8 Oct 2021 | Kazakhstan, Legal action against journalists, Media Freedom, News and features, Slapps, United Kingdom
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Metal Alloy plant. Worker in orange jacket and white hardhat on train with Eurasian Resources Group (ENRC). Alexey Rezvykh / Alamy Stock Photo
The undersigned organisations express their serious concern at the legal proceedings that have been filed in a UK court against journalist and author Tom Burgis, his publisher HarperCollins, and his employer the Financial Times (FT). Two lawsuits have been filed by Kazakh multinational mining company, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), for what it claims are a series of “untrue” and “highly damaging” allegations made by the defendants about the company.
The first lawsuit, against Burgis and HarperCollins, centres around multiple passages in Burgis’ 2020 book Kleptopia: How Dirty Money is Conquering the World. The second lawsuit, against Burgis and the FT, relates to two FT articles by Burgis, eleven Twitter posts by Burgis based on the articles, and an FT podcast in which Burgis was interviewed about his investigation.
“We are extremely concerned that the lawsuits against Tom Burgis, HarperCollins, and the FT are Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (SLAPPs). SLAPPs are a form of legal harassment used by those with deep pockets to silence journalists and other public watchdogs by exploiting intimidatingly long and expensive legal procedures,” the undersigned organisations said.
The lawsuits filed in London follow earlier legal suits by ENRC in US courts against HarperCollins seeking disclosure of wide-ranging information relating to the publication of Burgis’ book and newspaper articles published in the FT. In the London lawsuits, ENRC claims that the publications defamed the company, including by falsely suggesting that it was involved in the deaths of two whistleblowers (former ENRC employees), whose bodies were found at a motel in Missouri in 2015.
A criminal investigation by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office into alleged corruption within ENRC opened in 2013 and is ongoing. It is understood to be focused on allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption around the acquisition of substantial mineral assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere. No charges have yet been brought. ENRC denies all allegations.
Since the SFO announced its investigation, ENRC has initiated a wave of more than 18 legal proceedings in the US and the UK against journalists, lawyers, investigators, contractors, and a former SFO official and the SFO itself. In June 2021, twenty-two organisations issued a statement condemning the ENRC’s lawsuits against public watchdogs.
“The lawsuits against Burgis, HarperCollins, and the FT are the latest in a deluge of litigation brought by ENRC as it attempts to robustly challenge corruption allegations,” the organisations said. “We are extremely concerned that ENRC’s legal tactics are a further attempt to silence those who interrogate any possible links between the company and incidents that warrant proper public scrutiny.”
“We urge the UK government to consider measures, including legal measures, that would protect journalists and other public watchdogs from abusive legal actions that are aimed at silencing them,” the organisations concluded. “Our democracy relies on their ability to hold power to account.”
The legal proceedings against Burgis, HarperCollins, and the FT were filed at the High Court of Justice of England and Wales on 27 August. The first hearing has yet to be scheduled.
Note to editors: ENRC was listed on the London Stock Exchange until 2013, when it became embroiled in controversy over governance issues and went private. Today it is owned by Eurasian Resources Group registered in Luxembourg. The ‘Trio’ who own the majority shares in ENRC (now ERG) are Alexander Machkevitch, Patokh Chodiev and Alijan Ibragimov. Mr Ibragimov died in February 2021. The Kazakh state owns an estimated 40 percent of the company.
SIGNED:
ARTICLE 19
Blueprint for Free Speech
Campaign for Freedom of Information in Scotland (CFoIS)
English PEN
IFEX
Index on Censorship
Justice for Journalists Foundation
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)
Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)
PEN International
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID)
Spotlight on Corruption
The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom
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29 Sep 2021 | Magazine, Magazine Editions, Volume 50.03 Autumn 2021
Journalist
John Sweeney is a writer and journalist who has investigated Scientology and Russian interference in the US elections. He is the host of the Hunting Ghislaine podcast.
Activist and producer
Kelly Duda is an activist and producer and director of the documentary Factor 8: The Arkansas Prison Blood Scandal.
8 Sep 2021
[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1630693196413{padding-top: 105px !important;padding-bottom: 105px !important;background-image: url(https://www.indexoncensorship.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Cover23-scaled.jpg?id=117362) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Freedom of Expression Awards 2021″ font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_single_image image=”117377″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
The Nominees
The 2021 Freedom of Expression Awards will take place on 12 September 2021.
There are three nominees in each category, where each inspiring individual will be judged on their outstanding contributions in the areas of the arts, campaigning and journalism.
The full list of the nominees is below.
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Arts
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”black” border_width=”3″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Daria Apakhonchich”][vc_custom_heading text=”Artist and activist” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left”][vc_custom_heading text=”Daria Apakhonchich is a Russian performance artist and feminist activist. Daria creates artistic performances to protest violence against women and support women’s rights in Russia. She contributed to the ‘Vulva Ballet’ in 2020. The piece was produced in defence of Yulia Tsvetkova, an LGBTQ artist activist and herself a former Index Awards winner, who faces up to six years in prison for her body positive feminist drawings.
In December 2020, Daria learned from media reports that she was the first artist to be labelled a “Foreign Agent” by Russian authorities. She was arrested and fined in January 2021. She also lost her teaching job with the Red Cross due to her activism and feminist engagement.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Alegreya%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”117390″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/campaigns/letters-from-lukashenkas-prisoners/maxim-znak/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”0px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Émerson Maranhão”][vc_custom_heading text=”Film director” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left”][vc_custom_heading text=”Émerson Maranhão is a Brazilian film director who focuses on LGBTQ+ visibility. Émerson’s last movie, Those Two, follows the lives of two transgender men and their journey towards self-acceptance. In 2019, the Brazilian government halted state funding for films representing LGBTQ themes. A judge later determined that this decision was discriminatory and ordered that funding be reinstated, a victory in a time of rising censorship of LGBTQ+ artistic expression in Bolsonaro’s Brazil.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Alegreya%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”117394″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/campaigns/letters-from-lukashenkas-prisoners/volha-takarchuk/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Tatyana Zelenskaya”][vc_custom_heading text=”Artist” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left”][vc_custom_heading text=”Tatyana Zelenskaya is an illustrator from Kyrgyzstan, her works focus on freedom of expression and women’s rights. Tatyana highlights social issues, including domestic violence and women’s rights. More recently, her work has been inspired by the growing anti-government protests which have erupted across Russia and Kyrgyzstan.
In 2020, she created the artwork for the video game Swallows: Spring in Bishkek which raises awareness about bride-kidnapping. The interactive game provides useful information on bride-kidnapping with the aim of challenging traditional perceptions of the practice.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Alegreya%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”117407″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/campaigns/letters-from-lukashenkas-prisoners/maria-kalesnikava/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Campaigning
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”black” border_width=”3″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Nandar”][vc_custom_heading text=”Activist” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left”][vc_custom_heading text=”Nandar is a feminist activist, translator and storyteller from Myanmar. Nandar grew up in a village in the north-eastern Shan state of Myanmar. She experienced first-hand the hardships that many women face when living in a society with traditional gender roles. Nandar created a podcast to tackle taboo topics in the country such as menstruation and abortion.
She also founded the Purple Feminists Group to promote feminist literature, challenge mainstream taboos, amplify women and girls’ voices, and raise awareness of gender-based violence.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Alegreya%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”117408″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/campaigns/letters-from-lukashenkas-prisoners/maria-kalesnikava/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Anouar Rahmani”][vc_custom_heading text=”Writer” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left”][vc_custom_heading text=”Anouar Rahmani is an Algerian writer and human rights defender. Through his writings, Anouar explores human rights issues in Algeria, including those of LGBTQ+ people and those of religious minorities. He is the author of two novels, The City of White Shadow and Jibril’s Hallucination. He has faced significant threats and online harassment for his writings. Rahmani has also been harassed by Algerian authorities due to his work. In 2017, he was arrested for blasphemy and in 2020, he was forced to pay a 50,000 Dinar fine for “insulting state officials”.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Alegreya%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”117410″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/campaigns/letters-from-lukashenkas-prisoners/maria-kalesnikava/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Abdelrahman “Moka” Tarek”][vc_custom_heading text=”Activist” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left”][vc_custom_heading text=”Abdelrahman “Moka” Tarek is an Egyptian human rights defender and Member of the 6 April Movement. He took part in the 25 January Egyptian Revolution. In 2013 he was arrested at the Shura Council Protest along with 24 other peaceful protesters. He was convicted to 3 years in prison as well as a 3-year suspended sentence.
In September 2019, Abdelrahman was assaulted by a police officer as he was serving his suspended sentence at Qsar Al-Nil Police station. He disappeared soon after sharing this aggression on social media. Since then, new terrorism-related charges have been pressed against him and he was sent back to Tora prison.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Alegreya%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”117409″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/campaigns/letters-from-lukashenkas-prisoners/maria-kalesnikava/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Journalism
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”black” border_width=”3″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Kadar Abdi Ibrahim”][vc_custom_heading text=”Activist and journalist” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left”][vc_custom_heading text=”Kadar Abdi Ibrahim is a human rights activist and journalist from Djibouti. Kadar Abdi Ibrahim was the co-director and chief editor of L’Aurore, Djibouti’s only privately-owned media outlet. In 2016, the newspaper was banned following the publication of a story about the massacre of 29 people, understood to have been perpetrated by state forces. In April 2018, just days after returning from Geneva, intelligence service agents raided his house and confiscated his passport. He has been unable to leave the country since then.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Alegreya%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”117413″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/campaigns/letters-from-lukashenkas-prisoners/maria-kalesnikava/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Verónica Chávez”][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left”][vc_custom_heading text=”Verónica Chávez is the co-owner of 100% Noticias, an online Nicaraguan media outlet dedicated to providing critical journalism. Despite President Daniel Ortega’s strict crackdown on media in Nicaragua, 100% Noticias has continued to provide critical journalism. In 2018, police raided the offices of 100% Noticias, confiscated the station’s equipment and arrested Chávez, her husband journalist Miguel Mora and news director Lucia Pineda. Chávez was subsequently released, but Mora and Pineda were charged and imprisoned for a year. Chávez continued to run 100% Noticias during that time.
Ortega’s intimidation recently intensified and in October 2020, Chávez was assaulted by members of paramilitary groups close to the government which left her in intensive care. The international community has condemned the attack.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Alegreya%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”117412″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/campaigns/letters-from-lukashenkas-prisoners/maria-kalesnikava/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Samira Sabou”][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalist and blogger” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left”][vc_custom_heading text=”Samira Sabou is a Nigerien journalist, blogger and president of the Niger Bloggers for Active Citizenship Association (ABCA). In June 2020, Sabou was arrested and charged with defamation under the 2019 cybercrime law in connection with a Facebook post highlighting corruption. She spent over a month in detention before eventually being released.
Through her work with ABCA, she conducts training sessions on disseminating information on social media based on journalistic ethics. She teaches journalists and bloggers how to continue to publish despite a cybercrime law, enacted in 2019, which severely restricts freedom of expression in the country.
Sabou is also active in promoting girls’ and women’s right to free expression and has championed women’s leadership through her work.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Alegreya%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”117411″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/campaigns/letters-from-lukashenkas-prisoners/maria-kalesnikava/”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
1 Sep 2021 | Media Freedom, News and features
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Dear Editor,
As proud members of the LGBTQ+ community, we know first-hand the vile abuse that regularly takes place online. The data is clear; 78% of us have faced anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime or hate speech online in the last 5 years.1 So we understand why the Government is looking for a solution, but the current version of the Online Safety Bill is not the answer – it will make things worse not better.
The new law introduces the “duty of care” principle and would give internet companies extensive powers to delete posts that may cause ‘harm.’ But because the law does not define what it means by ‘harm’ it could result in perfectly legal speech being removed from the web.2
As LGBTQ+ people we have seen what happens when vague rules are put in place to police speech. Marginalised voices are silenced. From historic examples of censors banning LGBTQ+ content to ‘protect’ the public, to modern day content moderation tools marking innocent LGBTQ+ content as explicit or harmful.
This isn’t scaremongering. In 2017, Tumblr’s content filtering system marked non-sexual LGBTQ+ content as explicit and blocked it, in 2020 TikTok censored depictions of homosexuality such as two men kissing or holding hands and it reduced the reach of LGBTQ+ posts in some countries, and within the last two months LinkedIn removed a coming out post from a 16-year-old following complaints.3
This Bill, as it stands, would provide a legal basis for this censorship. Moreover, its vague wording makes it easy for hate groups to put pressure on Silicon Valley tech companies to remove LGBTQ+ content and would set a worrying international standard.
Growing calls to end anonymity online also pose a danger. Anonymity allows LGBTQ+ people to share their experiences and sexuality while protecting their privacy and many non-binary and transgender people do not hold a form of acceptable ID and could be shut out of social media.4
The internet provides a crucial space for our community to share experiences and build relationships. 90% of LGBTQ+ young people say they can be themselves online and 96% say the internet has helped them understand more about their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.5 This Bill puts the content of these spaces at potential risk.
Racism, homophobia, transphobia, and threats of violence are already illegal. But data shows that when they happen online it is ignored by authorities. After the system for flagging online hate crime was underused by the police, the Home Office stopped including these figures in their annual report all together, leaving us in the dark about the scale of the problem. The government’s Bill should focus on this illegal content rather than empowering the censorship of legal speech.
This is why we are calling for “the duty of care”, which in the current form of the Online Safety Bill could be used to censor perfectly legal free speech, to be reframed to focus on illegal content, for there to be specific, written, protections for legal LGBTQ+ content online, and for the LGBTQ+ community to be properly consulted throughout the process.
Stephen Fry, actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, and writer.
Munroe Bergdorf, model, activist, and writer.
Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner.
Carrie Lyell, Editor-in-Chief of DIVA Magazine.
James Ball, Global Editor of The Bureau Of Investigative Journalism.
Jo Corrall, Founder of This is a Vulva.
Clara Barker, material scientist and Chair of LGBT+ Advisory Group at Oxford University.
Marc Thompson, Director of The Love Tank and co-founder of PrEPster and BlackOut UK.
Sade Giliberti, TV presenter, actor, and media personality.
Fox Fisher, artist, author, filmmaker, and LGBTQIA+ rights advocate.
Cara English, Head of Public Engagement at Gendered Intelligence, Founder OpenLavs.
Paula Akpan, journalist, and founder of Black Queer Travel Guide.
Tom Rasmussen, writer, singer, and drag performer.
Jamie Wareham, LGBTQ journalist and host of the #QueerAF podcast.
Crystal Lubrikunt, international drag performer, host, and producer.
David Robson, Chair of London LGBT+ Forums Network
Shane ShayShay Konno, drag performer, curator and host of the ShayShay Show, and founder of The Bitten Peach.
UK Black Pride, Europe’s largest celebration for African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin America, and Caribbean-heritage LGBTQI+ people.
Footnotes
(3) See:
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