14 Jul 2025 | About Index, Africa, Kenya, News and features, Newsletters
The directive from Kenya’s President William Ruto last week was clear: shoot protesters in the legs. It came just days after police killed scores of demonstrators, marking the most violent crackdown since nationwide protests erupted last month. On Monday, tens of thousands gathered across the country to express growing outrage at Ruto’s government. When roadblocks and a heavy police presence failed to suppress the demonstrations, authorities escalated their response. According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, 31 people were killed, 107 injured, 532 arrested and two disappeared. Article 19 reported that three journalists were attacked and documented a series of other violations to free expression.
These latest confrontations are part of a broader protest movement that began in June following the death of a teacher in police custody. The teacher had allegedly criticised a senior police official on social media. His death ignited long-simmering frustrations over police brutality, rising living costs and deep-rooted government corruption.
Monday’s violence coincided with Saba Saba Day (Swahili for “seven seven”), which is a powerful anniversary in Kenya’s political calendar. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the 1990 protests, on 7 July, against President Daniel arap Moi’s one-party rule, which ultimately led to multiparty democracy.
Kenya appears to be caught in a cycle of protest and repression. Last year’s protests also turned violent. So did previous ones.
“Every time we try to protest against these senseless and endless killings by the police, we are teargassed and some of us get arrested. The voice of the youth is not being heard by the authorities,” we were told by a young man named Njoro back in 2022. Ruto had just become president when we spoke to Njoro, having previously served as deputy president. The election was marked by low voter turnout and widespread claims of electoral fraud. Still, Ruto portrayed himself as a man of the people and embraced nicknames along those lines, including “Hustler” and “Chicken Seller”. In recent years new nicknames – many of them mocking or critical – have emerged. While Ruto has largely shrugged them off, his government has not extended the same tolerance to satirical artists and online critics, who have been harassed and even disappeared. Last December, for example, the renowned cartoonist Gideon Kibet disappeared alongside his brother after meeting with opposition senator Okiya Omtata. Known by the alias Kibet Bull, he was eventually released in January.
In last month’s Economist, Kenya was described as a country that “once set a fine example to the rest of Africa” but “now offers a how-to guide on smothering dissent”. Orders to shoot protesters in the legs only adds weight to that.
11 Jul 2025 | Africa, Asia and Pacific, Bangladesh, Israel, Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Palestine, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia
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 Palestinian newspaper editor, and how the Bangladeshi prime minister ordered violent protest crackdowns.
Hold the front page: Palestinian newspaper editor arrested by IDF
In the early hours of 7 July, veteran Palestinian journalist Dr Nasser al-Laham was arrested inside his home by Israeli forces.
58-year-old al-Laham has been working as a journalist for over 30 years, and is the editor-in-chief of Palestinian news agency Ma’an. He is also the director of Al-Mayadeen TV’s Palestinian office, a Lebanese news channel that is reportedly affiliated with Hezbollah, according to Haaretz.
Ma’an has reported that the raid on al-Laham’s home, located in the village of al-Duha, west of Bethlehem, was destructive. Soldiers reportedly ransacked the property, confiscating computers and phones and destroying personal items before detaining al-Lahham. Al-Mayadeen described the raid as “brutal and repressive” and called for his immediate release.
Al-Lahham’s detention was brought before Ofer Military Court for a hearing on Thursday 10 July, resulting in his detention being extended by a further nine days. Arrested on suspicion of “supporting and inciting terror” due to his role at Al Mayadeen, he joins a long list of Palestinian journalists targeted by Israel since war broke out following the 7 October 2023 attacks and kidnappings by Hamas. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have labelled Palestine as the world’s most dangerous state for journalists, with almost 200 reporters killed in Gaza by the Israeli army over the first 18 months of war, and at least 42 of those likely killed due to their work.
Caught on tape: Former Bangladesh prime minister found to have authorised protester shootings
BBC Eye have verified a recorded phone call that reveals former prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina authorised the use of lethal force against protesters in the mass uprising against the Bangladeshi government that took place in summer 2024.
The student-led uprising began in July 2024 when protesters took to the streets to demand an end to the job quota system that reserved public sector jobs for the descendants of war veterans. The Bangladeshi government cracked down on these protests as they increased in fervour, implementing national curfews and cutting internet access, and responding to demonstrators with lethal force. Armed forces mobilised against peaceful protesters, and the UN report that as many as 1,400 people were killed in just 46 days of protests. The harsh response only led to further demonstrations until Hasina resigned and fled the country on 5 August last year. It brought to an end her second period of rule which had lasted 15 years by that time.
Hasina was tried in absentia for crimes against humanity by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), and leaked audio of a phone call with an unidentified senior government official marks the most damning evidence of her direct involvement in the atrocities. Hasina is recorded saying she authorised security forces to “use lethal weapons” against protesters and that “wherever they find [them], they will shoot”.
Hasina, alongside two senior officials, were indicted by ICT on 10 July 2025 for crimes against humanity, and court proceedings for the three will begin on 3 August. Hasina lives in self-imposed exile in India, and has dismissed the trial as being politically motivated.
Arresting all rivals: Tunisian opposition leader sentenced to 14 years in prison
Rached Ghannouchi, co-founder and leader of Tunisian opposition party Ennahda, is one of at least 18 politicians and officials sentenced to lengthy jail terms on 8 July 2025 in President Kais Saied’s mass crackdown on dissent. Ghannouchi, who has been imprisoned since 2023, was sentenced to up to 14 years in jail, the latest of a number of charges issued against him in recent months that total more than 20 years behind bars.
Such harsh prison sentences have become the norm for those seen as “conspiring against state security” in Tunisia; Nadia Akacha, Saied’s former chief of staff, and Rafik Abdessalem, Ghannouchi’s son-in-law and former foreign minister were also each handed a 35-year prison sentence in absentia for their alleged offences, as well as for “forming an organisation and conspiracy related to terrorist crimes”.
In 2021, Saied suspended elected parliament and began ruling by decree in what many described as a coup. Since this takeover, opposition politicians and dissenters have faced increasing repression; Ennadha’s party headquarters were shut down in April 2023, and numerous journalists have been imprisoned for “broadcasting false information”.
A war on reporting: Sudanese forces arrest freelance journalists
Independent Sudanese journalists Nasr Yaqoub and Mohamed Ahmed Nazar were arrested on Monday 7 July by soldiers affiliated with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the North Darfur region of Sudan.
Yaqoub and Nazar were reportedly in a shop when they were arrested by members of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLM-TC). Two days earlier, Yaqoub was also the victim of an assassination attempt by an officer also affiliated with the SAF; he was allegedly shot after refusing to hand over a device connected to the internet via Starlink.
The two operate as freelance journalists, using Starlink to cover the Sudanese civil war since it began in April 2023. They post updates to their popular Facebook accounts – Yaqoub has 5,000 followers on the platform, while Nazar has almost 10,000 – working to keep people informed on a conflict that has very few active reporters. Starlink has become crucial for any reports on the conflict, with internet access being routinely blocked nationwide as part of the war effort.
The SAF has claimed that Yaqoub was arrested for directing “severe insults” at the officer who shot him, and that internet restrictions were necessary to prevent “collaborators” from relaying information to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
A violent crackdown: Anti-government protests met with violence in Togo
Since 26 June, thousands have taken to the streets of Togo’s capital Lomé to protest constitutional reforms that may allow President Faure Gnassingbé to remain in power indefinitely, after he was sworn in with no term limit, and presidential elections were abolished. These protests were met with repression, and now reports are trickling in detailing the violent crackdown carried out by Togo forces.
At least ten people are thought to have died in the protests. Lomé residents report security forces entering people’s homes, beating civilians and firing tear gas. Videos verified by Al Jazeera show men in plain clothes, believed to be officers, dragging civilians away.
The spark that lit the demonstrations was the arrest of popular Togolese rapper Tchala Essowè Narcisse, known as Aamron, whose music denouncing corruption and state neglect garnered him a following on social media. He was arrested without a warrant and held incommunicado for 10 days, according to his lawyer, and a video surfaced where he reported being held in a psychiatric facility.
The protests were led by young people, many of whom have never known a leader other than Gnassingbé. Togo has been under the rule of the Gnassingbé family since 1967, apart from a three-month period in 2005 following the death of Faure’s father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma. Faure has ruled since, and his latest constitutional reforms were described by the Touche Pas à Ma Constitution coalition as “a coup against the Togolese people”.
7 Nov 2024 | Africa, Mozambique, News and features
Mozambique has resorted to an internet shutdown, denying people their right to participatory democracy amid widespread post-election protests that have seen security forces kill at least 20 people.
There has been growing unrest since 24 October, when the country’s National Electoral Commission (CNE) declared Daniel Chapo of the ruling Frelimo party the winner of the 9 October general election with 71% of the vote, amid vote rigging claims.
Independent presidential candidate and Chapo’s main challenger, Venâncio Mondlane was declared the runner-up with 20% while Ossufo Momade, of former rebel group Renamo, came third with 6%.
Ongoing protests reached a crescendo today (7 November) as the opposition called on people to march in their millions in the capital Maputo to show their dissatisfaction with the handling of the election. Thousands have marched, and the police have fired tear gas protesters.
South Africa has since announced that it is closing its Lebombo border “due to security incidents reported on the Mozambican side”, according to South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) News. Rwanda also closed its embassy in Maputo ahead of the protest.
Both local and international organisations have alleged that the election process was heavily flawed. In a statement, the European Union (EU) said its observation mission “noted irregularities during counting and unjustified alteration of election results at polling stations and district level”.
It also said that EU observers were prevented from observing tabulation processes in some districts and provinces, as well as at a national level.
The bloc condemned the killings of opposition candidate Mondlane’s lawyer Elvino Dias, who had been preparing a legal challenge to the results, and Paulo Guambe, an official with the Podemos party who supported the independent presidential candidate.
The EU also called for respect of fundamental freedoms and political rights in Mozambique where nearly 50 years of Frelimo’s uninterrupted rule has engendered hostilities towards the status quo. This is mostly due to widespread poverty, which has been blamed on government corruption and mismanagement of the economy, coupled with the politicisation of state institutions.
Within Mozambique, Archbishop Inacio Saure of Nampula – the president of the country’s bishops’ conference – said the electoral process was marred by ballot-box stuffing and forged polling station result sheets, amongst other election malpractices.
When crowds first poured onto the streets on 25 October to protest the election outcome, the internet observatory Netblocks reported that there was a disruption to mobile internet traffic in Mozambique, a development it said was likely intentional to limit coverage of events on the ground.
Following those initial protests, opposition leader Mondlane piled pressure on the regime by announcing one week of demonstrations from 31 October to 7 November. He said that millions would march on the capital Maputo on the last day and made reference to a revolution.
A charismatic leader who rode on promises to deliver an honest, transparent and reformist government that would remove Mozambique from the list of poorest countries in the world, Mondlane appealed to young people in particular: two thirds of the country’s 32 million population are under the age of 25 and these increasingly highly-educated GenZ-ers are threatening the establishment.
Following his call for a major protest on 7 November, Netblocks issued an update that said Mozambique had implemented restrictions to the social media and messaging platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
According to Amnesty International, Mozambique is facing its worst crackdown on protests in years. The human rights organisation has also said that police have killed more than 20 people, and injured or arrested hundreds more, with security forces routinely trying to violently and unlawfully break up peaceful assemblies with tear gas, bullets and arbitrary arrests. Authorities have said that protestors have killed at least one police officer.
Speaking to Index on Censorship, Wilker Dias, the executive director of the Civil Society Platform for Electoral Monitoring (DECIDE) said the police had responded by killing those expressing their opposition to the allegedly-doctored election results.
Dias said among the irregularities they noted was the fact that when some people went to voting booths, they were told they had already voted when in actual fact they had not done so. He said the killing of protesters across the country was methodical.
“The police are shooting people on the streets. We saw that. The shooting is not sporadic, it’s coordinated.The police are stealing the right to life, the right to free expression,” he said.
Dias said his organisation is lobbying for the annulment of the election results in parts of Mozambique where there is evidence of tampering with the vote.
Mozambique-based journalist Elina Eciate, who works for local publication Jornal Rigor, told Index that she had witnessed the violence first hand and had interacted with some victims of police brutality in the district of Nacala-Porto in the Nampula province.
The journalist said some victims who had been shot were not receiving adequate medical attention.
“I managed to interview one person who was shot. He was discharged from hospital even though he needed medical assistance. The victim is 24 years old,” she said.
Eciate said after taking two bullets, police left him for dead. He was taken by locals to Nacala-Porto district hospital, but was discharged even though he still wanted medical help, she added.
“The doctors claimed they wanted to give space to other patients. They said he could continue with the treatment while at home. Even though he still wanted medical assistance, he was left to his own devices,” Eciate said.
She said communication was difficult as the whole country is affected by internet restrictions.
The journalist said freedom of expression is simply enshrined in law but in practice people cannot freely express themselves in the African country.
“The internet still remains a problem. We are using alternatives, in this case [virtual private networks] VPN,” she added.
Mozambique’s government has heaped blame on Mondlane for civil disturbances in the country. The country’s interior minister Pascoal Ronda told local media that the opposition leader was hiding in South Africa but police have opened a criminal case against him.
Ronda said Mondlane was “manipulating public opinion” using social media. On the other hand Mozambique’s defence minister, Cristóvão Chume said
protesters were preparing to march to Ponta Vermelha, the official residence of the country’s president, and added that if the escalation of violence continues, the armed forces would be called upon to “protect” the state.
Mondlane was not reachable for comment and there was no response to questions that Index sent to him via WhatsApp.
However, he has been updating his followers on Facebook. “My people, I’m here to announce that on the 7th I’m coming back to my country for the big march on Maputo City,” he wrote in one post.
In another post, Mondlane said in the face of constraints to freedom of speech, censorship and “the growing alienation of our media organs”, his Facebook page had become an essential tool for direct communication with the Mozambican public.
In yet another post titled “Call to the Revolution of Mozambican People”, Mondlane declared:
“Brothers and sisters, our homeland calls for freedom and dignity and November 7 will be our collective cry for change! Countrymen from all provinces will be in Maputo to demand together what is rightfully ours.”
4 Mar 2022 | Opinion, Russia, Ruth's blog, Ukraine
Today marks nine days since Putin unilaterally declared war on Ukraine, invading a sovereign state and attempting to redraw the world order as we know it. Thanks to our independent and free media we have all witnessed the coordinated Russian military attacks from land, sea and air against an innocent population who sought nothing more than to be free. Every one of us is now a witness, for better or worse, to the heart-breaking events happening in mainland Europe. There can be no excuses of ignorance, no turning the other way and no pretence that this isn’t happening on our watch.
An aerial view of the TV tower and Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial in Kyiv. Photo: Google
On Tuesday Putin’s forces committed what can only be considered a war crime in Kyiv – where they targeted the main TV tower and also hit the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial, the site of the largest mass grave in Europe. Five civilians were burned alive, in a European capital, in the twenty-first century. This is only one of the devastating atrocities we have seen reported in the last week – the International Criminal Court has already determined that there is enough evidence to launch a probe into war crimes perpetuated by Russian forces and 38 world leaders have made the largest ever referral to ICC with evidence of potential war crimes perpetuated by Putin’s forces.
On Wednesday Ukrainian Emergency Services announced that over 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed by Russian actions since the invasion began.
Overnight, for the first time in world history, Russian troops targeted a nuclear power facility in Zaporizhzhia, something which could have had terrible consequences for us all.
And this morning the Russian government blocked access to the BBC Russian service website after the Russian language website’s audience had grown from 3.1 million people to 10.7 million since the invasion.
The news is bleak; every day there is more despair, more death and more destruction. Every conversation I have had over the last week has not just touched on events in Ukraine but returned to them again and again. Tears have been shed throughout Europe and impartial and independent media coverage has never been more important.
But even in the midst of war there is hope. Humanity does indeed prevail. Small acts of kindness, of resistance, of rebellion have inspired us all. From the unarmed Ukrainians who refused to let the tanks pass to the exceptional bravery of the journalists who are at the frontline reporting hourly on events, and those in Russia who have been trying to report the facts of the war.
Whilst I could have dedicated this entire blog to the incredibly impressive Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other politicians in Ukraine who are leading from the front, there are others whose bravery I would like to highlight. Every day since the invasion began anti-war protestors have made their voices heard across Russia and Belarus.
Ovd-Info reports that as of this morning 8,163 Russians have been arrested for protesting the war in towns and cities across the country. The Duma has brought in emergency legislation which will now enable jail terms of up to 15 years for spreading ‘fake information’ about the armed forces – this would include saying that the war isn’t going to plan. In response one of the final independent TV stations – Dozhd has closed up shop – their final programme an act of defiance as it showed the staff walking off the set. In Putin’s Russia challenging him or the status quo is a very dangerous thing to do – these people are heroes, using all the tools at their disposal to demonstrate their dissent.
While there are people who are willing to say No, to highlight the impact of an authoritarian regime, to fight for our shared human rights – then there is hope.
Index stands with Ukraine and we stand with the people of Russia who oppose Putin’s aggression.
