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Azerbaijan: open letters to Pharrell Williams, Enrique Iglesias, and Chris Brown

19 Apr 16 | Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Letters, Campaigns, Europe and Central Asia, mobile, Statements

Dear Mr Williams,

We are writing to you as members of the Sport for Rights campaign, which has been working to raise human rights violations in Azerbaijan in the run-up to the Formula One European Grand Prix. We are deeply disappointed by your decision to perform in Baku on 19 June in connection with the European Grand Prix, given the dire human rights situation in the country. We urge you to take a stand for human rights in Azerbaijan and cancel your Baku performance.

We have observed your support for the respect for the fundamental freedoms of all people, such as your comments at the United Nations on the International Day of Happiness last March, where you stated, “Happiness is your birthright”. You spoke out again in October dedicating your song “Freedom” to the refugee crisis in Europe, saying, “Freedom is something you’re born with. No one has to give it to you”.

Unfortunately, that is not the case for the people of Azerbaijan, whose rights have not been respected or protected. Although 16 political prisoners were recently released, dozens still languish in Azerbaijani jails, including journalists, bloggers, youth activists, politicians, and religious followers guilty of nothing more than disagreeing with the government. Despite the fact that they never should have spent a single day in jail, the released prisoners have not been rehabilitated, still under legal restrictions that impede their work and their lives, with some facing travel bans preventing them from accessing urgently needed medical attention. More broadly, civil society is attempting to work in nearly impossible conditions, and a number of NGOs face politically motivated criminal investigations. Journalists operate in a climate of fear, in a media environment dominated by the state, where violent attacks – even murders – against critical voices are committed with impunity.

Among Azerbaijan’s political prisoners is Khadija Ismayilova, a courageous investigative journalist targeted for exposing corruption of the ruling elite through stories that are continuing to unravel through the Panama Papers leak. Another journalist, Seymur Hezi, is jailed on trumped-up hooliganism charges, following years of pressure against him, such as being abducted and tortured, and warned to stop criticising Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Opposition leader Ilgar Mammadov, who attempted to challenge Aliyev’s presidency in 2013, has been imprisoned for over three years, and has reported being repeatedly tortured. Youth activist Ilkin Rustemzade has also been jailed for more than three years, initially arrested in connection with a “Harlem Shake” video filmed in Baku.

As with previous prestige events, the Azerbaijani authorities are using the European Grand Prix in an attempt to whitewash their image, to distract international attention from the human rights abuses taking place in the country. Whether or not it is your intention, your performance would be used as part of that cover-up, as propaganda for an increasingly authoritarian government. Although you hope for your music to bring happiness to people all over the world, a performance in Azerbaijan would serve to further the suffering of the country’s political prisoners, and the many others whose rights have been violated by the very government that will profit from the European Grand Prix.

But you still have the chance to make this right. We urge you to cancel your Baku performance, and to speak out publicly, condemning the human rights crackdown in Azerbaijan, and calling for the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners.

We call your attention to comments made by U2 lead singer Bono on stage in Montreal last June, on the night of the opening ceremony of the European Games in Baku. Bono specifically named six Azerbaijani political prisoners, displayed their photos in the arena, and conveyed a message to President Aliyev: “If anything happens to one of our friends, we will hold you responsible!” Five of the prisoners he named have since been released. We believe that you taking a strong stand for human rights could also have a significant impact.

Please, have some compassion for these courageous people, imprisoned for speaking the truth and trying to change the situation in Azerbaijan for the better. Show the world that you care, and that your silence cannot be bought.

Sincerely yours,

Rebecca Vincent, Coordinator, Sport for Rights campaign

Mike Harris, Director, 89up

Thomas Hughes, Executive Director, ARTICLE 19

Alice Klein, President, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression

Nina Ognianova, Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator, Committee to Protect

Journalists

Maran Turner, Executive Director, Freedom Now

Danuta Przywara, President of the Board, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights

Florian Irminger, Head of Advocacy, Human Rights House Foundation

Melody Patry, Senior Advocacy Officer, Index on Censorship

Emin Huseynov, Director, Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety

Karim Lahidji, President, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

Brigitte Dufour, Director, International Partnership for Human Rights

James Marriott, Co-Director, Platform

Petra Havlikova, Project Coordinator of the Women’s Rights Are Human Rights

Program, NESEHNUTI

Berit Lindeman, Senior Advisor, Norwegian Helsinki Committee

Karin Karlekar, Director, Free Expression Programs, PEN America

Ivana Skalova, Head of the East European Program, People in Need

Aleksandra Antonowicz-Cyglicka, Head of Programme, Action for the Global

South, Polish Green Network

Gerald Staberock, Secretary General, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

Łukasz Biernacki, Managing Director, You Aid Foundation

Dear Mr Iglesias,

We are writing to you as members of the Sport for Rights campaign, which has been working to raise human rights violations in Azerbaijan in the run-up to the Formula One European Grand Prix. We are deeply disappointed by your decision to perform in Baku on 18 June in connection with the European Grand Prix, given the dire human rights situation in the country. We urge you to take a stand for human rights in Azerbaijan and cancel your Baku performance.

We have observed your support for charitable causes, including Save the Children, which advocates the promotion and protection of human rights. Unfortunately, the human rights of the people of Azerbaijan have not been respected or protected. Although 16 political prisoners were recently released, dozens still languish in Azerbaijani jails, including journalists, bloggers, youth activists, politicians, and religious followers guilty of nothing more than disagreeing with the government. Despite the fact that they never should have spent a single day in jail, the released prisoners have not been rehabilitated, still under legal restrictions that impede their work and their lives, with some facing travel bans preventing them from accessing urgently needed medical attention. More broadly, civil society is attempting to work in nearly impossible conditions, and a number of NGOs face politically motivated criminal investigations. Journalists operate in a climate of fear, in a media environment dominated by the state, where violent attacks – even murders – against critical voices are committed with impunity.

Among Azerbaijan’s political prisoners is Khadija Ismayilova, a courageous investigative journalist targeted for exposing corruption of the ruling elite through stories that are continuing to unravel through the Panama Papers leak. Another journalist, Seymur Hezi, is jailed on trumped-up hooliganism charges, following years of pressure against him, such as being abducted and tortured, and warned to stop criticising Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Opposition leader Ilgar Mammadov, who attempted to challenge Aliyev’s presidency in 2013, has been imprisoned for over three years, and has reported being repeatedly tortured. Youth activist Ilkin Rustemzade has also been jailed for more than three years, initially arrested in connection with a “Harlem Shake” video filmed in Baku.

As with previous prestige events, the Azerbaijani authorities are using the European Grand Prix in an attempt to whitewash their image, to distract international attention from the human rights abuses taking place in the country. Whether or not it is your intention, your performance would be used as part of that cover-up, as propaganda for an increasingly authoritarian government. A performance in Azerbaijan would serve to further the suffering of the country’s political prisoners, and the many others whose rights have been violated by the very government that will profit from the European Grand Prix.

But you still have the chance to make this right. We urge you to cancel your Baku performance, and to speak out publicly, condemning the human rights crackdown in Azerbaijan, and calling for the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners.

We call your attention to comments made by U2 lead singer Bono on stage in Montreal last June, on the night of the opening ceremony of the European Games in Baku. Bono specifically named six Azerbaijani political prisoners, displayed their photos in the arena, and conveyed a message to President Aliyev: “If anything happens to one of our friends, we will hold you responsible!” Five of the prisoners he named have since been released. We believe that you taking a strong stand for human rights could also have a significant impact.

Please, have some compassion for these courageous people, imprisoned for speaking the truth and trying to change the situation in Azerbaijan for the better. Show the world that you care, and that your silence cannot be bought.

Sincerely yours,

Rebecca Vincent, Coordinator, Sport for Rights campaign

Mike Harris, Director, 89up

Thomas Hughes, Executive Director, ARTICLE 19

Alice Klein, President, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression

Nina Ognianova, Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator, Committee to Protect

Journalists

Maran Turner, Executive Director, Freedom Now

Danuta Przywara, President of the Board, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights

Florian Irminger, Head of Advocacy, Human Rights House Foundation

Melody Patry, Senior Advocacy Officer, Index on Censorship

Emin Huseynov, Director, Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety

Karim Lahidji, President, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

Brigitte Dufour, Director, International Partnership for Human Rights

James Marriott, Co-Director, Platform

Petra Havlikova, Project Coordinator of the Women’s Rights Are Human Rights

Program, NESEHNUTI

Berit Lindeman, Senior Advisor, Norwegian Helsinki Committee

Karin Karlekar, Director, Free Expression Programs, PEN America

Ivana Skalova, Head of the East European Program, People in Need

Aleksandra Antonowicz-Cyglicka, Head of Programme, Action for the Global

South, Polish Green Network

Gerald Staberock, Secretary General, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

Łukasz Biernacki, Managing Director, You Aid Foundation

Dear Mr Brown,

We are writing to you as members of the Sport for Rights campaign, which has been working to raise human rights violations in Azerbaijan in the run-up to the Formula One European Grand Prix. We are deeply disappointed by your decision to perform in Baku on 17 June in connection with the European Grand Prix, given the dire human rights situation in the country. We urge you to take a stand for human rights in Azerbaijan and cancel your Baku performance.

Azerbaijan is in the midst of an unprecedented human rights crackdown. Although 16 political prisoners were recently released, dozens still languish in Azerbaijani jails, including journalists, bloggers, youth activists, politicians, and religious followers guilty of nothing more than disagreeing with the government. Despite the fact that they never should have spent a single day in jail, the released prisoners have not been rehabilitated, still under legal restrictions that impede their work and their lives, with some facing travel bans preventing them from accessing urgently needed medical attention. More broadly, civil society is attempting to work in nearly impossible conditions, and a number of NGOs face politically motivated criminal investigations. Journalists operate in a climate of fear, in a media environment dominated by the state, where violent attacks – even murders – against critical voices are committed with impunity.

Among Azerbaijan’s political prisoners is Khadija Ismayilova, a courageous investigative journalist targeted for exposing corruption of the ruling elite through stories that are continuing to unravel through the Panama Papers leak. Another journalist, Seymur Hezi, is jailed on trumped-up hooliganism charges, following years of pressure against him, such as being abducted and tortured, and warned to stop criticising Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Opposition leader Ilgar Mammadov, who attempted to challenge Aliyev’s presidency in 2013, has been imprisoned for over three years, and has reported being repeatedly tortured. Youth activist Ilkin Rustemzade has also been jailed for more than three years, initially arrested in connection with a “Harlem Shake” video filmed in Baku.

As with previous prestige events, the Azerbaijani authorities are using the European Grand Prix in an attempt to whitewash their image, to distract international attention from the human rights abuses taking place in the country. Whether or not it is your intention, your performance would be used as part of that cover-up, as propaganda for an increasingly authoritarian government. A performance in Azerbaijan would serve to further the suffering of the country’s political prisoners, and the many others whose rights have been violated by the very government that will profit from the European Grand Prix.

But you still have the chance to make this right. We urge you to cancel your Baku performance, and to speak out publicly, condemning the human rights crackdown in Azerbaijan, and calling for the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners.

We call your attention to comments made by U2 lead singer Bono on stage in Montreal last June, on the night of the opening ceremony of the European Games in Baku. Bono specifically named six Azerbaijani political prisoners, displayed their photos in the arena, and conveyed a message to President Aliyev: “If anything happens to one of our friends, we will hold you responsible!” Five of the prisoners he named have since been released. We believe that you taking a strong stand for human rights could also have a significant impact.

Please, have some compassion for these courageous people, imprisoned for speaking the truth and trying to change the situation in Azerbaijan for the better. Show the world that you care, and that your silence cannot be bought.

Sincerely yours,

Rebecca Vincent, Coordinator, Sport for Rights campaign

Mike Harris, Director, 89up

Thomas Hughes, Executive Director, ARTICLE 19

Alice Klein, President, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression

Nina Ognianova, Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator, Committee to Protect

Journalists

Maran Turner, Executive Director, Freedom Now

Danuta Przywara, President of the Board, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights

Florian Irminger, Head of Advocacy, Human Rights House Foundation

Melody Patry, Senior Advocacy Officer, Index on Censorship

Emin Huseynov, Director, Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety

Karim Lahidji, President, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

Brigitte Dufour, Director, International Partnership for Human Rights

James Marriott, Co-Director, Platform

Petra Havlikova, Project Coordinator of the Women’s Rights Are Human Rights

Program, NESEHNUTI

Berit Lindeman, Senior Advisor, Norwegian Helsinki Committee

Karin Karlekar, Director, Free Expression Programs, PEN America

Ivana Skalova, Head of the East European Program, People in Need

Aleksandra Antonowicz-Cyglicka, Head of Programme, Action for the Global

South, Polish Green Network

Gerald Staberock, Secretary General, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

Łukasz Biernacki, Managing Director, You Aid Foundation

Azerbaijan: Human rights lawyer released

29 Mar 16 | Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan News, Campaigns

Index on Censorship welcomes the release of lawyer Intigam Aliyev, but says the Azerbaijan authorities must now release journalists and activists who remain imprisoned.

Aliyev is a lawyer who specialised in defending the rights of Azerbaijani citizens before the European Court of Human Rights. Index calls on the government of Ilham Aliyev, the president, to further release journalists Khadija Ismayilova, Seymur Hezi and all political prisoners who have been locked up for voicing criticism of the government.

“This release is good news for Intigam Aliyev’s family. The international community must continue to put pressure on Azerbaijan to free journalists and political prisoners that it remain in detention,” Index on Censorship CEO Jodie Ginsberg said. “Azerbaijan still has a very long road ahead in delivering basic freedoms — including a guarantee of freedom of expression for all its citizens. It must end its judicial harrassment of reporters, political opponents and others who are committed to the promotion of democracy and human rights.”

Aliyev, who ran the Azerbaijan-base Legal Research Institute, was one of a score of prominent human rights activists and journalists who were arrested and subjected to show trials in 2014 and 2015.

In April 2015, Aliyev was sentenced to 7.5 years imprisonment for illegal business activities, tax evasion and abuse of power. The case was widely condemned as being politically motivated by Azerbaijan’s government.

Aliyev’s release follows the pardoning of 14 political prisoners by a presidential decree on 17 March.

Human rights defender Rasul Jafarov, the founder of the Sport for Rights campaign, stepped out from Baku’s Prison Number 10 into freedom on 17 March after spending 593 days unjustly jailed. The same day, the European Court of Human Rights issued a judgment in Jafarov’s case, acknowledging that his arrest and detention were politically motivated.

Jafarov was one of 14 political prisoners included in the pardon decree signed on 17 March. The other political prisoners pardoned through that decree included journalists Parviz Hashimli, Hilal Mammadov, and Tofig Yagublu; human rights defenders Taleh Khasmammadov and Anar Mammadli; NIDA civic movement activists Rashadat Akhundov, Mahammad Azizov and Rashad Hasanov; bloggers Siraj Karimli and Omar Mammadov; former government official Akif Muradverdiyev; chairman of the National Statehood party Nemat Penahli; and Musavat party activist Yadigar Sadigov.

A further political prisoner, journalist Rauf Mirkadirov, was released on 17 March by the Baku Court of Appeals, which commuted his six-year prison sentence into a suspended five-year sentence. Mirkadirov had been unjustly jailed since April 2014 on politically motivated treason charges.

Award-winning investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who has been detained since 5 December 2014. Ismayilova was initially arrested on charges of incitement to suicide, which Index condemned as spurious. In February 2015, Ismayilova was additionally charged with tax evasion and abuse of power. In September 2015, she was sentenced to 7.5 years after a show trial at which she declared her innocence.

Journalist Seymur Hezi was sentenced to five years imprisonment for “aggravated hooliganism” on 29 January 2015. He was arrested and detained in August 2014.

Rahim Haciyev, acting editor of Index award-winning newspaper Azadliq, told Index in September 2015 Hezi’s prosecution was due to his critical articles of the Azerbaijan authorities in the newspaper, as well as critiques he had made in his online TV programme, Azerbaijan Hour.

Political prisoners released in Azerbaijan

18 Mar 16 | Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Statements, Campaigns, Statements

We, the undersigned members of the Sport for Rights coalition, express our relief over the release of 15 political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Human rights defender Rasul Jafarov, the founder of the Sport for Rights campaign, stepped out from Baku’s Prison Number 10 into freedom on 17 March after spending 593 days unjustly jailed. The same day, the European Court of Human Rights issued a judgment in Jafarov’s case, acknowledging that his arrest and detention were politically motivated.

Jafarov was one of 14 political prisoners included in a presidential pardon decree signed on 17 March. The other political prisoners pardoned through that decree included journalists Parviz Hashimli, Hilal Mammadov, and Tofig Yagublu; human rights defenders Taleh Khasmammadov and Anar Mammadli; NIDA civic movement activists Rashadat Akhundov, Mahammad Azizov and Rashad Hasanov; bloggers Siraj Karimli and Omar Mammadov; former government official Akif Muradverdiyev; chairman of the National Statehood party Nemat Penahli; and Musavat party activist Yadigar Sadigov.

A further political prisoner, journalist Rauf Mirkadirov, was released on 17 March by the Baku Court of Appeals, which commuted his six-year prison sentence into a suspended five-year sentence. Mirkadirov had been unjustly jailed since April 2014 on politically motivated treason charges.

“We are incredibly relieved for those released yesterday, including Rasul Jafarov, who was arrested in August 2014 after launching our campaign to draw attention to human rights abuses taking place in Azerbaijan. But none of these 15 people ever should have been arrested in the first place, and dozens more remain unjustly jailed now, neglected by this pardon decree. They must be released, and this vicious cycle of politically motivated arrests must end”, said Rebecca Vincent, coordinator of the Sport for Rights campaign.

While the release of these political prisoners was the right step, we note that they never should have spent a single day in jail. Further, dozens of other political prisoners remain in Azerbaijani jails, including journalists Khadija Ismayilova and Seymur Hezi, human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, youth activist Ilkin Rustemzade, and opposition REAL movement leader Ilgar Mammadov, whose release has been ordered by the European Court of Human Rights.

We reiterate our call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, and for an end to the cycle of politically motivated arrests in Azerbaijan. We urge the international community to continue to press for the release of the remaining political prisoners as a matter of urgent priority, and for further concrete reforms to improve the country’s dire human rights situation.

Supporting organisations:

ARTICLE 19

Civil Rights Defenders

Committee to Protect Journalists

Freedom Now

Front Line Defenders

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights

Human Rights House Foundation

Index on Censorship

Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

International Media Support

International Partnership for Human Rights

NESEHNUTI

Netherlands Helsinki Committee

Norwegian Helsinki Committee

PEN America

People in Need

Platform

Polish Green Network

Reporters Without Borders

World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

Index on Censorship Youth Advisory Board: January to June 2016

12 Feb 16 | mobile, News and features, Youth Board

Index on Censorship recently appointed a new youth advisory board who attend monthly online meetings to discuss current freedom of expression issues and complete related tasks. As their first assignments they were asked to provide a short bio to introduce themselves, along with a photograph of them holding a quotation highlighting what free expression means to them.

Simon Engelkes

I am from Berlin, Germany, where I study political science at Free University Berlin. I have worked as an intern with Reporters Without Borders and RTL Television, which made me passionate about the importance of freedom of speech.

I believe that freedom of expression forms an important cornerstone of any effective democracy. Journalists and bloggers must live without fear and without interference from state or economic interests. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Journalists, authors and everyday citizens are imprisoned or killed by radicals, state agencies or drug cartels. Raif Badawi, James Foley, Khadija Ismayilova, Avijit Roy – the list is endless.

We need to remind ourselves and the powerful of today, that freedom of expression as well as freedom of information are basic human rights, which we have to defend at all costs.

Mariana Cunha e Melo

I am from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I graduated from law school in Rio and I have a degree from New York University School of Law. My family has taught me about the dangers of censorship and dictatorship, so I have always been interested in studying civil rights. This was the main reason I decided to study law.

I grew up listening to stories about the media censorship in Brazil during the military dictatorship. The fight against the ghost of state censorship has always sounded very natural to me – and, I believe, to all my generation. When I finished law school I found out that the new villain my generation has to face is the censorship based on constitutional values. The argument has changed, but the censorship is not all that different. So I decided to dedicate my academic and my professional life as a lawyer to fight all sorts of institutionalised censorship in Brazil.

Ephraim Kenyanito

I was born and raised in Kenya, and I am currently working as the sub-Saharan Africa policy analyst at Access Now, an international organisation that defends and extends the digital rights of users at risk around the world. My role involves working on the connection between internet policy and human rights in African Union member countries. I am an affiliate at the Internet Policy Observatory (IPO) at the Center for Global Communication Studies, University of Pennsylvania. I also currently serve as a member of the UN Secretary General’s Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group on internet governance.

The reason why I have always been passionate about protecting the open internet is that it is a cornerstone for advancing free speech in the post-millennium era and there is a great need to build common ground around a public interest-oriented approach to internet governance.

Emily Wright

I grew up in Portugal, and I am now based between London and Bogotá, Colombia. I am a freelance filmmaker and journalist. Working in documentary production and community-based, participatory journalism informed a growing interest in journalistic practices, freedom of expression and access to information.

I believe that one of the greatest threats to freedom of expression is the flagrant violation of civil liberties under the banner of national security. The war on terror, underscored by Bush’s declaration “You’re either for us or against us”, has collapsed the middle ground, suppressing any struggles that challenge that statement. Freedom of expression has become a pretext for silencing those who have the least access to it; those who do not fall in line with the global order’s supposed defence of freedom against barbarism and obscurantism.

Mark Crawford

I’m originally from Birmingham, and now a postgraduate student at University College London, specialising in Russian and post-Soviet politics. This has inevitably educated me on the pressures exerted upon freedom of expression in Russia, whose suffocated and disenfranchised opposition journalists I am currently investigating.

Hostility to free expression has become a staple of my university life. Rather than developing a coherent set of ideologies to challenge toxic values in the open, it has become mainstream for students of the most privileged universities in the world to veto them on behalf of everyone else, no-platforming and deriding free speech.

I am convinced that there is no point fighting for an egalitarian society if any monopolies over truth are permitted. Freedom of speech is, therefore, something I am keen to promote in whatever small way I can.

Madeleine Stone

My home is in south-east London but I spend most of my time in York, studying for my bachelor’s degree in English and related literature. I am currently the co-chair of York PEN, the University of York’s branch of English PEN, and a founding member of the Antione Collective, a human rights-focused theatre company.

Studying literature from across the globe has introduced me to issues of freedom and censorship, and the devastating effects censorship can have on national progress. Freedom of expression on campuses is hugely important to me as a student and it is currently under threat. Well-meaning individuals are shutting down the open debate that is vital to academic institutions. The only way to fight harmful ideas is to engage them head-on and destroy them through academic debate, not to ban them.

Layli Foroudi

I am a journalist and student currently studying for a MPhil in race, ethnicity and conflict at Trinity College Dublin. It was studying literary works from the Soviet period during my undergraduate degree in Russian and French at University College London that initially highlighted the issue of censorship for me. The quote I selected, “manuscripts don’t burn”, is from the book Master and Margarita by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov. He wrote about the hardship that many writers faced as they had to adjust their own writing in accordance with the authority, as well as the fact that not all that is written can be taken to be true.

I think that these themes are very relevant today. Whether people are censored or self-censor out of fear of punishment or of being wrong, limiting freedom of expression results in loss of debate, of exchange and of creativity. Being denied freedom of expression is being denied the right to participation in society.

Ian Morse

I have been involved in journalism since I began studying at Lafayette College, Pennsylvania, USA, and have been engaged in press freedom and reporting in three countries since then. I studied in Turkey last spring, where I interviewed and wrote about journalists and press freedom. It motivated me to begin researching and writing on my own about these topics. Now, as I study for a semester in Cambridge in the UK, I continue to talk about and advocate for free speech and press.

I find it absolutely amazing the power words and information can have in a society. It becomes then extremely damaging to realise that some things cannot be published because they conflict with those in power. Free speech is now becoming a hot topic around the world, particularly among youth, and it makes it all the more important to be able to approach freedom of expression critically and objectively.