7 Oct 2025 | Europe and Central Asia, News, United Kingdom
Transnational repression (TNR) allows states and their proxies to reach across national borders to intimidate, threaten and force silence, targeting everyone who speaks out in the public interest, wherever they are. Index has documented TNR targets across society, including journalists, artists, writers, academics, opposition leaders and members of marginalised groups such as Uyghurs and Tibetans.
Yesterday, Index joined other human rights organisations, academics, legal experts and TNR targets calling on the Office for Students and UK Government to establish robust protections for all academics, students and support staff against TNR in the higher education sector. This followed threats made against Roshaan Khattak, a Pakistani human rights defender and film maker, while he was researching enforced disappearances in Balochistan, a province of Pakistan, at the University of Cambridge.
The letter highlights the challenges he has faced, the gaps in the institution’s response to the threats and what the broader sector must to do ensure everyone in the academic space is protected.
Read the letter below
Sent Electronically
Susan Lapworth
Chief Executive
Office for Students (OfS)
Nicholson House
Castle Park
Bristol BS1 3LH
Cc: The Rt. Hon. Bridget Phillipson MP, Secretary of State for Education
Professor Arif Ahmed, OfS Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom
6 October 2025
As demonstrated by the threats to Cambridge post-graduate student Roshaan Khattak, the Office for Students and the broader higher education sector must establish robust protections against Transnational Repression.
Dear Ms Lapworth,
We, the undersigned organisations and individuals, write to call on the Office for Students, as well as the broader Higher Education sector, to establish tailored and robust protections for academics, students and support staff facing threats of transnational repression (TNR). This follows significant concerns regarding the response of the University of Cambridge to threats made against Mr Roshaan Khattak, a Pakistani filmmaker and human rights defender enrolled as a postgraduate researcher at the institution. This case is illustrative of the threats facing academic inquiry and the need for significant action. As a result, we call on the Office for Students (OfS) to establish policies that relate to universities’ obligations to establish protocols to respond to acts of TNR against their staff, students and the wider academic community.
The UK Government has described TNR as “crimes directed by foreign states against individuals”. While a global phenomenon, examples of TNR in the UK have been documented targeting journalists, human rights defenders, academics and members of diaspora or exile communities based inside the UK by repressive regimes such as Iran, Russia, Pakistan, and China (as well as Hong Kong), as well as democracies with weak institutional protections. The central goal of TNR is to exert state control and censorship beyond state borders to intimidate critics into silence, stifle protected speech and undermine the safety and security of those based in other jurisdictions. Earlier this year, the Joint Committee on Human Rights published a report on TNR following a public inquiry on the issue, which stated “[d]espite the seriousness of the threat, the UK currently lacks a clear strategy to address TNR”. We believe that in the context of higher education, TNR represents a significant threat to students’ ability to “access, succeed in, and progress from higher education” and benefit from “a high quality academic experience”.
The threats facing Roshaan Khattak are illustrative of this risk. On 21 December 2024 Mr Khattak received a message warning that neither Cambridge nor the UK is “safe” for him or his family if he continues his research into enforced disappearances in Balochistan (a province in Pakistan). While the origin of the threat is unknown, there are allegations that the Pakistan military and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency have targeted those in exile, including Shahzad Akbar and journalists Syed Fawad Ali Shah and Ahmed Waqass Goraya. This also comes at a time when work on human rights violations in Balochistan is increasingly dangerous, as evidenced by the suspicious deaths of Sajid Hussain and Karima Baloch. Despite police awareness of the threat, Mr Khattak reports that his progress towards his PhD has been stopped for now, with Wolfson College having also repeatedly cancelled meetings, revoked his accommodation and changed the locks to his room without notice, limiting access to and compromising his sensitive research materials and data. They have also encouraged him to fundraise from the Baloch community in the UK to secure private accommodation, therefore disregarding the university’s responsibilities to him. We believe that the university should be exploring ways to ensure Mr Khattak’s safety, in collaboration with the relevant authorities, instead of trying to put him out of sight, out of mind. MPs including John McDonnell and Daniel Zeichner, as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, and other leading human rights defenders have raised awareness of this case or shared their concerns with the University. Additionally, McDonnell has submitted an Early Day Motion in UK Parliament, backed by cross-party support, drawing attention to the threats faced by Roshaan and the wider impact of TNR on UK academia.
The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 outlines OfS’s “duty to protect academic freedom”, while also establishing the legal underpinning for OfS’s regulatory framework which states that both “academic freedom” and “freedom of speech” are public interest governance principles, which should be upheld by all higher education institutions. Further to this, the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, amends the 2017 Act to require institutions to establish codes of practice as it relates to their procedures to protect free speech and for the OfS to establish a free speech complaints scheme. These, as well as the “Regulatory advice 24: Guidance related to freedom of speech”, which came into force in August, establish an important baseline. However, in response to the impact of TNR on free speech and academic freedom, the OfS must build on this to establish specific and tailored responses for academics, students, staff and all university personnel as it relates to TNR.
Due to our concerns related to the absence of sector-wide protections against TNR, as evidenced by the University of Cambridge’s handling of the threats against Mr Khattak and the implications they have on his ability to continue his academic work and express himself freely, we request the OfS to:
1. Review the adequacy of existing sector-wide guidance to ensure it can protect academics, students and other relevant stakeholders from transnational repression;
2. Establish tailored and specific policies as it relates to transnational repression to offer support for the targets and practical guidance for the broader higher education sector. This should include methods by which all relevant authorities, such as the police can be engaged with constructively; and,
3. Commit to report publicly on findings and any regulatory action taken as it relates to TNR, to assure current and prospective students that UK higher-education providers will not yield to acts or threats of TNR.
The undersigned organisations believe that Mr Khattak’s situation is a wake-up call for the higher education sector as it relates to defending both student welfare and the principle of academic freedom in the face of transnational repression. A robust response from OfS will not only safeguard one vulnerable researcher but also support other institutions and at-risk academics who may be facing similar concerns or threats.
We stand ready to provide further documentation or expert testimony and would welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter with your team.
Yours sincerely,
Index on Censorship
Peter Tatchell Foundation
Amnesty International UK
National Union of Journalists
ARTICLE 19
Cambridge University Amnesty Society
Martin Plaut, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Commonwealth Studies
Dr. Andrew Chubb, Senior Lecturer in Chinese Politics and International Relations, Lancaster University
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Advocacy Director, Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)
Salman Ahmad, UN Goodwill Ambassador, HRD, Author, Professor at City University of New York-Queens College, Target of TNR
Marymagdalene Asefaw, DESTA MEDIA, Target of TNR
Maria Kari, human rights attorney, Founder, Project TAHA
Professor Michael Semple, Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice; Former Deputy to the European Union Special Representative in Afghanistan; Former United Nations Political Official
Hussain Haqqani, former ambassador; currently Senior Fellow and Director for South and Central Asia, Hudson Institute, Washington D.C.
Dr. James Summers, Senior Lecturer in international law, Lancaster University
Dr. Thomas Jeff Miley, Lecturer of Political Sociology, Fellow of Darwin College, University of Cambridge
Aqil Shah, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University; non-resident scholar at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Ahad Ghanbary, TNR Target
Dr. Lucia Ardovini, Lecturer in International Relations, Lancaster University
Dr. John McDaniel, Lecturer in Criminal Justice and Crime, Lancaster University
Yana Gorokhovskaia, Ph.D., Research Director for Strategy and Design, Freedom House
Afrasiab Khattak, Former Chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), former Senator
Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy, nuclear physicist, nuclear disarmament advocate, public intellectual
Taha Siddiqui, Pakistani journalist in exile (NYTimes, Guardian, France24), Founder The Dissident Club
Shahzad Akbar, Barrister, human rights lawyer, TNR acid attack victim, founder Dissidents United
29 Sep 2025 | Americas, Asia and Pacific, China, Egypt, Europe and Central Asia, In the News, India, Iran, Middle East and North Africa, News, Newsletters, Russia, United Kingdom, United States
If you want to take the temperature of a nation in terms of free speech just look at how it treats its comedians. Countries with robust human rights records can take a joke, the reverse is the case for dictatorships. Comedy “masquerades as folly, but it can take down an empire” wrote Shalom Auslander in a recent issue of our magazine to explain why joke tellers are so often targets. Which of course brings us to Donald Trump and Jimmy Kimmel. The story gripped us all and exposed both Trump’s thin-skin and the role corporations play today in censorship. Bassem Youssef, an Egyptian-American satirist who had to stop his show in Egypt following significant pressure, responded to the suspension of Kimmel with a quip on X: “My Fellow American Citizens. Welcome to my world.”
Fortunately, the USA is not el-Sisi’s Egypt – yet. Kimmel is now back on air after a public outcry and cancellations of subscriptions to Disney’s streaming services. Turns out, the dollar speaks both ways. Meanwhile, a statue of Trump holding hands with Jeffrey Epstein appeared in Washington this week. The bronze-painted installation, titled Best Friends Forever, depicted the two men smiling at each other. The statue made its point, though not for long. The team behind the statue, called The Secret Handshake, had apparently been granted a permit to have it remain there until Sunday evening. It didn’t last a day.
The UK is struggling with humour too. Last month, Banksy’s mural of a protester being beaten by a judge was wiped from the Royal Courts of Justice almost before the paint dried. Officials cited the building’s listed status, but the speed was telling. In a separate incident a protester holding a Private Eye cartoon was arrested at a Palestine solidarity march in July, satire clearly lost on the police.
It’s worse elsewhere. In Iran, Zeinab Mousavi, one of the first Iranian women to do stand-up comedy, is a frequent target of the authorities. Last month she was charged with making statements that were “contrary to public morality”. In China, a joke about the military led to a comedian being arrested, and the company behind him being fined millions. It was a similar story in India, after a popular comedian, Kunal Kamra, was accused of insulting a local politician. Kamra is just the latest comedian to be targeted, as highlighted by Index.
Reflecting on Kimmel, Russian journalist and dissident Andrei Soldatov offered a warning. Shortly after Vladimir Putin became president in 2000, armed operatives raided the offices of NTV, the network that aired Kukly, a puppet show taking aim at Putin. NTV owner Vladimir Gusinsky was jailed and Kukly disappeared shortly after. Soldatov said at the time many Russian journalists and intellectuals rationalised the attack. A few spoke out though. “You can’t make friends with a crocodile” they said. US executives would be wise to remember this.
26 Sep 2025 | Americas, Asia and Pacific, China, Europe and Central Asia, European Union, Israel, Middle East and North Africa, News, Palestine, United Kingdom, United States
Bombarded with news from all angles every day, important stories can easily pass us by. To help you cut through the noise, every Friday Index publishes a weekly news roundup of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression. This week, we look at the designation of Antifa as domestic terrorists and the indictment of James Comey.
Australian horror movie edited to make a gay couple straight
An Australian company behind the new horror film Together, pulled it from cinemas in China this week. This followed the discovery of unauthorised changes made by the Chinese distributor which had edited a scene from a gay wedding to make the couple appear heterosexual.
Together, starring James Franco and Alison Brie, is distributed by Neon who released a statement on the edits: “Neon does not approve of Hishow’s unauthorised edit of the film and have demanded they cease distributing this altered version.”
Guidelines released by China’s top media regulator in 2016 banned depictions of homosexuality from TV in the country. In the past, the ban would have meant sections of an offending movie or documentary would have been edited out as happened with the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. However AI technology has allowed scenes to be altered instead.
In the case of Together an AI-generated woman replaced the man depicted in the original and so a gay wedding became a straight one.
Trump signs order designating Antifa a domestic terrorist organisation
US President Donald Trump signed an order on Monday designating Antifa a domestic terrorist organisation following the death of podcaster Charlie Kirk.
An article released by the White House refers to an alleged “trend of Radical Left violence that has permeated the nation in recent years” and provides a list of supposed “Antifa” attacks. This included the assertion that Kirk was “assassinated by a Radical Left terrorist” which many people dispute, as there is little proof the shooter had any political affiliation or that there was a greater conspiracy.
Antifa gets its name from compacting the term “anti-facist” and has its roots in 1920s and 1930s Europe, where groups formed to push back against growing fascist movements.
Concerns have been raised regarding the legality of such an order, or even how such an order should be carried out, with Antifa not really being an organisation at all in the USA, just a loosely connected network of protest groups. Seth G. Jones from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) wrote in 2020 after Trump had suggested a similar move: “While President Trump raised the possibility of designating Antifa as a terrorist organization, such a move would be problematic. It would trigger serious First Amendment challenges and raise numerous questions about what criteria should be used to designate far-right, far-left, and other extremist groups in the United States. In addition, Antifa is not a “group” per se, but rather a decentralised network of individuals. Consequently, it is unlikely that designating Antifa as a terrorist organisation would even have much of an impact.”
BBC releases short film calling for Gaza access
A short film premiered on Wednesday and launched by the BBC, AFP, AP and Reuters called for international journalists to be allowed into Gaza.
Independent reporters have been refused entry to the strip since the 7 October attacks on Israel, leading to repeated calls for access from foreign press and governments.
In a statement Deborah Turness, CEO of BBC News, said: “As journalists, we record the first draft of history. But in this conflict, reporting is falling solely to a small number of Palestinian journalists, who are paying a terrible cost.
“It is almost two years since October 7th when the world witnessed Hamas’ atrocities. Since then, a war has been raging in Gaza but international journalists are not allowed in. We must now be let into Gaza. To work alongside local journalists, so we can all bring the facts to the world.”
You can watch the short film here.
Chinese Journalist Zhang Zhan jailed for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”
Chinese lawyer and journalist Zhang Zhan has been sentenced to four years imprisonment for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”.
Zhan was jailed in 2020 for reporting on the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan through her YouTube and Twitter (now X) accounts and is just one of many writers and journalists currently imprisoned in China.
Released in May 2024 she was arrested again by police three months later whilst travelling to report on the arrest of an activist in the province of Gansu.
Concerns are mounting over Zhan’s health after she has reportedly gone on repeated hunger strikes to protest her arrest.
Ex-FBI director James Comey indicted on two charges
Ex-director of the FBI James Comey has been indicted on two charges by a Virginia court this week.
Comey has been charged with one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction of justice according to the indictment.
Comey was appointed FBI director in 2013 by then President Barack Obama and served in this role until his firing in 2017 by President Donald Trump, during an investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 presidential election.
In 2020 Comey faced a congressional hearing where he defended the investigation, stating: “In the main, it was done by the book, it was appropriate and it was essential that it be done, there were parts of it that were concerning.”
It is at this hearing that Comey is accused of knowingly lying to congress whilst being questioned about the FBI’s handling of both the Russia investigation and an investigation into a private email server used by Hilary Clinton.
Comey’s trial is notably being held in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, known as the espionage court, and famously host to cases such as that of Edward Snowden, and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou.
12 Sep 2025 | Africa, Belgium, Europe and Central Asia, Kenya, Middle East and North Africa, News, Saudi Arabia, Turkey
Bombarded with news from all angles every day, important stories can easily pass us by. To help you cut through the noise, every Friday Index publishes a weekly news roundup of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression. This week, we look at the release of political prisoners in Belarus and the cancellation of a concert in Ghent.
Belarus releases 52 political prisoners after easing of US sanctions
A number of political prisoners held in Belarusian jails have been released from custody and taken over the border to Lithuania following a visit from a US delegation and the easing of sanctions on national airline Belavia.
The easing of sanctions is set to allow Belavia to purchase American manufactured parts for its aircraft, something that critics claim opens doors for Russia to bypass sanctions.
Opposition activist and politician Mikola Statkevich reportedly refused to leave Belarus, spending a few hours in the border area between the two countries before being brought back into Belarus by border guards.
Among the released prisoners were Belsat journalists Larysa Shchyrakova and Yauhen Merkis who both wrote for Index in 2021 about the persecution they faced a the hands of hte government.
Opposition leaders claim that some of the prisoners had almost finished serving their sentences, and have now been left exiled with no way to return to home.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, exiled leader of the opposition, said in a post on X: “Freed political prisoners must have the right to remain in Belarus, not be forcibly deported. Many were released only weeks or months before their unjust prison terms ended. Forcing them out is not freedom – it’s another crime by the regime.”
Kenyan documentary filmmakers have spyware installed on their devices while in police custody
Arrested Kenyan filmmakers have discovered – with the help of forensic analysis by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab – that spyware was installed onto their devices while they were in custody.
Mark Denver Karubiu, Bryan Adagala, Nicholas Wambugu, and Christopher Wamae were all arrested following the release of the BBC documentary Blood Parliament. They were accused of working on the documentary, charges both the BBC and the filmmakers deny.
A statement from the BBC Press Office said: “We have been made aware of the arrest of four journalists in Kenya. To confirm, they were not involved in any way in the making of BBC Africa Eye’s Blood Parliament documentary,”
The filmmakers were taken into custody in Nairobi on 2 May 2025 and had their devices seized. They were released on 3 May however their devices were not returned until 10 July. It is during this time that the police are accused of installing FlexiSPY software.
FlexiSPY describes itself as “the world’s most powerful monitoring software for computers, mobile phones and tablets”
The filmmakers face a court hearing on 15 September. They are accused of publishing false information and cyber-bullying.
Flanders festival Ghent cancels show amid uncertainty around conductor’s stance on Israel
In a move condemned by Belgian and German officials a performance by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra has been cancelled by the Flanders Festival Ghent.
The cancellation of the show is due to concerns from the organisers regarding the stance towards the Netanyahu government of the Israeli conductor of the orchestra Lahav Shani who was to lead the performance. Shani is also the music director for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever posted on X: “This decision has rightfully provoked great consternation and has been characterised as antisemitic.
“Equally troubling is the unprecedented requirement that artists provide written statements of their political views. This runs directly counter to the very essence of artistic freedom.”
A statement from the festival said: “Lahav Shani has spoken out in favour of peace and reconciliation several times in the past, but in the light of his role as the chief conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, we are unable to provide sufficient clarity about his attitude to the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv. In line with the call from the Minister of Culture, the city council of Ghent and the cultural sector in Ghent, we have chosen to refrain from collaboration with partners who have not distanced themselves unequivocally from that regime.”
The festival will be going ahead without this concert, with shows running from 12 September until 2 October.
Saudi citizen executed for protests when he was a teen
A Saudi man Jalal Labbad was executed on 21 August 2025 for his involvement in protests that took place in 2011 and 2012, when he was 15 years old.
Labbad was arrested in 2017 and went on trial in 2019 accused of participating in a demonstration, attending funerals of victims shot by government forces, and helping to treat and shelter wanted persons who were wounded while attacking soldiers. In 2020 he was sentenced to death.
Saudi Arabia executed a total of 180 people between January and June 2025.
A statement released by UN human rights experts said; “We are dismayed by the execution of Mr. Jalal al-Labbad on 21 August, despite our grave concerns repeatedly communicated to the authorities. It is particularly disturbing that his family was not informed of the execution date and reportedly learned of his death through social media. We call on authorities to immediately return Mr. al-Labbad’s body to his relatives and permit an independent medico-legal examination.”
Turkish reporter faces up to 15 years in prison
Freelance court reporter Furkan Karabay faces 6 to 15 years in prison following his arrest in May relating to posts on X and YouTube.
Karabay is facing charges of “insulting the President,” “repeatedly targeting individuals who served in the fight against terrorism,” and “insulting a public official because of their duty,” based on social media posts..
The journalist has faced arrest on a number of occasions for similar charges based on his reporting, but was acquitted back in 2024.
This follows a concerning trend in Turkey, where a number of journalists have been detained this year alone.
