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.
7 Nov 2025 | Africa, Americas, Bahrain, Europe and Central Asia, News and features, Russia, Sudan, Tanzania, 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 journalists under threat in Sudan and a Russian street musician continuing to take a stand.
Sudan: RSF releases video of missing journalist
Sudan’s RSF (Rapid Support Forces) have released a video admitting to the detention of a missing journalist.
Muammar Ibrahim, a freelance journalist, went missing on 26 October in El-Fasher, with a video circulating on Telegram of him being surrounded by armed men.
Ibrahim was thought to have been detained by RSF fighters, a fact that was confirmed in a video released by the RSF on 3 November in which Ibrahim is accused of being biased, and himself states that the investigation against him is due to his description of the RSF as a militia.
The video follows a statement from an RSF spokesperson to Al-Jazeera in which he said: “I have no knowledge of the arrest of Sudanese journalist Muammar Ibrahim”
Bahrain: Calls for release of prisoner after hunger strike
Calls have been made for the release of a prominent human rights defender in Bahrain following a hunger strike.
Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, co-founder of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, has been imprisoned in Bahrain since 2011 and is currently serving a life sentence for his involvement in demonstrations during the pro-democracy uprisings in the country.
This coincides with a wider hunger strike throughout Bahrain’s Jaw prison involving more than 90 prisoners who are protesting against deteriorating conditions in the prison. This type of protest is not uncommon in the prison, with 800 prisoners taking part in a 2023 hunger strike.
Russia: Another sentence for 18-year-old street protest singer
Russian street musician Diana Loginova, also known as Naoko, has been sentenced to 13 days in jail for her performances of banned songs that went viral recently.
Loginova is the singer of St Petersberg band Stoptime, known for their street performances around the city.
This is the second detention she has faced in the last month, having just finished her previous sentence of 13 days; the singer still faces charges of discrediting the army, a charge that may lead to longer imprisonment.
Watch the video of one of Stoptime’s performances that has caused these charges here. For non-Russian speakers, the translation is here.
Tanzania: Crackdown on protest after incumbent wins 98% of presidential vote
A violent crackdown has begun following country-wide demonstrations that erupted during last week’s presidential elections in Tanzania.
Opposition party Chadema claims there have been 2,000 people killed so far, however these numbers have not been independently verified. The government has denied the use of excessive force against protesters.
The demonstrations began on election day last week and led to the deployment of the military to enforce a curfew across the city of Dar es Salaam.
On 1 November Tanzania’s electoral body declared Samia Suluhu Hassan, the incumbent president, winner with 97.66% of votes. Most of her rivals were either imprisoned or barred from taking part in the elections.
Internet watchdog Netblocks announced on 3 November that a five-day internet shutdown had been eased.
USAI: Trump facsimile takes the stage
US President Donald Trump has been accused of posting AI-generated videos of himself on social media again this week.
Trump is no stranger to AI video generation at this point, becoming a regular poster of content such as a video depicting himself flying a fighter jet and images of himself as a character from the Halo video games.
As AI videos become more and more realistic, Trump’s use of the technology sets an alarming precedent for its use by politicians globally, with the risk of it being used against political enemies increasing daily.
Watch one of the uncanny videos here, in which the apparent AI Trump stands behind a podium and recites his own TruthSocial posts.
31 Oct 2025 | Africa, Americas, Asia and Pacific, Iran, Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Nigeria, Tanzania, United States, Vietnam
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 deployment of the military against protesters in Tanzania and a rock band playing on the streets of Tehran.
Tanzania: Military deployed and curfews enacted
Protests have erupted in Tanzania following a disputed election and the deployment of the military to enforce a curfew across Dar es Salaam.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, incumbent leader of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and one of only two female leaders in Africa, won 78.8% of the vote. Her victory has been disputed, especially as candidates from the top two opposition parties had been disqualified from running in the election. CCM has been in control of Tanzania since it gained independence in 1961.
Index covered the lead-up to the election, and reported on fears that the opposition leaders are being silenced.
Internet watchdog Netblocks has reported an internet blackout across the country following the beginning of the curfew.
Opposition leader Tundu Lissu has been imprisoned on charges of treason for his calls for electoral reform, whilst Luhaga Mpina, who leads the second largest opposition party was barred from taking part in the election.
Protests are still ongoing as demonstrators reject the election results.
Iran: Rock band shows sparks of rebellion
In a startling video we saw this week, Iranians have taken to the streets of Tehran to watch a rock band playing the White Stripes 2003 single Seven Nation Army.
The video has been widely shared, and shows women dancing in the street without wearing head coverings in a display of freedom on the streets.
Index has been following the clampdowns on musicians in Iran over the last few years.
This display follows a growing movement of defiance against mandatory hijab requirements across Iran that has built steadily since the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests sparked by the murder of Mahsa Jina Amini.
Nigeria: Visa rejection for Nobel winner
91-year-old Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka announced on Tuesday that the USA had revoked his non-resident visa.
Soyinka won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature and is widely known for his work as a playwright and poet. He previously renounced his permanent US residency in protest at the election of President Donald Trump.
Soyinka said: “I was given a date to report to their consulate with my passport. I declined the invitation. First of all, I didn’t like the date. Everybody knows what happened on that date, 9/11, many years ago, so it is rather unfortunate that they picked that date. So I said, ‘Sorry, I’m superstitious; I’m not coming on that day.’ And ultimately, I made it clear I was not going to apply for another date to bring in my passport. So I travelled out.
“When I came back – even before I came back – I got a letter from the ambassador.
“So we arranged a call, and I explained. Again, he offered a special visit by me at the consulate, and they would ask a few questions about the possible facts that existed that they didn’t know about when this visa was issued. We spoke, and I said, ‘Shall I be equally frank with you? I’m not interested.’”
Visa rules changed for Nigerians in July, with non-immigrant visas now receiving single-entry three-month permits as opposed to the up to five-year multiple-entry visas available previously.
USA: Gamers wanted for ICE
The White House has continued its use of memes in its effort to recruit members for the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Recent posts by the Department of Homeland Security on X have used screenshots from the Halo video game series overlaid with phrases such as “stop the flood” equating the undocumented migrants ICE targets with the alien enemies faced in the video game.
The posts come in the wake of numerous controversies facing the organisation, with multiple shootings reported this week in relation to ICE, and a British national being held by the organisation after the US had revoked his visa.
Similarly AI has become a mainstay. We’ve covered the trend in the latest edition of our magazine – and that was before a post from President Trump on his Truth Social platform last week imagining him flying a fighter jet over protesters covering them in excrement.
Memes and online culture have been a mainstay of the Donald Trump presidencies since he first took power in 2016, with an online culture developing around his campaign on sites such as 4chan.
Vietnam: BBC journalist trapped
A journalist from the BBC has been blocked from leaving Vietnam according to a statement released by the broadcaster.
The Vietnamese national has not been named, however the BBC released the following statement: “One of our journalists has been unable to leave Vietnam for several months as the authorities have withheld their ID card and their renewed passport.
“During this time our journalist was subject to multiple days of questioning by the authorities. The BBC journalist was in Vietnam for a routine passport renewal and to visit family.
“We are deeply concerned about our journalist’s wellbeing and urge the authorities to allow them to leave immediately, providing them with their renewed passport so they can return to work.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reportedly raised the issue with general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Tô Lâm during a state visit to the UK this week, however no updates have been made on the status of the journalist.
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.
