30 Nov 2012 | Index Index, minipost, News and features, United Kingdom
A blogger sued for libel by a Tanzanian media tycoon won her case today (30 November). At the High Court in London, Mr Justice Bean ruled in favour of Sarah Hermitage, who used her Silverdale Farm blog to criticise Reginald Mengi, Executive Chairman of IPP Ltd — a company with significant media interests in Tanzania.
Hermitage and her husband Stuart Middleton were driven from Silverdale Farm in Tanzania by threats and harassment. The court heard Megni’s brother Benjamin took possession of the farm following their departure. A defining factor in the ruling was the hostile coverage of Silverdale Farm by the IPP-owned newspapers. Mengi was ordered to pay £1.2million towards Hermitage’s legal costs.
Hermitage said today:
I set up my Silverdale Farm blog in 2009 to document our horrific experience in Tanzania, and to expose as a warning for others the corruption we encountered and our helplessness with no protection from the local Courts and officials.
To find myself then sued for libel in my own country, facing a claim of legal costs of £300,000 from Mr Mengi before the proceedings had even started, was itself frightening and oppressive.
25 Jul 2025 | Africa, Americas, El Salvador, Kenya, Malawi, Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Palestine, 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 publishes a weekly news roundup of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression. This week, we look at how a human rights group has been forced out of their country, and how the White House faces backlash for banning a popular news outlet.
Human rights on the run: Activists critical of Nayib Bukele forced to flee El Salvador
After 25 years of activism, Cristosal, the most prominent human rights group in El Salvador, has made the decision to relocate its staff and operations out of the country following increasing threats and targeting by the Salvadoran government.
Cristosal had been at odds with President Nayib Bukele’s government for years. The group was at the forefront of critics within the country over the wrongful deportations of Venezuelans to El Salvador from the US and has compiled alleged evidence of torture and corruption within Bukele’s government. But tensions have escalated as El Salvador has forged a strong alliance with the USA under Donald Trump. Executive director of Cristosal Noah Bullock stated that repression against journalists and activists has escalated in the last two months, and that the arrest of Ruth López, Cristosal’s chief legal officer in anti-corruption was the tipping point that pushed them to flee.
López, held in the Izalco prison in the west of El Salvador, is now the only Cristosal employee remaining in the country where it was founded; the group ensured that all staff were safely out of the country before making the announcement out of fear of Bukele’s response. It follows an increasing trend of journalists and activists fleeing the Central American country – at least 40 journalists have relocated since May, alongside over 60 lawyers and activists, due to police harassment, surveillance, and threats of arrest. Cristosal will continue to cover human rights abuses in El Salvador from exile in neighbouring countries Guatemala and Honduras.
Getting the boot: White House bars Wall Street Journal from Trump’s Scotland trip
The White House has come under fire for barring The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) from joining the media entourage covering Donald Trump’s trip to Scotland following a controversial report regarding Trump and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The article contained a description of a letter Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein for the disgraced financier’s 50th birthday, including a drawing of a naked woman and allegedly including the quote “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.” Trump denied ever writing the letter, and reportedly threatened to sue WSJ if they released the article. US press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated WSJ were kicked from the press pool due to “fake and defamatory conduct”.
A spokesperson for rival newspaper New York Times has condemned the decision, dubbing it “an attack on core constitutional principles underpinning free speech and a free press“, while the White House Correspondents Association’s president Weijia Jiang stated that it should “concern all who value free speech and an independent media”. It is merely the latest incident of the Trump administration cracking down on media organisations; in February the White House revoked the Associated Press’s access to presidential events after it refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as “Gulf of America” as Trump had decreed.
A tipping point: BBC joins media orgs in statement on Gaza starvation
The BBC have released a joint statement with Agence France-Presse (AFP), Associated Press (AP) and Reuters expressing concern over the rapidly increasing threat of starvation to their journalists reporting from Gaza.
International journalists are currently barred by Israel from entering the Gaza Strip, meaning that the only reporters on the ground are local Palestinian journalists, who are as affected by the ongoing conflict as civilians. The statement reads, “For many months, these independent journalists have been the world’s eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza. They are now facing the same dire circumstances as those they are covering.”
It follows an AFP statement calling for Israel to allow its freelance journalists to leave Gaza, reporting that they had been forced to cut back on their coverage of the conflict due to starvation; one journalist said, “we have no energy left due to hunger”. This aligns with widespread reports that the famine in Gaza is reaching unprecedented levels due to Israeli forces blocking aid into the country. The chief of the World Health Organization stated that Gaza is suffering “man-made mass starvation”, and over 100 humanitarian groups released a joint statement detailing the “intense famine” faced across Gaza. Israeli government spokesman David Mencer refuted this, telling Sky News that “There is no famine in Gaza”, and that all food shortages had been “engineered by Hamas”.
A step in the right direction: Malawi decriminalises defamation
In a landmark judgement regarded as a huge step towards press freedom for the south-east African nation, Malawi has ruled that criminal defamation is unconstitutional, stating that it was a “disproportionate and unjustifiable limitation on constitutional freedom”.
The judgement came as part of a case concerning Malawian social media influencer Joshua Chisa Mbele, who challenged Section 200 of the Penal Code – the section criminalising defamation – after charges were brought against him for comments he had made regarding a public official. The Malawi chapter of Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) described the case as “a landmark victory for freedom of expression”.
The law had allowed those found guilty of defamation to face criminal sanctions, such as steep fines and imprisonment. The court ruled arbitrary interpretations of the law and the fear of reprisal harming public discourse meant that the law violated constitutional rights regarding free speech. However, true press freedom in Malawi remains distant: publishing “false news” can be met with up to two years in jail, while the “unauthorised transmitting of data” can be met with up to five years’ imprisonment.
A swift U-turn: Terror charges against Kenyan activist dropped after backlash
Notable Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi was arrested on 19 July 2025, accused of “facilitation of terrorist acts” during the widespread protests that have shaken Kenya over the last two months. His arrest sparked outrage across the country and worldwide, with rights groups denouncing the charges raised against him and #FreeBonifaceMwangi going viral on social media. Now, the terror charges have been dropped, in place of the lesser charge of the illegal possession of ammunition without a licence.
Investigators reportedly searched his home and office, seizing personal devices such as a laptop, notebooks and two unused teargas canisters. The search warrant used by the police also allegedly accused Mwangi of paying “goons” to incite the protests, a claim that Mwangi denies. He stated outside court 21 July that he has never worked with “goons” and that “people hate [Kenyan President William] Ruto for free.”
Mwangi is often involved in protests, and has been detained a number of times. In May, he and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire were detained and allegedly tortured following a protest in Tanzania before being dumped at the borders of their respective countries. Recent protests in Kenya have been met with intense repression, with Ruto ordering officials to shoot demonstrators in the leg to ensure they are incapacitated but not killed – nevertheless, 65 people are reported to have died in protests since unrest began on 12 June.
6 Jun 2025 | Africa, Americas, DR Congo, Europe and Central Asia, Honduras, Hungary, Israel, Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Syria, Tanzania, 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 publishes a weekly news roundup of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression. This week, we look at Hungary’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ content, and Tanzania’s shutdown of the social media platform X.
A “climate of hostility”: Hungary’s ban of LGBTQ+ content on TV and in schools violates human rights
The rights of LGBTQ+ people in Hungary have been under attack for years, as Index covered last week. With the latest development being a new law banning LGBTQ+ demonstrations, president Viktor Orbán and his government have drawn continued ire from the EU as they continue to ramp up oppression. Now, a senior legal scholar at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has stated that Hungary’s 2021 “child protection law” violates basic human rights and free expression.
In her 69-page non-binding opinion, CJEU advocate general Tamara Ćapeta said that rather than protecting children from harm, the law “expands such harm”, highlighting the law’s “stigmatising effects” and the “climate of hostility” it has created towards LGBTQ+ people. The law prohibits the depiction of LGBTQ+ individuals in school educational content, or any TV show, film or advert shown before 10pm, placing this content in the same bracket as sexually explicit content. Ćapeta said that the law illustrates a government belief that “homosexual and non-cisgender life is not of equal value or status as heterosexual and cisgender life”.
While a “non-binding opinion” does not strictly carry legal weight or enforcement, Ćapeta’s assessment reflects a growing trend amongst EU lawyers and officials that Hungary is falling foul of EU regulations when it comes to freedom of expression. With tensions only rising, it seems only a matter of time before a breaking point is reached; though it is yet to be seen what action the EU will take against Hungary.
Social blackout: Tanzania bans X under guise of pornographic content
In a move that has drawn much criticism, Tanzania has blocked social media platform X from being accessed in the country, on the basis that it allows pornographic content to be shared, according to the government. Minister for information, communication and IT, Jerry Silaa has said that this content is against the “laws, culture, customs, and traditions” of the East African nation. However, human rights organisations within the country have reason to believe that digital repression and censorship are the true reasons behind the ban.
In a post on the banned platform, the Legal and Human Rights Centre noted that a similar shutdown occurred ahead of the 2020 Tanzanian general elections, and that other platforms such as Telegram and Clubhouse are similarly inaccessible in Tanzania without the use of a virtual private network (VPN).
Indeed, access to X specifically has been prohibited previously, aside from during elections. Following an incident in May this year when the official account of the Tanzania Police Force was hacked, posting falsely that the country’s president had died, the platform was blocked temporarily.
This recurrence of digital restrictions, particularly in the run up to the 2025 Tanzanian elections, raises further concerns about free expression in a country that was recently subject to international outcry over the detention and alleged torture of two human rights activists.
No comment: DR Congo bans reporting on former president and his entire party
The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) has banned the media from reporting on the activities of former president Joseph Kabila, or interviewing any members of his party, the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy.
The controversial former president returned to the country in May after two years in self-imposed exile. He had previously been accused of support for the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group that is currently in conflict with Congolese forces, with senators stripping him of immunity and accusing him of treason. However, he has now returned to the M23-held city of Goma, in eastern DR Congo. Kabila has previously denied links with the rebel group, but has reportedly been seen visiting religious leaders in the presence of an M23 spokesperson.
Breaches of the blanket media ban will result in suspension, according to Christian Bosembe, head of DR Congo’s media regulator.
Kabila himself has not yet commented on the decision, but his party’s secretary Ferdinand Kambere described the decision as “arbitrary and illegal” in a statement on X, accusing the Congolese government of tyranny. A spokesperson for M23 stated that media outlets in rebel-controlled areas would not abide by the ban.
Detained for reporting: BBC crew held at gunpoint by IDF in southern Syria
The BBC has released a statement condemning the treatment of four BBC staff members and three freelance colleagues by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) while filming in southern Syria.
BBC Arabic special correspondent Feras Kilani detailed how himself and his crew were held at gunpoint on 9 May 2025 while at a checkpoint just outside Quneitra, which is located in the Israeli-Syrian buffer zone in the Golan Heights. Their phones and equipment were confiscated, before members of the crew were blindfolded, handcuffed and strip searched. Kilani was also strip searched and interrogated, with soldiers reportedly asking personal questions about his family, before proceeding to interrogate the rest of his team. Held for seven hours, their devices were inspected and some photos deleted. According to Kilani, they were told that the IDF knew everything about them, and that they would be tracked down if they published photos from the trip.
The BBC’s statement, released on 5 June, objected to the journalists’ treatment, stating that “the behaviour they were subjected to is wholly unacceptable.” The BBC has complained to the Israeli military, but is yet to receive a response.
Media abandoned: Journalist killed in Honduras despite state protection
Salvadoran journalist Javier Antonio Hércules Salinas was murdered by armed men on motorbikes in Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras on 1 June. He was killed whilst driving a taxi, a part-time job he did alongside working as a reporter for the local news outlet, A Todo Noticias.
Salinas had been working in Honduras for more than 10 years, and had been under the protection of the Honduran government since October 2023, after being subjected to threats and a kidnapping attempt, which he escaped unharmed. Dina Meza, director of the Association for Democracy and Human Rights of Honduras, stated that the Secretariat of Human Rights (SEDH), Honduras’s government body responsible for implementing human rights plans, did not listen to advice for a more thorough security plan, and that state security had “[turned] their backs” on journalists in the country.
Salinas’s murder is the latest in a country that has proven to be extremely dangerous for journalists, with the Honduran College of Journalists (CPH) reporting that more than 100 journalists have been killed in the country since 2001. Honduras ranks 142 out of 180 countries for media freedom on Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index.
23 May 2025 | Afghanistan, Africa, Americas, Asia and Pacific, El Salvador, Europe and Central Asia, Kenya, News and features, Palestine, Russia, Tanzania, Uganda, 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 publishes a weekly news roundup of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression. This week, we look at the arrest of a human rights lawyer and how Russia has banned Amnesty International.
Detained for her work: Leading human rights lawyer arrested for supporting immigrants
Cristosal is one of the most prominent groups working to defend human rights in Central America. Over recent months, it has supported those wrongfully deported to El Salvador from the USA, and now one of its most prominent figures is paying the price for this work. Ruth López, chief legal officer in anti-corruption for Cristosal, has been arrested in El Salvador over a decade-old embezzlement accusation from when she worked in electoral courts.
Arrested late on Sunday 18 May, her family and legal team have no knowledge as to her whereabouts and are concerned about her safety. Numerous human rights organisations have come out in her defence, condemning her arrest as a violation of due process, and outlining the “environment of fear” that is prevalent in the country.
Cristosal wrote on Bluesky that Lopez is “likely the victim of short-term enforced disappearance”, constituting a “serious human rights violation under international law”. López has led multiple legal cases against the Salvadoran government, and Cristosal claims that she has been the target of smear campaigns and social media attacks coordinated by Nayib Bukele’s government, and that this is its latest attempt to silence her for her work.
No amnesty for Amnesty: Prominent human rights group banned in Russia
On Monday 19 May, Russia officially announced that it would ban the prominent human rights organisation Amnesty International from operating within the country, designating it “undesirable”. The Kremlin claims that Amnesty is the “centre of preparation of global Russophobic projects”, and that it “[justifies] the crimes of Ukrainian neo-Nazis”.
Amnesty has continually documented Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and the organisation has long been on Russia’s blacklist, with its website blocked and its Moscow office closed since the early days of the war. The group is far from the first to be banned by the Kremlin; since 2015 the register of “undesirable organisations” has been used to ostracise hundreds of human rights groups and media outlets. Amnesty International’s secretary general Agnès Callamard said that “you must be doing something right if the Kremlin bans you”, and outlined the organisation’s intentions to keep exposing Russia’s human rights violations in both Ukraine and Russia.
University protests: Student has degree revoked for pro-Palestine speech
Since Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, university campuses have become key battlegrounds in the fight for free expression in the USA. Some pro-Palestine protesters have been arrested on campus, others have been punished through suspension, and the Trump administration has threatened to withdraw funding from schools and universities that allow what it deems “illegal protests”. International students are at particular risk, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have detained and attempted deportations of student protesters who are in the USA on visas or green cards.
Despite the threats facing them, it appears that students are not being deterred from protesting. New York University (NYU) undergraduate Logan Rozos gave a pro-Palestine speech at his graduation ceremony last week, condemning the war in Gaza. “The genocide currently occurring is supported politically and military by the United States, is paid for by our tax dollars and has been live-streamed to our phones,” he said. NYU quickly announced that the university is withholding his diploma while it pursues disciplinary action against him.
Similarly, this week, George Washington University (GWU) student Cecilia Culver criticised her university’s ties to Israel and called for students to withhold donations to GWU in a graduation speech that went viral on social media. She has since been banned from campus, with some groups calling for the withdrawal of her diploma until she apologises.
In February it was announced that a federal government taskforce set up to tackle antisemitism would be investigating events that have occurred at 10 universities, and both NYU and GWU are on this list.
Media shutdown: Taliban fires 300 from national broadcaster in mass budget cuts
As part of an initiative to cut government spending, the Taliban has fired more than 300 members of staff from the prominent national broadcaster Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA), 91 of whom are women. Many were journalists and editors who had worked for the organisation for decades. The Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization (AJSO) believes that this is more than just a cost-cutting exercise.
In a statement on X, AJSO outlined how this continues a theme of media suppression by the Taliban, and that the decision is part of “the systematic exclusion of women from the public sphere, especially in the media”. The drive to remove women from the workplace has intensified since the Taliban regained control of the country in 2021; state-run nurseries in Kabul have reportedly seen more than 100 female staff dismissed, while hundreds of women professors have been fired from public universities across the country. At the end of last year, women were banned from training as midwives and nurses.
A 2024 UN report also outlined how the Taliban has devastated the country’s independent media landscape, with the latest cuts appearing to be a continuation of these efforts.
Freed on demand: Two activists released from detention in Tanzania following government requests
Boniface Mwangi, a prominent Kenyan activist and journalist, and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire have reportedly been returned to their home countries following a three-day detention in Tanzania. Mwangi and Atuhaire were in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Monday 19 May for the court case of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu when they were arrested. They were taken into custody, with their whereabouts unknown, and allegedly denied access or contact with either their lawyers or families.
The Kenyan government publicly protested the detention, calling on Tanzania to release Mwangi in an open letter on Thursday 22 May – later that day, Mwangi was dumped on the border of Kenya and Tanzania. Mwangi has recounted his experiences in detention, claiming that he and Atuhaire were tortured while in custody. Atuhaire was also found at the border of Tanzania and Uganda, after the Ugandan High Commission wrote to Tanzania seeking information about her whereabouts. Amnesty Kenya has condemned their detentions, and has called for an independent investigation into the allegations of torture and human rights abuses by Tanzanian officials.
