The 2025 Freedom of Expression Awards

ABOUT THE 2025 AWARDS

Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Awards celebrate those who have had significant impact fighting censorship anywhere in the world.

There are four categories: Arts, Campaigning, Journalism and the Trustee award. Winners are honoured at a gala celebration in London and receive financial support.

The 25th Annual Freedom of Expression Awards will be held on Wednesday 19 November 2025 in London.

MEET THE 2025 NOMINEES

Find out about the nominees in each category by clicking on the panels below. Click here to find out more about winners in previous years.

Arts award shortlist

Campaigning award shortlist

Journalism award shortlist

MEET THE JUDGES

	Sir Trevor Phillips OBE Broadcaster, journalist and businessman and Chair of Index on Censorship who served as Chair of the London Assembly (2000-2001 and 2002-2003). Sir Trevor was chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) from 2007 to 2012. He currently presents Sunday Morning on Sky News and is a Times columnist.
	Can Dündar Can Dündar is a multiple award-winning Turkish journalist, author and documentary-maker. He was editor-in-chief of the centre-left Cumhuriyet newspaper until August 2016, has more than 20 books to his name and was sentenced in absentia to 27 years in prison after publishing a story on Turkish intelligence’s arms trafficking to Syrian radical Islamists. Now, Can is editor-in-chief of the bilingual journalistic platform Özgürüz, a columnist for Die Zeit and a member of the jury of the European Press Prize.
	Sue Woodford-Hollick (Lady Hollick OBE) Businesswoman and consultant, Sue Woodford-Hollick is a former investigative journalist who worked for many years in television as a producer and director for Granada TV and a founding commissioning editor for Channel 4. She is a campaigner on human rights, arts, literacy and world health and serves as a trustee or patron for a range of charities.
	Ben Preston Currently the Culture Editor of The Times & Sunday Times and a former editor of Radio Times and an ex-deputy editor of The Times, he has enjoyed a career spanning local and national newspapers, newswires, magazines and websites.
	Jemimah Steinfeld CEO of Index on Censorship. Jemimah has lived and worked in both Shanghai and Beijing. She is the author of the book Little Emperors and Material Girls: Sex and Youth in Modern China and has written for a variety of publications, including The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, CNN, New Statesman and The Times.

MEET LAST YEAR'S WINNERS

Hear about the 2024 winners of the Freedom of Expression Awards below. Click here to find out more about winners in previous years.

Arts

Aleksandra Skochilenko

Campaigning (Organisation)

Kuchu Times

Campaigning (Individual)

Diala Ayesh

Journalism

Nasim Soltanbeygi

Trustee Award

Evgenia Kara-Murza

THE FELLOWSHIP

The Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship exists to celebrate individuals or groups who have had a significant impact fighting censorship anywhere in the world. Through the fellowship, Index works with the winners to provide tailored support.

Previous winners include Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, world renowned Ukrainian author and public intellectual Andrey Kurkov, courageous Honduran investigative journalist Wendy Funes who uncovers corruption and covers the ongoing violations of women’s rights in the country, and anonymous Chinese digital activists GreatFire who have secured significant additional funding since their award.

Click here to find out more about previous winners.

By donating to the Freedom of Expression Awards you help us support individuals and groups at the forefront of tackling censorship.

The 2025 Freedom of Expression Awards are sponsored by The Times and Sunday Times (News UK) and the Hollick Family Foundation.

SPONSORSHIP

There are many ways you can sponsor the Awards, and support not only the winners but all the work Index does. Please contact Anna Millward at [email protected] for more information.