23 Apr 2025 | Israel, Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Palestine
For more than 40 years, the Palestinian-run Educational Bookshop in occupied East Jerusalem has provided both locals and tourists with access to a wealth of books, magazines and cultural events, establishing itself as a cultural hub within the historic city. Now, its very existence is under threat.
On 9 February 2025, undercover Israeli police stormed the bookshop and its Arabic-language counterpart next door.
“It was a Sunday afternoon. I was having a good time with my daughter who’s 10 years old,” Mahmoud Muna, co-owner of the bookshop, told Index on Censorship.
The officers started pulling books from the shelves and examining the covers.
“Any cover that had a flag, map, words, keywords like ‘Palestine’, ‘Nakba’ or ‘Gaza’ was deemed suspicious,” said Mahmoud. “Then they Google translate[d] the cover or the blurb or the back page, and they start[ed] creating two piles on the floor, one for the books that they didn’t want to take and another pile for the books that they wanted to take. [This was] completely irrespective of the books and what they mean to us.”
The police put around 300 confiscated books into bin bags, then took Muna and his nephew Ahmad Muna into custody on charges that their books were causing “public disorder”.
“They took us to the police station where we were detained the first night and then taken to court the second night… we were released after 48 hours, myself and my nephew, who was manning the Arabic branch. [We were put] on bail: five days’ house arrest and 20 days away from the bookshop.”
Most of the confiscated books were returned. On 11 March 2025, the police raided the bookshop again, taking 50 books and arresting Mahmoud’s 61-year-old brother and co-owner, Imad Muna. Imad was released a few hours later. The police confiscated books by Banksy, Ilan Pappé and Noam Chomsky, among others.
“They came again and they replayed the whole scenario again. It was just that we were a bit more ready legally. It happened during the morning hours and it was my brother who was in the shop. So we were able to act very quickly and [he was released] before the night,” Mahmoud said.
The Educational Bookshop was founded in 1984 by Mahmoud’s father, Ahmad Muna, a Jerusalem-born teacher. The bookshop has remained a family business ever since.
“For 40 years, we’ve been in operation, trying to serve our community, trying to contribute to social, political, cultural change in a city that is torn between political upheavals. And we believe that books and conversation around books can be an important carrier, if you like, for the conversation. It can open up a space for conversation,” Mahmoud said.
Photo by Mahmoud Muna
These raids are not isolated incidents; they form part of a wider campaign by the Israeli government to crack down on free expression, which has been intensified by the emergence of the far-right within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and worsened still by Hamas’s incursion on 7 October 2023 and the war in Gaza that has followed.
Recently, authorities have also begun censoring Israeli films critical of the government, as well as events and festivals that discuss Gaza, Palestinians or the 1948 Nakba. The government has started using a revived British Mandate-era law from 1917, which allows the Culture and Sport Ministry to review films before they are screened.
“I think the political climate has really changed. Maybe the war is part of that, but it is not the reason. There is a policy of oppression towards cultural institutions. If you look at theatre, music schools, youth clubs, women’s associations for the last five, six, seven years even before the war, they have been suffering,” Mahmoud said.
Mahmoud says that he and his family have no intention of giving into the authorities’ intimidation tactics.
“We are determined, we’re not gonna give up. It makes me angry, but it also makes me believe even stronger in the power of books and words and literature. And it also opens my eyes even further to the importance of our work in our society.”
Above all, he calls on the international community to speak out against the erosion of democratic values unfolding in Israel and Palestine today.
“If we really believe in what we say, and we really want progressive liberal societies and freedom of expression in Turkey or China or Russia, then we also need to demand them in places like Jerusalem as well.”
11 Apr 2025 | Americas, Asia and Pacific, Israel, Middle East and North Africa, News and features, 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.”
4 Apr 2025 | Africa, Asia and Pacific, Burma, Europe and Central Asia, Germany, Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Sudan, Uganda, United Kingdom
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 how Myanmar’s devastating earthquake is being exploited for political repression, and the destruction of a national museum.
Natural disaster: Myanmar blocks aid and access to earthquake-affected regions
On 28 March, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Mandalay in central Myanmar, causing immense destruction and claiming thousands of lives. It is the most powerful earthquake to hit the country for over a century, and Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of Myanmar’s military junta, has reportedly exploited the disaster as a weapon against his enemies. Myanmar has been engaged in a deadly civil war for more than four years since the military took power via an armed coup in 2021. It is estimated that the military controls just 21% of the nation, including the key cities, with the rest in the hands of armed resistance forces. In the aftermath of the natural disaster, the junta has been accused of blocking aid to regions of the country that have been severely affected and which are under control of resistance groups, leveraging checkpoints to block humanitarian workers and crucial medicine from reaching those who need it most. Furthermore, foreign journalists are allegedly being blocked from entering the country to report on the catastrophe amid reports that the junta has continued to conduct airstrikes on affected regions. Native journalists already face immense free speech restrictions in Myanmar, with many sent to prison or forced into exile for reporting on the atrocities committed by the junta. With little reporting on the ground, Myanmar’s response to one of the worst disasters in its history is shrouded in darkness.
Cultural destruction: The looting of Sudan National Museum
Since 15 April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a devastating conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). According to the United Nations (UN), more than 11 million people have been internally displaced, and tens of thousands have been killed, with the RSF being accused of genocide in the Darfur region of the country. But the damage goes beyond the human cost of war, striking at the heart of Sudan’s cultural heritage. After the SAF recaptured Sudan’s capital Khartoum from RSF control last month, Sudan’s national museum was almost completely ransacked by fleeing RSF paramilitaries. Display cabinets were shattered, artefacts looted, and precious gold and stones were also taken. It was estimated that the museum held approximately 100,000 artefacts of immense historical value, dating back to the Nubian Kingdom, the Kushite empire and Christian and Islamic eras, including some of the oldest mummies in the world – now, all that remains are the largest statues that proved too cumbersome to steal. With these priceless items likely smuggled out of Sudan to be sold abroad, this will have a permanent, devastating impact on both the cultural wealth of the country and its ability to record its history.
Following the USA’s footsteps: EU citizens face deportation from Berlin for pro-Palestine protests
The detention and threat of deportation of pro-Palestine activists on Visas or green cards under the Donald Trump administration has been widely reported on in recent weeks, with the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil sparking uproar and raising many questions over the right to protest in the USA. This may have set a precedent for how western countries respond to people publicly displaying criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Germany, in particular, appears to have been increasingly prioritising crackdowns on pro-Palestine protests. Immigration authorities in Berlin have ordered three EU citizens and one American to leave the country by 21 April or face deportation following their participation in a university sit-in at Berlin’s Free University protesting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The four individuals have been accused of antisemitism and supporting terrorism, and of constituting a threat to public safety. However, lawyer Alexander Gorski, who is representing the protesters, said that despite concerns from Berlin’s immigration office over the legality of removing EU citizens, the country’s Department for Interior and Sport overruled these objections and went through with the order. The four protesters, none of whom hold any existing criminal convictions, have appealed the decision.
Protest crackdown: Metropolitan Police raids Quaker meeting house to arrest activists
Following the trend of protest crackdowns in democratic nations, London’s Metropolitan (Met) Police broke new ground on 27 March by raiding a Quaker meeting house in Westminster to arrest six women involved in a meeting with activist group Youth Demand, on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. Youth Demand is a group that organises for climate causes and in solidarity with those affected by the war in Gaza. According to reporting by The Guardian journalist George Monbiot, one woman arrested wasn’t an activist but was a student journalist covering the meeting; she was detained for 16 hours, with no contact permitted with her family or friends. A spokesperson for Quakers in Britain said that this is the first time “in living memory” that anyone has been arrested at a Quaker Meeting House, which is the Quakers’ place of worship. This led to Quaker members holding a silent protest outside New Scotland Yard on 3 April. These arrests mark a chilling continuation of the UK police’s trend to silence protesters, as Index has previously covered.
Oil over people: Thousands displaced in Uganda following oil pipeline construction
Uganda’s burgeoning oil industry is reported to be of huge fiscal benefit to the nation, strengthening economic growth and opening up thousands of jobs for locals, with 14 oil fields and a heated oil pipeline under construction with investments to the tune of $15 billion. However, this oil rush comes at a cost – both through contributing to the climate crisis, and uprooting the lives of thousands. A report by Kampala-based non-profit Haki Defenders Foundation and the University of Sheffield released on 1 April revealed that planned resettlement for those displaced by the oil pipeline was inadequate, with overcrowded resettlement camps and lack of access to basic infrastructure such as water and medical care. Monetary compensation was also so low that those who received it could not afford to relocate anywhere else. This injustice has also stepped into the terrain of free speech violations; it has been reported that those who have protested peacefully against these new projects have faced violent crackdowns from security forces over the past few years, with 11 protesters being imprisoned in Kampala in February.
28 Mar 2025 | Americas, Asia and Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, India, Israel, Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Palestine, Russia, Turkey, 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 the detention of an Oscar Award-winning documentary maker and a poorly-monitored Signal group chat.
Attacks on investigative journalism: The assault and detention of Hamdan Ballal
On Monday 24 March, Yuval Abraham, an Israeli investigative journalist and co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, announced on X that his fellow co-director Hamdan Ballal had been assaulted by Israeli settlers, and was subsequently taken from an ambulance by Israeli soldiers and detained. Ballal is a Palestinian filmmaker from Susya in the occupied West Bank. He was released on Tuesday 25 March. In an interview with The Guardian, Ballal said that the attack was “revenge” for the creation of No Other Land, which explores Israeli soldiers’ destruction of the West Bank’s Masafer Yatta, a collection of 19 Palestinian hamlets. The documentary was created by a group of Palestinian and Israeli journalists and filmmakers, with particular focus on the positive alliance developed between Abraham and a Palestinian activist called Basel Adra. This collaborative effort has proved controversial in Israel and the occupied West Bank, and Ballal recounted being physically attacked and beaten by both settlers and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. His lawyer, Lea Tsemel, said Ballal didn’t receive adequate medical care for his injuries in detention, and that she had no access to him for several hours after his arrest. Ballal’s treatment represents a significant attack on investigative journalism, and follows a string of free expression violations in Israel and the occupied West Bank, including restrictions on journalists and the censorship of cultural products depicting Palestinian-Israeli relations.
National security breaches: US war plans leaked via Signal group chat
This week saw a most remarkable story come out of the USA; on 11 March, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the magazine The Atlantic, was accidentally (and rather carelessly) added to a top secret group chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal where senior US Cabinet members were discussing plans for attacks on Houthi targets across Yemen. Chat members included US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, among other chief members of the Donald Trump administration. At first sceptical of the “Houthi PC small group” chat’s legitimacy, Goldberg realised it was definitely real after attacks discussed in the chat were carried out a few hours later. To hold such crucial discussions via a messaging app, then to mistakenly add a journalist to said discussions, constitutes a monumental breach in American national security. Both Hegseth and US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz have faced great scrutiny for this major mishap. Meanwhile, Goldberg has faced backlash from the highest echelons of the US government, with Trump himself attempting to lead a smear campaign against the journalist.
Film censorship: Globally-acclaimed film Santosh banned in India
With Hamdan Ballal bearing the brunt of the backlash to his co-directed documentary in the West Bank, there are other reports of film censorship coming out of India. Santosh, a film created by British-Indian director Sandhya Suri, has received international plaudits for its depiction of corruption and bigotry eminent in the Indian police force. Yet it was this very portrayal that has seen it banned from being screened in India. The film – which features an all-Indian cast and is filmed completely in the Hindi language – debuted at Cannes film festival and was nominated for both a Bafta and an Oscar. But its depictions of misogyny, caste-based violence and prejudice, institutional Islamophobia and brutality in the police force mean it may never see the light of day in the country of its setting.
Protest crackdowns: BBC correspondent deported from Turkey
Following the arrest and detention of Istanbul mayor and presidential political rival Ekrem Imamoglu, protests erupted across major cities in Turkey. Clashes between demonstrators and riot police reportedly saw more than a thousand people detained between 19 and 23 March. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has cracked down on the protests – and seemingly, their coverage as well. BBC correspondent Mark Lowen, who had been in the country reporting on the demonstrations for several days, was taken from his hotel by Turkish authorities on 26 March, according to the BBC, then deported back to the UK on 27 March. The authorities claimed that Lowen was “being a threat to public order”. Imamoglu is seen as Erdoğan’s main rival for the 2028 presidential election, and similarly to how many see his arrest as an attempt to remove political opposition, the deportation of a journalist could be seen as an attempt to obscure the truth.
Political prisoners: Russian anti-war activist’s prison sentence extended
Maria Ponomarenko is a Siberian activist and journalist who was jailed in 2023 for reporting on the Russian bombing of a theatre in Mariupol, southern Ukraine. The Kremlin denied any involvement in the attack, thought to have killed hundreds of civilians, despite multiple eyewitness reports. Ponomarenko was sentenced to six years in prison after her journalism was deemed to be “fake news”. Now, her sentence has been extended by one year and ten months because she allegedly attacked two prison guards, a charge that Amnesty International has described as “spurious” and which the human rights group claims is an attempt to further silence and repress her. Ponomarenko has reportedly launched a hunger strike while in prison to demand better treatment and justice for her false charges.
