11 Apr 2025 | Asia and Pacific, China, News, Statements
The undersigned organisations condemn the harassment of artist, political cartoonist and activist Badiucao, which has taken place via email, in the media, and on social media in the last week. The harassment began as Badiucao was preparing to publish a statement criticising the human rights situation in Hong Kong. The statement was providing context to his artwork – a short video – that was being exhibited in the city. Like much of Badiucao’s work, the video sought to champion the right to freedom of expression and challenge authoritarianism.
Badiucao was one of more than a dozen artists featured in the three-minute video compilation put together by the Milan-based digital gallery, Art Innovation, on billboards during the Art Basel fair in Hong Kong last week. The 4-second clip, entitled “Here and Now”, showed Badiucao silently mouthing the words “you must take part in revolution” – the title of his newly-published graphic novel and a Mao Zedong quote. It was broadcast hourly between 28 March and 2 April.
On 1 April, Badiucao contacted several media organisations to let them know he would be publishing a statement about the artwork later that evening. Some of them then contacted Art Innovation for comment. Shortly thereafter, Badiucao received an email from the gallery warning him not to publish his statement. They told him that legal action would “definitely” follow if content “against the Chinese government is published”. The gallery later responded to media requests saying that the exhibition “had nothing to do with political messages”.
Badiucao went on to publish his statement. In it, he said: “This art action underscores the absurdity of Hong Kong’s current civil liberties and legal environment. And it would remind everyone that art is dead when it offers no meaning.” The exhibition was removed from the billboards the following morning, despite having been scheduled to be displayed until 3 April.
In a second email to Badiucao, Art Innovation said that his actions had already resulted in financial implications, as well as legal actions, “which will be directed against you”. They demanded that he immediately remove all posts from his personal social media accounts related to the exhibition and claimed that failure to comply could “result in further legal consequences”. They said their lawyers were already working to “initiate appropriate legal action” against him.
On 3 April, Art Innovation publicly accused Badiucao of having provided them with false information and of having violated the contract he signed by submitting political content. “[W]e can consider it a crime,” they wrote on social media. Badiucao said he had submitted the artwork under the pseudonym Andy Chou because the video clip was to be shown in Hong Kong, where the authorities had previously shut down his exhibition. He said he never concealed his identity from the gallery and that they knew that he was behind the artwork.
Art Innovation would also have been aware of the distinctly political nature of Badiucao’s artwork given that they first contacted him via social media, where he regularly shares his artwork with his more than 100k followers, in 2022. They invited him to collaborate on a billboard exhibition during Art Basel in Miami that year, to which he contributed a satirical image of Chinese president Xi Jinping.
“We are appalled at the behaviour of this Italian gallery, which claims to ‘love everything that is outside the rules’ and ‘love the freedom of artists’ and yet harasses and tries to silence an artist that stands for exactly those principles,” the undersigned organisations said. “Badiucao must be applauded for his efforts to creatively challenge censorship and authoritarianism in such a repressive regime. Art Innovation should immediately withdraw their legal threats, issue a public apology to Badiucao, and refrain from further harassment of the artist.”
Signed:
Index on Censorship
Alliance for Citizens Rights
Art for Human Rights
ARTICLE 19
Australian Cartoonists Association
Australia Hong Kong Link
Befria Hongkong
Blueprint for Free speech
Civil Liberties Union for Europe
Cartooning for Peace
Cartoonists Rights Network International
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation
DOX Centre for Contemporary Art
European Federation of Journalists
Foundation Atelier for Community Transformation ACT
Freemuse
Freedom Cartoonists
Freiheit für Hongkong
Hong Kong Committee in Norway
Hong Kong Forum, Los Angeles
Hong Kong Watch (HKW)
Hongkongers in Britain (HKB)
Hong Kongers in San Diego
Hong Kongers in San Francisco Bay Area
Human Rights in China (HRIC)
Human Rights Foundation (HRF)
Humanitarian China
IFEX
Lady Liberty Hong Kong
NGO DEI
NY4HK
Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)
Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND)
Trade Union of Croatian Journalists
PEN America
PEN International
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Richardson Institute – Lancaster University
The Rights Practice
Safeguard Defenders
StraLi for Strategic Litigation
Stand with Hong Kong EU
Toronto Association for Democracy in China 多倫多支聯會
Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP)
Washingtonians Supporting Hong Kong (DC4HK)
Notes:
- The day after Badiucao published his statement, Hong Kong’s new chief of police warned that, despite Hong Kong’s return to stability following the 2019-20 protests, there continued to be “soft resistance” to the regime through arts and culture. He did not name Badiucao or Art Innovation specifically.
- On 8 April, the South China Morning Post reported that Hong Kong’s Culture, Sports, and Tourism Bureau had confirmed that they had not requested the removal of the video.
- The Security Bureau of the Hong Kong government had told South China Morning Post that: “[The] freedom of literary and artistic creation and other cultural activities are protected by law. As long as they do not violate the law, the above-mentioned freedoms will not be restricted.”
11 Apr 2025 | Americas, Asia and Pacific, Israel, Middle East and North Africa, News, Pakistan, United States
In the age of online information, it can feel harder than ever to stay informed. As we get bombarded with news from all angles, important stories can easily pass us by. To help you cut through the noise, every Friday Index will publish a weekly news roundup of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression from the past seven days. This week, we look at targeted families of activists in two parts of the world and how the US president is punishing those who defy him.
Activists under pressure: Human rights defenders in Balochistan face new threats
On 5 April, the father of Baloch human rights defender Sabiha Baloch was arrested by Pakistani authorities, and his whereabouts are currently unknown. This has been widely considered as an attempt to silence Sabiha Baloch, who advocates for the rights of Baloch people, in particular against the killings, enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests that have been happening for years.
There are reports that authorities refuse to release Baloch’s father until she surrenders herself, and raids are being carried out in an attempt to arrest her. This is not the first attempt to silence her. Other family members have previously been abducted and held in detention for several months.
Two days later on 7 April, another Baloch human rights defender, Gulzadi Baloch, was arrested. It is believed that her arrest was particularly violent, and that she was beaten and dragged out onto the street. Both women are members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, which advocates for human rights for Baloch people. Its founder, Mahrang Baloch, was arrested on 22 March along with 17 other protesters, after they staged a sit-in to demand the release of members of their group. During the crackdown, at least three protesters were reportedly killed.
Toeing the line: Trump gets to work silencing critics
US President Donald Trump has made several attempts to silence or punish his critics this week. On 9 April, he signed an executive order placing restrictions on the law firm Susman Godfrey, including limiting attorneys from accessing government buildings and revoking security clearances. The firm represented Dominion Voting System in their defamation lawsuit against Fox, accusing the media company of lying about a plot to steal the election and claiming Dominion was involved. It ended with Dominion getting a $797.5m settlement in April 2023. This week’s move comes after Trump took similar measures to target five more law firms, connected with his political rivals.
The next day, Trump took aim at former homeland security officials, Miles Taylor and Chris Krebs, who both served in Trump’s first administration and both publicly spoke out against Trump’s election fraud narrative.
Taylor turned whistleblower in 2018, anonymously speaking out in a New York Times article and after quitting writing a book, before eventually revealing his identity. Trump has accused him of leaking classified information. Krebs, whose job it was to prevent foreign interference in elections, corrected rumours about voter fraud in the 2020 election, and was subsequently fired by Trump. Trump has ordered the Department of Justice to investigate the two men, and revoke their security clearances.
Attorney and former congresswoman Liz Cheney described the move as “Stalinesque”. As he signed the executive orders, Trump took the opportunity to repeat lies about a stolen election.
Not safe to report: Journalists killed as Israeli airstrike hits media tent
On Monday, an Israeli airstrike hit a tent in southern Gaza used by media workers, killing several journalists and injuring others. The journalists killed were Hilma al-Faqawi and Ahmed Mansour, who worked for Palestine Today, wth Mansour dying later following severe burns. Yousef al-Khozindar, who was working with NBC to provide support in Gaza, was also killed.
Reuters say they have verified one video, which shows people trying to douse the flames of the tent in the Nasser Hospital compound. The Committee to Protect Journalists and the National Union of Journalists have denounced Israel’s strike on the journalists’ tent.
The Israel Defense Forces wrote on X: “The IDF and ISA struck the Hamas terrorist Hassan Abdel Fattah Mohammed Aslih in the Khan Yunis area overnight” … “Asilh [sic], who operates under the guise of a journalist and owns a press company, is a terrorist operative in Hamas’ Khan Yunis Brigade.”
The deaths add to the growing number of journalists and media workers who have been killed in the conflict since 7 October 2023, which the International Federation of Journalists place at over 170. The journalists killed are Lebanese, Syrian, Israeli and overwhelmingly Palestinian. Journalists are protected under International Humanitarian law. This is vital not only for the safety of individuals, but so that accurate information can be broadcast locally and internationally.
Whistleblowing triumphs: Apple settles unfair labour charges
Whistleblower Ashley Gjøvik came out on top on 10 April, when Apple agreed to settle labour rights charges after she claimed their practices were illegal, including barring staff from discussing working hours, conditions and wages, and speaking to the press.
Gjøvik was a senior engineering programme manager at the tech giant, when she raised her concerns about toxic waste under her office. She was fired after engaging in activities that should be protected under labour rights laws. She was let go after supposedly violating the staff confidentiality agreement.
In a memorandum, Gjøvik highlighted that there is still plenty to be concerned about. She wrote: “The settlement’s policy revisions, while significant—do not address several categories of retaliation and coercive behavior that remain unremedied or unexamined, including: surveillance, email interception, and device monitoring in relation to protected activities; threats or internal referrals aimed at chilling protected disclosures; and retaliation based on public statements regarding working conditions.”
Circles of influence: Hong Kong family taken in for questioning
On Thursday, the Hong Kong national security police targeted the family of Frances Hui, a staff member at the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation, and a US resident.
Hui’s parents were taken in for questioning, even though Hui cut ties with them when she left for the USA in 2020. She now fights for democracy and freedom in Hong Kong, from abroad. This week’s move comes shortly after the USA placed sanctions on six Chinese and Hong Kong officials who have enforced repressive national security policies in Hong Kong.
In December 2023, Hong Kong police put out an arrest warrant for Hui, and placed a HK$1 million bounty on her head.
The CFHK Foundation said: “By placing a bounty on her and other U.S-based Hong Kong activists, the Hong Kong authorities are encouraging people to kidnap them on U.S. soil in return for a reward.”
31 Mar 2025 | About Index, Americas, Asia and Pacific, China, Europe and Central Asia, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, News, Newsletters, Russia, United States
I have a recurring nightmare: I somehow find myself in China. I’m having a great time until I realise I work at Index, might be on a blacklist, and could get arrested at any moment. When I tell my nightmare to people who work in the China human rights space they always reply with the same reassurance: “It would never come to that – you’d simply be denied a visa to begin with or turned away at the border.” After all, such has been the case for several people in our field, most notably Benedict Rogers of Hong Kong Watch and Aleksandra Bielakowska from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) – both sent back on a plane from Hong Kong airport before setting foot in the territory.
This isn’t a China story; it’s a global one. In the article Be nice, or you’re not coming in, which featured in the Spring 2024 edition of our magazine, Salil Tripathi wrote about how critics of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were being denied entry to the country. Penny Vera-Sanso of Birkbeck University in London, Lindsay Bremner from University of Westminster and University of Sussex’s Filippo Osella – all three were turned away upon arrival. Georgia has also perfected the art of entry denial. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, scores of independent Russian journalists weren’t allowed in, no reason given. The same happened recently to Lithuanian women’s rights advocate Regina Jegorova-Askerova, who was stopped at the border despite Georgia being her home for the past 15 years and her having family there.
Is the USA joining the club? Last week, a French scientist was denied entry to the country. The French government claims it’s because of his criticism of Donald Trump. The US government says it’s instead because he was carrying confidential information on an electronic device, which violated a non-disclosure agreement. A week before this, several members of the British punk band U.K. Subs were turned back at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Bassist Alvin Gibbs wondered whether this was because of his public criticisms of Trump or whether that theory was just paranoia. Perhaps we are all jumping to the worst conclusions, but inciting paranoia can be intentional – and it’s certainly infectious. In the past few days, several people have spoken to me about whether they should delete their messaging apps and social media profiles before travelling to the USA, or, for those already there, whether it’s wise to leave, fearing they won’t be allowed back in.
Hong Kong, Georgia, India, the USA – places once regarded as relatively liberal – are now part of a troubling trend where dissenters are kept out with the stroke of a pen. This is the new reality: autocrats share tactics, and the freedom to travel is becoming a privilege, not a right.
