take action to find and punish those responsible. Freedom of expression is in danger and Bangladesh must do more to protect writers online and offline.”
Chakrabarti, who wrote under the pen name Niloy Neel, is the fourth secular blogger to be murdered since the start of the year. A member of Bangladesh’s Science and Rationalist Association, he was attacked in his home in Dhaka.
In May, Ananta Bijoy Das was attacked and killed with machetes. On 30 March writer Washiqur Rahman, who was also known for his atheist views, was stabbed to death. In February, fellow atheist Avijit Roy was hacked to death by a knife-wielding mob in Dhaka as he walked back from a book fair.
Niloy Neel – Died 7 August 2015; killed in his flat in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh. Neel was an anti-fundamentalist and anti-extremist blogger, and a known atheist who’d written pieces critical of religion. Other causes he wrote on were the rights of ethnic minorities and women. He was a regular contributor to Mukto-mona and Ishtishon. Currently, he was an activist of the Ganajagaran Mancha, the platform demanding capital punishment for the 1971 Islamic war criminals who’d recently been sentenced to life imprisonment in Bangladesh. He was murdered by an Islamic fundamentalist gang.
Ananta Bijoy Das – Died 12 May 2015 in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Das reportedly wrote for “Mukto-Mona” (“Free-mind”), and his pieces were often critical of religion. Islamist groups stated that his murder was a punishment for “crimes against Islam”. Das sought to be less controversial in his writing but death threats increased against him as more and more bloggers were being murdered. One of his last posts was critical of Bangladeshi police and how they did not protect secular writers. Also a Ganajagaran Manch activist.
Washiqur Rahman – Died 30 March 2015 in Dhaka. Rahman was targeted for his anti-Islamic writing, as told to police by the suspects taken into custody for the murder. Rahman frequently criticized what he saw as irrational fundamentalist groups; he was not an atheist by any means, but he held different religious views than his more extremist attackers. He was said to have written a 52-episode series for an anti-religion satirical site called Dhormockery.com which mocked aspects of Islam. He was also a Ganajagaran Manch activist.
Avijit Roy – Died 26 February 2015. Bangladeshi born US national. Roy founded the Mukto-Mona website, and his pieces often criticized religious intolerance. He was also a known advocate for freedom of speech in Bangladesh and would organize protests against international censorship and imprisonment of bloggers. Islamic militant organization Ansarullah Bangla Team claimed responsibility for the attack. He also was involved with the Ganajagaran Manch.
07 Aug 15 | mobile
6 Août 2015
Les organisations soussignées œuvrant pour la liberté de la presse, le développement des médias et les droits humains dénoncent les attaques continues et les menaces contre les journalistes, le personnel des médias et les défenseurs des droits humains, notamment les récents incidents graves durant lesquels le défenseur des droits humains Pierre Claver Mbonimpa a survécu à une tentative d’assassinat tandis que le journaliste Esdras Ndikumana a été victime d’une attaque brutale de la part d’agents de la police et des renseignements.
Nous sommes très préoccupés par le maintien de la fermeture des radios indépendantes ainsi que le manque d’accès à une information fiable au Burundi. Cela est particulièrement inquiétant étant donné la dégradation continue de la situation sécuritaire du pays – un contexte dans lequel chaque Burundais devrait avoir accès à une information correcte et objective plutôt que de devoir se fier à des rumeurs.
Nous appelons les autorités burundaises à enquêter sur ces attaques immédiatement et de s’assurer que les responsables soient traduits en justice dans le cadre d’un procès équitable. De plus, nous demandons aux autorités de permettre la réouverture et le fonctionnement des médias indépendants et de les autoriser à opérer depuis la Maison de la Presse ou d’un autre endroit selon leurs décisions et capacités. Ceci est particulièrement important étant donné que plusieurs stations de radio ont été détruites. Nous encourageons également les autorités à autoriser et faciliter la reconstruction et le rééquipement de ces radios.
Nous encourageons les autorités à assurer le retour en toute sécurité de la cinquantaine de journalistes et personnel des médias qui ont quitté le pays et cherché refuge dans des pays voisins. Nous demandons également aux autorités de s’assurer que ces journalistes puissent recommencer à travailler sans crainte de poursuite ou de persécution.
Enfin, nous appelons à un dialogue entre les autorités et les médias, entre les autorités et les partis de l’opposition ainsi qu’entre les autorités et les Nations Unies et les représentants de l’Union Africaine afin de créer les conditions menant à la construction d’un environnement propice à la paix pour tous les Burundais.
Signataires :
Henry Maina, Directeur Général, Afrique de l’Est, ARTICLE 19
Tom Henheffer, Directeur Exécutif, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE)
Toby Mendel, Directeur Exécutif, Center for Law and Democracy
Courtney Radsch, Directrice du Playdoyer, Committee to Protect Journalists
Caroline Vuillemin, Directrice des Opérations, Fondation Hirondelle
Ruth Kronenburg, Directrice, Free Press Unlimited
Daniel Calingaert, Vice Président Exécutif, Freedom House
Daniel Bekele, Directeur Afrique, Human Rights Watch
Melody Patry, Responsable du Plaidoyer, Index on Censorship
Ernest Sagaga, Chargé des Droits de l’homme et de la Communication, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
Jesper Højberg, Directeur Exécutif, International Media Support (IMS)
Barbara Trionfi, Directrice Exécutive, International Press Insitute (IPI)
Elisa Lees Munoz, Directrice Exécutive, International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF)
Karin Deutsch Karlekar, Directrice, Free Expression Programs, PEN American Center
Tamsin Mitchell, Chercheur Afrique, PEN International
Cléa Kahn-Sriber, Responsable du bureau Afrique, Reporters sans Frontières
Tina Carr, Directrice, Rory Peck Trust
Ronald Koven, Directeur Adjoint, World Press Freedom Committee
07 Aug 15 | Art and the Law Commentary, Artistic Freedom Commentary and Reports
The 112 young cast members were two weeks into rehearsal when the production was cancelled. (Photo: Helen Maybanks / National Youth Theatre)
Reports this week that the National Youth Theatre had pulled the plug on Homegrown, a new play about radicalisation, contained some discomfiting details. The production had been moved from a venue in Bethnal Green, east London, amid concerns it was “insensitive”. Police had apparently requested a final draft of the script, and there had been talk of plain-clothes police attending performances. The play is the latest victim of an encroaching nervousness among authorities and arts organisations.
In September last year, the arts world was blindsided by the closure of white South African artist Brett Bailey’s Exhibit B exhibition at the Barbican. Bailey’s controversial work featured live actors in tableaux mimicking the anthropological exhibits of the 19th century, when real people were exhibited as curiosities for the amusement of Europeans – people such as Saartjie Baartman, the “Hottentot Venus”.
Bailey presents his show as antiracist and anticolonial. This newspaper agreed, giving it five stars during its Edinburgh run, and praising Bailey’s “fearlessly uncompromising” approach. Others took a diametrically opposed view. Sara Myers, a journalist in Birmingham, started Boycott the Human Zoo, an online petition, supported by a broad coalition of campaigners, artists and arts organisations, condemning the work and calling for it to be cancelled. On the opening night in London, protesters gathered to picket the show. Accounts differ as to what happened next, but the evening ended with police advising that Exhibit B be shut down, and not reopened. The Barbican felt they had no alternative but to follow the advice.
The Exhibit B closure may have been unexpected, but it was not unprecedented. Last year in Edinburgh, pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel supporters protested outside The City – a hip-hop musical by Israeli company Incubator that received funding from the Israeli government. There, again, the police advised the venue to cancel the show. And as far back as 2004, the West Midlands police similarly advised Birmingham Rep to cancel Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s play Behzti about abuse and corruption in a Gurdwara (Sikh temple), when protesters from the Sikh community, who had demonstrated outside the theatre for several days, tried to break into it. It was Bhatti’s subsequent play, Behud, an imaginative response to the experience of having Behtzi cancelled, that provided the point of departure for an ongoing programme of work looking at constraints on freedom of expression in UK that I started at Index on Censorship.
At the start of that programme, I wrote a case study of the premiere production of Behud at the Belgrade theatre in Coventry called Beyond Belief – theatre, freedom of expression and public order. Given the controversy surrounding Behzti, Behud was treated as a potential public order issue from day one. Importantly, it revealed that there was, and there remains, no specific guidance for policing of artistic freedoms. It also spawned a series of roundtable discussions and a couple of conferences on the status of artistic freedom, the second of which, Taking the offensive at the Southbank Centre in 2013, looked at how lack of clarity around policing roles and the law contributed to growing self-censorship in the cultural sector. Coming out of this conference was a picture of self-censorship as pervasive, complex and troubling, and there was a clear call for guidance to navigate an increasingly volatile cultural landscape. Specifically, many arts professionals who attended the conference were unclear about the role of the police and largely ignorant of the laws that impact on what is sayable in the arts.
This is no surprise – for several reasons. There is no training for arts professionals in art and the law as part of tertiary education. There is also very little in the way of legal precedent to guide arts organisations. And, of course, freedom of expression is innately complex. The right to it includes the right to shock, disgust and offend. But it is also not perceived as an absolute right, as demonstrated in the long list of qualifications in Article 10 of the European convention on human rights where freedom of expression is qualified by concerns including national security, the prevention of disorder and the “protection of health or morals”. It is therefore unsurprising that arts organisations can be unsure about how best to defend their right to free expression.
Tamsin Allen, senior partner at law firm Bindmans, and I decided to do something to help and have produced a series of information packs for arts organisations that introduce the law in a way that is relevant and tailored to their needs. The guides contextualise and explain qualifications to free expression, how they are represented in our legislation and what they mean for artists and arts bodies.
Choosing five areas of law that address these protected areas – legislation covering child protection, counter terrorism, public order, obscenity and race and religion – the lawyers explain the offences, and the roles and responsibilities of police and prosecuting services, as well as those of artists and arts bodies. However, it is the pack on public order that is probably most relevant to the arts sector, because it is far more likely that a public order problem arises because of the reactions of third parties to the work of art. This reflects how the art we see is much more subject to social rather than legal controls, and that is where the police come in, to arbitrate over the public space where some deep-seated social conflicts are acted out.
The packs explain that the police have a duty to support freedom of expression and to protect other rights, to prevent crime and to keep the peace. They summarise relevant legislation, explaining the qualified nature of the right to freedom of expression due to the offences in each area of law, and give guidance how best to prepare if you think the work could be contested. The guidance encourages arts organisations to be prepared to defend work they believe in, advises them on when and how to involve the police and on how to anticipate potential problems, guided as much by good practice and common sense as a detailed understanding of the law, most of which most organisations and artists will be doing anyway.
The packs are not a substitute for legal advice and provide links to law firms willing to give advice on this area. It includes a series of case studies that consider recent examples of police and/or lawyers having been involved in an artistic event, which look at things that worked well for freedom of expression and things that didn’t.
However, we have a problem. The heckler’s veto is working. When faced with a noisy demonstration, the police have shown that they will all too often take the path of least resistance and advise closure of whatever is provoking the protest. Arts organisations may have prepared well, and yet still find themselves facing the closure of a piece of work. This sends out a disturbing message to artists and arts bodies – that the right to protest is trumping the right to freedom of artistic expression. As things stand, in the trigger-happy age of social media where calls for work that offends to be shut down are easily made and quickly amplified, the arts cannot count on police protection to manage both the right to protest and to artistic expression. The police did a risk assessment on Behud and asked for £10,000 a night to provide adequate protection. Hamish Glen, artistic director of the Belgrade, explained that this was a fiscal impossibility – so the police offered to halve it, eventually waiving the fee altogether once Glen pointed out that even half was prohibitive and represented de facto censorship. But it exposed the fact that there is no guidance around the policing of artistic expression as a core duty, leaving it vulnerable. The fees were calculated based on how the police charge for attending football matches and music festivals. I have not heard of an arts venue being asked to pay for policing before.
In an ideal world we would have access to both the artwork and the protest it provokes. This is when art really works for society, when it encourages debate, inspires counterspeech; art coming from all perspectives and all voices in society, in particular those who are currently shamingly mis- or underrepresented in contemporary culture.
If we are to create the space where artists are free to take on the more complex issues in society, that may be disturbing, divisive, shocking or offensive, then we need to look again at the role of the police in helping to manage the public space in which different views meet. These may in fact be the same issues that the police are called on to manage through community relations policing, and this only adds to the complexity of their role – they probably would prefer it if artists didn’t rock the boat. And they can point to being resource-strapped and under pressure to fight crime.
The situation raises a series of difficult and important questions about policing, art and offence and requires high-level discussion, involving the police of course, about how best to defend the right to free expression. That work needs to start now.
A version of this article originally appeared in The Guardian on 7 August 2015
07 Aug 15 | Campaigns, mobile
Lire le communiqué en français
5 August 2015
The undersigned press freedom, media development and human rights organisations denounce the continued attacks on and threats to journalists, media workers and human rights defenders, most recently the serious incidents in which human rights defender Pierre Claver Mbonimpa survived an attempt on his life while journalist Esdras Ndikumana was the victim of a brutal attack by police and intelligence officials.
Furthermore, we are very concerned by the continued closure of independent media outlets and the consequent lack of access to reliable information in Burundi. This is particularly concerning given the continuing deterioration of the country’s security situation – a time when all Burundians should have access to accurate and balanced information rather than relying on rumours.
We call on the Burundian authorities to investigate these attacks immediately and to ensure that those responsible are found and brought to justice in a fair trial. Furthermore, we call on the authorities to allow for the re-opening and functioning of independent media and allow them to operate from the Maison de la Presse or from wherever they choose. This is particularly imperative given that several major radio stations have been destroyed. We also encourage the authorities to allow for the rebuilding and re-equipping of these media houses.
In addition, we encourage the authorities to ensure that the more than 50 journalists and media workers who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries are allowed to return safely to Burundi and resume their work in the country without fear of prosecution or persecution.
Finally, we encourage dialogue between the authorities and media, between the authorities and opposition parties and between authorities and United Nations and African Union representatives to create conditions conducive to building an environment of peace for all Burundians.
Signed:
Tom Henheffer, Executive Director, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE)
Toby Mendel, Executive Director, Center for Law and Democracy
Caroline Vuillemin, Director of Operations, Fondation Hirondelle
Daniel Calingaert, Executive Vice President, Freedom House
Daniel Bekele, Africa Director, Human Rights Watch
Melody Patry, Senior Advocacy Officer, Index on Censorship
Ernest Sagaga, Head, Human Rights and Safety, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
Jesper Højberg, Executive Director, International Media Support (IMS)
Barbara Trionfi, Executive Director, International Press Insitute (IPI)
Karin Deutsch Karlekar, Director, Free Expression Programs, PEN American Center
Tamsin Mitchell, Africa Researcher and Campaigner, PEN International
Cléa Kahn-Sriber, Head of Africa Desk, Reporters sans Frontières
Ronald Koven, Acting Director, World Press Freedom Committee
Lire le communiqué en français
07 Aug 15 | Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan News, mobile
[smartslider2 slider=”35″]
The following letter was written by Leyla Yunus, director of the Peace and Democracy Institute, who is currently on trial on spurious charges. Her husband, Arif, a historian and researcher is also on trial. The letter was originally published at Meydan.tv.
They’re planning to wipe us out in agony. Why is that? So that our pain and our deaths become a lesson for all.
They didn’t give me an opportunity to speak in court, but I want my voice to be heard. Finally, I saw Arif. We haven’t seen each other, and I haven’t heard his voice for a year! He celebrated his 60th anniversary in a prison cell, and I’ll have to mark my 60th birthday in duress as well.
We were separated on the 37th anniversary of our wedding, and I already don’t believe that we can be together in this world… with our daughter and the whole family.
Azerbaijan: Silencing human rights
Ongoing coverage of the crackdown on civil society by the government of President Ilham Aliyev
|
We are both historians, and we are well aware that despotism is based on repressions. Back in the past, [Russian revolutionary Sergey] Stepniak-Kravchinsky wrote: “It’s worse than plague. Plague kills indiscriminately, while despotism chooses its victims from the cream of the nation. ”
Tofiq Yagublu, Anar, Ilgar, Intigam, Hilal, Seymour Ghazi, Khadija, Thale Bagirzade, Movsum Samedov, Yadigar Sadigov, Rasul Jafarov, Rashadat and others from NIDA. More than a hundred of the brightest and cleanest…
In the 80s Arif, and I worked in samizdat newspaper Express-Chronicle published illegally. Then, in 1986 our colleague Anatoly Marchenko died in the Chistopol prison. For me, it was a shock. I am well aware of the deaths in Stalin’s camps, since three brothers of my grandfather passed away there. But in 1986….
At that time, I realized that the terror continued in the USSR, and we had to be ready for it, but I could not assume that the independent Azerbaijan would follow the same path.
As a human rights activist with nearly 30 years of experience, I knew about torture in Azerbaijan. Still, it was hard when I was attacked in the first months of my detention, when on September 23, 2014, Major Yagubov, a young and strong man, started beating me. As a result of these beatings, I lost the ability to see normally with my left eye.
On December 11, 2014, I was dragged by my feet into a solitary confinement without explaining a reason… I heard from Arif that he had also been assaulted during the first days of his arrest…
Arif suffers from stage 3 arterial hypertension. This means strokes, paralysis, hemorrhage, and unpredictable blood pressure hikes. Now he has a tumor on his head. He has been held in a solitary confinement for a year, and he suffers from a persistent pain. It is well-known that I suffer from diabetes and liver decomposition. The EU sent an expensive medicine, but we all understand that in detention this medicine will not be able to help me…
They’re planning to wipe us out in agony. Why is that? So that our agony and our deaths become a lesson for all. If they do not shy away from destroying a well-known family, then others are easy to destroy too. Fear must live in the hearts of citizens. Fear and hopelessness. I have no illusions about this tribunal, as there was no so-called investigation.
Which articles of the law to use in order to fake accusations, make up a crime and sentence a defendant – these orders come to prosecutors and judges from the top. Preparing our indictment, prosecutors got so carried away with the falsification that even a well-known, documented fact of an unlawful destruction of our house on Shamsi Badalbeyli Street 38 was presented as a peaceful move to another apartment. Even the Administrative, Economic, Appeals and Supreme Courts acknowledged the destruction of our house. However, this was clearly an unlawful destruction of property with all assets (archives, computers) on August 11, 2011.
This obvious lie is a clear evidence of how falsified the entire investigation is. Neither the investigators nor the prosecutor fear that their lies can be refuted…
Arif is accused of transferring money from one of his accounts to another. I have witnessed so many trials against political prisoners, given a well-deserved “striped robe” to so many judges, which is why I will definitely not participate in this tribunal. But I’ll just sit with Arif and hold his hand. We both know that this is our last date. When it all breaks down, I will not be there with him … But we are both historians and we know: “wayfarer will seek his way to Lacedaemon so that we … remain faithful to the law.” As my Polish teacher taught me: “For your freedom and ours.”
This letter was originally published at Meydan.tv
07 Aug 15 | Campaigns, Europe and Central Asia, European Union, Germany, Statements
Update: German Federal Prosecutor drops treason probe of ‘Netzpolitik’ journalists, DW reported.
“The investigation against Netzpolitik.org for treason and their unknown sources is an attack against the free press. Charges of treason against journalists performing their essential work is a violation of the fifth article of the German constitution. We demand an end to the investigation into Netzpolitik.org and their unknown sources.”
Germany: Federal attorney general opens criminal charges against blog
“Die Ermittlungen gegen die Redaktion Netzpolitik.org und ihrer unbekannten Quellen wegen Landesverrats sind ein Angriff auf die Pressefreiheit. Klagen wegen Landesverrats gegen Journalisten, die lediglich ihrer für die Demokratie unverzichtbaren Arbeit nachgehen, stellen eine Verletzung von Artikel 5 Grundgesetz dar. Wir fordern die sofortige Einstellung der Ermittlungen gegen die Redakteure von Netzpolitik.org und ihrer Quellen.”
“Les charges contre Netzpolitik.org et leur source inconnue pour trahison sont une attaque contre la liberté de la presse. La poursuite pour trahison des journalistes qui effectuent un travail essentiel pour la démocratie est une violation du cinquième article de la constitution allemande. Nous demandons l’arrêt des poursites contre les journalistes de Netzpolitik.org et leurs sources.”
“La investigación en contra de Netzpolitik.org y su fuente por traición es un ataque a la libertad de la prensa. Acusaciones de traición a la patria hechas contra periodistas quienes estan realizando su labor esencial es una violacion del quinto artículo de la Constitución alemana. Exigimos que se detenga la investigación en contra de Netzpolitik.org y su fuente desconocida.”
Mahsa Alimardani, University of Amsterdam/Global Voices
Pierre Alonso, journalist, Libération
Sebastian Anthony, editor, Ars Technica UK
Jacob Appelbaum, independent investigative journalist
Jürgen Asbeck, KOMPASS
Julian Assange, editor-in-chief, WikiLeaks
Jennifer Baker, founder, Revolution News
Jennifer Baker (Brusselsgeek), EU correspondent, The Register
Diani Barreto, Courage Foundation
Mari Bastashevski, investigative researcher, journalist, artist
Carlos Enrique Bayo, editor-in-chief, PÚBLICO, Madrid, Spain
Sven Becker, journalist
Jürgen Berger, independent journalist
Patrick Beuth, journalist, Zeit Online
Ellery Roberts Biddle on behalf of Global Voices Advox
Florian Blaschke, blogger and managing editor, t3n.de
Eva Blum-Dumontet, Privacy International
Anne Bohlmann, freelance journalist
Detlef Borchers, freelance journalist, Heise
Stefan Buchen, journalist, NDR
Silke Burmester, journalist
Jan Böhmermann, late night TV host
Wolfgang Büchner, managing director Blick-Group, Switzerland / former
editor of DER SPIEGEL, Germany
Shawn Carrié, News & Politics editor, medium
David Carzon, deputy editor, Libération
Marina Catucci, journalist, Il Manifesto
Robin Celikates, associate professor of philosophy, University of Amsterdam
Graham Cluley, computer security and privacy columnist, grahamcluley.com
Gabriella Coleman, Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy,
McGill University
Josef Ohlsson Collentine, journalist, Pirate Times
Tommy Collison, opinion editor, Washington Square News
Ron Deibert, director, The Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs,
University of Toronto
Valie Djordjevic, publisher and editor of iRights.info
Daniel Drepper, senior reporter, CORRECT!V
Joshua Eaton, independent journalist
Matthias Eberl, multimedia journalist, Rufposten
Helke Ellersiek, NRW-Korrespondentin, taz.die tageszeitung
Carolin Emcke, journalist
Monika Ermert, freelance journalist
Anriette Esterhuysen, executive director, Association for Progressive
Communications
Cyrus Farivar, senior business editor, Ars Technica
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, journalist, Motherboard, VICE Media
Carola Frediani, journalist, Italy
Erin Gallagher, Revolution News
Sean Gallagher, Editor, Online and News, Index on Censorship
Johannes Gernert, journalist, TAZ
Aaron Gibson, freelance journalist and researcher
Dan Gillmor, author and teacher
John Goetz, investigative journalist, NDR/Süddeutsche Zeitung
Gabriel González Zorrilla, Deutsche Welle
Yael Grauer, freelance journalist
Glenn Greenwald, investigative journalist, The Intercept
Markus Grill, chief editor, CORRECT!V
Christian Grothoff, freelance journalist, The Intercept
Claudio Guarnieri, independent investigative journalist
Amaelle Guiton, journalist, Libération
Marie Gutbub, independent journalist
Nicky Hager, investigative journalist, New Zealand
Jessica Hannan, freelancer
Sarah Harrison, investigations editor, WikiLeaks
Martin Holland, editor heise online/c’t
Max Hoppenstedt, editor in chief, Vice Motherboard, Germany
Bethany Horne, journalist, Newsweek Magazine
Ulrich Hottelet, freelance journalist
Jérôme Hourdeaux, journalist, Mediapart
Johan Hufnagel, chief editor, Libération
Dr. Christian Humborg, CEO, CORRECT!V
Jörg Hunke, journalist
Mustafa İşitmez, columnist , jiyan.org
Eric Jarosinski, editor, Nein.Quarterly
Jeff Jarvis, professor, City University of New York, Graduate School of
Journalism
Cédric Jeanneret, EthACK
Simon Jockers, data journalist, CORRECT!V
Jörn Kabisch, journalist, Redaktion taz. am wochenende
Martin Kaul, journalist, TAZ
Nicolas Kayser-Bril, co-founder of Journalism++
Matt Kennard, Bertha fellow at the Centre for Investigative Journalism,
London
Dmytri Kleiner, Telekommunisten
Peter Kofod, freelance journalist, boardmember Veron.dk, Denmark
Joshua Kopstein, independent journalist, Al Jazeera America /
contributor, Motherboard / VICE
Till Kreutzer, publisher and editor of iRights.info
Jürgen Kuri, stellv. Chefredakteur, heise online/c’t
Damien Leloup, journalist, Le Monde
Aleks Lessmann, Bundespressesprecher, Neue Liberale
Daniel Luecking, online-journalist, Whistleblower-Network
Gavin MacFadyen, director for Center of Investigative Journalism and
professor at Goldsmiths University of London
Rebecca MacKinnon, journalist
Tanja Malle, ORF Radio Ö1
Dani Marinova, researcher, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin
Alexander J. Martin, The Register
Uwe H. Martin, photojournalist, Bombay Flying Club
Kerstin Mattys, freelance journalist
Stefania Maurizi, investigative journalist, l’ESPRESSO, Rome, Italy
Declan McCullagh, co-founder & CEO, Recent Media Inc
Derek Mead, editor, Motherboard (VICE Media)
Johannes Merkert, Heise c’t – Magazin für Computertechnik
Moritz Metz, reporter, Breitband, Deutschlandradio Kultur
Katharina Meyer, Wired Germany
Henrik Moltke, independent investigative journalist
Glyn Moody, journalist
Andy Mueller-Maguhn, freelance journalist
Erich Möchel, investigative journalist, ORF, Austria
Kevin O’Gorman, The Globe and Mail
Frederik Obermaier, investigative Journalist, Germany
Philipp Otto, publisher and editor of iRights.info
David Pachali, publisher and editor of iRights.info
Trevor Paglen, freelance journalist and artist, America
Michael Pereira, interactive editor, The Globe and Mail, Canada
Christian Persson, co-publisher of c’t magazine and Heise online
Angela Phillips, professor Department of Media and Communications,
Goldsmiths University of London
Edwy Plenel, president, Mediapart
Laura Poitras, investigative journalist, The Intercept
J.M. Porup, freelance journalist
Tim Pritlove, metaebene
Jeremias Radke, journalist, Heise, Mac & i
Jan Raehm, freelance journalist
Andreas Rasmussen, danish freelance journalist
Jonas Rest, editor, Berliner Zeitung
Georg Restle, redaktionsleiter, ARD Monitor
Frederik Richter, reporter, CORRECT!V
Jay Rosen, professor of journalism, New York University
Christa Roth, freelance journalist
Leif Ryge, independent investigative journalist
Ahmet A. Sabancı, journalist/writer, co-editor-in-chief and
Co-Spokesperson of Jiyan.org
Jonathan Sachse, reporter, CORRECT!V
Philip Di Salvo, researcher and journalist
Don Sambandaraksa, Southeast Asia Correspondent, TelecomAsia
Eric Scherer, director of future media, France Télévisions
Kai Schlieter, Reportage & Recherche, TAZ
Christian Schlüter, journalist, Berliner Zeitung
Marie Schmidt, journalist, Die Zeit
Bruce Schneier, security technologist and author
David Schraven, publisher, CORRECTIV
Daniel Schulz, Redaktion taz.am wochenende
Christiane Schulzki-Haddouti, independent journalist and researcher
Merlin Schumacher, editor in chief, for Zebrabutter
Clay Shirky, associate professor, NYU
Teresa Sickert, author and radio host
Christian Simon, editor, Social Media Watchblog
Claudia Simon, kultur propaganda, Berlin – www.kultur-propaganda.de
Mario Sixtus, Elektrischer Reporter
Michael Sontheimer, journalist, DER SPIEGEL
Efe Kerem Sozeri, journalist, Jiyan.org
Matthias Spielkamp, iRights.info, board member of Reporters without
Borders Germany, member of the advisory council of the Whistleblower
Netzwerk
Volker Steinhoff, Redaktionsleiter ARD Panorama
Andrea Steinsträter, journalist and editor at the news team of the WDR
Television
Catherine Stupp, freelance journalist
Batur Talu, media consultant, Istanbul
Trevor Timm, co-founder and executive director, Freedom of the Press
Foundation
Dimitri Tokmetzis, journalist, De Correspondent
Ilija Trojanow, journalist
Albrecht Ude, journalist
Martin Untersinger, journalist, Le Monde
Nadja Vancauwenberghe, editor-in-chief, EXBERLINER
Andreas Weck, journalist
Jochen Wegner, editor-in-chief, ZEIT ONLINE
Stefan Wehrmeyer, data journalist, CORRECTIV
Rob Wijnberg, founder, editor-in-cheif, De Correspondent
Jeroen Wollaars, correspondent for Germany and Central Europe, Dutch
public broadcaster NOS
Krystian Woznicki, berlinergazette.de
Maria Xynou, researcher, Tactical Tech
John Young, Cryptome
Juli Zeh, author
Christoph Zeiher, independent journalist
Mapping Media Freedom
Click on the bubbles to view reports or double-click to zoom in on specific regions. The full site can be accessed at https://mappingmediafreedom.org/
|
