Contents – Unsung heroes: How musicians are raising their voices against oppression

17 Dec 24 | Afghanistan, Argentina, Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Magazine Contents, Nigeria, Palestine, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Volume 53.04 Winter 2024

Contents

Music has been described as a “cultural universal” – a practice found in all known human cultures and societies. While anthropologists still scratch their heads over exactly where the concept originated, evidence indicates that humans have used musical instruments for an astonishing 40,000 years.

During an excavation in 1995 in Slovenia, researchers discovered a bear’s femur bone with holes in it and concluded that it could be an ancient flute.
Humans have always found ingenious ways to make music, and it’s not difficult to see why. It is one of the most powerful forms of self-expression, capable of eliciting both intense happiness and sadness in the listener. It is used to celebrate, lament, respect and enrage, and its endless genres, styles and instruments form a core part of countries’ unique cultural heritages.

But despite its universality, music is being silenced globally. Religious extremism, political factions, racism and nationalism are all driving forces, stopping it being performed, produced and listened to. In this issue we explore how music bans have been weaponised to silence communities and erase histories.

Up Front

Songs of defiance: Sarah Dawood
How ever much authoritarians try to turn down the volume, musicians will play on

The Index: Mark Stimpson
Moments that matter in the free speech world, from US disinformation to a democracy void in Belarus

Features

Adding insult to injury: Nour El Din Ismail
Turkey is not always welcoming to Syrian journalists

Waiting for the worst: Alexandra Domenech
A daring few Russian politicians are staying put

Somalia’s muzzled media: Hinda Abdi Mohamoud
The challenge of seeking out the truth in the face of daily risks

Further into the information void: Winthrop Rodgers
A new law in Iraq could hinder rather than help journalists

Peace of mind: Chan Kin-man, Jemimah Steinfeld
From umbrellas, to prison, to freedom. A word from a founder of the Hong Kong Occupy movement

“She will not end up well”: Clemence Manyukwe
In Rwanda, opposition politicians have a nasty habit of being assassinated

Modi’s plans to stifle the internet: Shoaib Daniyal
India’s prime minister is keeping a tight grip on what goes online

Editor in exile: Ian Wylie
A Burmese journalist shares his story of arrest and escape

Evading scrutiny: Beth Cheng
China’s new tactic for dealing with critics: keep the trials under wraps

Lowering the bar: Ruth Green
Working in law in Afghanistan is now impossible – if you’re a woman

A promise is a promise: Amy Booth
Argentina’s president is taking a chainsaw to media freedom

Going offline: Steve Komarnyckyj
Beyoncé is blacklisted in Russia and the question remains: who runs the world?

The beacon of hope: Nilosree Biswas
The next chapter is unwritten for a library in Delhi

A story of forgotten fiction: Thiện Việt
In Vietnam, book censorship is a fact of life

Special Report: Unsung heroes - how musicians are raising their voices against oppression

The sound of silence: Sarah Dawood
Musicians in Afghanistan fear for their livelihoods, lives and culture

The war on drill: Mackenzie Argent
Artistic freedom is not a privilege extended to all musicians

A force for good: Salil Tripathi
Exploring the soundtrack of resistance in Bangladesh

Georgia on my mind: JP O’Malley
In the face of repression, the beat goes on in the Caucasus

Murdered for music: Kaya Genç
The meeting of politics and song can be deadly in Turkey

A Black woman who dared to rock: Malu Halasa
How one artist smashed into a genre ringfenced for white men

Fear the butterfly: Katie Dancey-Downs
Iranian singer Golazin Ardestani will never take no for an answer

In tune with change: Tiléwa Kazeem
In Nigeria, Afrobeats is about more than a good song

Singing for a revolution: Danson Kahyana
Nothing enrages the Ugandan government like hearing Bobi Wine

Cuba can’t stop the music: Coco Fusco
Government and musicians alike understand the political power of song

Comment

Dangerous double standards: Youmna El Sayed
Israel’s closure of Al Jazeera’s offices is a warning sign for press freedom

Musician, heal thyself: Mike Smith
The death of Liam Payne brings the issue of mental health into sharp focus

Democracy, but not as we know it: Martin Bright
Is the USA stuck in the hinterland between democratic and autocratic?

Silence has to be permitted in a world with free speech: Jemimah Steinfeld
Index’s CEO argues that the right to stay quiet is as precious as the right to protest

Big Tech shouldn’t punish women for seeking abortions: Raina Lipsitz
Trump is incoming. So too is a growing threat to online abortion discussions

Culture

Cell dreams: Russia’s prisoner art: Mark Stimpson
Dissident artwork created under Putin’s nose, and shared with Index

No Catcher In The Rye: Stephen Komarnyckyj, Hryhorii Kosynka
The words of a writer killed by the Soviet regime live on in a new translation

A life in exile: Mackenzie Argent, Jana Paliashchuk
What it means to be homesick, through the eyes of a Belarusian poet

An unfathomable tragedy: Sarah Dawood, Dimi Reider
One year on from 7 October, a moving piece reflects on the human devastation

You are now free: Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin, Katie Dancey-Downs
An exclusive translation from a Sudanese writer in exile, who has faced ban after ban

Putin will not stop until he’s stopped: Evgenia Kara-Murza
The Russian dissident who fought for her husband’s release (and won) has the last word

Journalists have a “right to life”

18 Oct 24 | Malta, News and features, Newsletters, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine

Hello, readers. This is Sarah Dawood here, editor of Index on Censorship. Every week, we bring the most pertinent global free speech stories to your inbox.

I must confess that today’s newsletter is very bleak, so I won’t be offended if you click away in search of a more optimistic end to your week. We’re reflecting on how journalists are increasingly being silenced globally, not only with the threat of legal retribution or imprisonment, but with death - often with little or no repercussions for those responsible.

This week marked the seven-year anniversary of the murder of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed in a car bomb attack on 16 October 2017. She reported extensively on corruption in Malta, as well as on international scandals such as the Panama Papers (the historic data leak exposing how the rich exploit secret offshore tax regimes).

Two hitmen were convicted for her murder in 2022, but criminal proceedings are still ongoing against three more suspects, including the alleged mastermind of the assassination and the alleged bomb suppliers. This week, free speech organisations signed an open letter to Malta’s prime minister calling on him to promptly implement robust, internationally-sound legal reform to keep journalists safe in future. The letter pointed to a public inquiry into her death, which found it was both “predictable and preventable”, and highlighted “the failure of the authorities to take measures to protect her”.

The start of this month marked another grim milestone - six years since the death of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi. He was a regular contributor to major news outlets like Middle East Eye and The Washington Post, as well as editor-in-chief at the former Bahrain-based Al-Arab News Channel. A vocal critic of his government, he was assassinated at a Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

Such attacks on free speech continue. We were appalled, for instance, to learn of the death of the 27-year-old Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna last week, a reporter from the front-line of the Russia-Ukraine war who had written for Index about her experiences. The circumstances around her death are still unknown, but we know she died in Russian detention.

Increasingly, governments or powerful individuals act with impunity – whereby their human rights violations are exempt from punishment – willfully ignoring international law that states journalists are civilians and have a “right to life”. For many victims, the course of justice is either delayed, as in Caruana Galizia’s case, or the circumstances around their deaths are obfuscated and murky, as in Roshchyna’s. Question marks remain over who is ultimately responsible, or how it happened, creating a cycle of censorship whereby it’s not only the journalists and their reporting that are silenced, but their deaths.

This impunity has been shown in plain sight throughout the Israel-Hamas war. To date, 123 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces, with the Committee to Protect Journalists concluding that at least five were intentionally targeted. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) deny these claims, yet an Al Jazeera documentary recently revealed that journalists live in fear of their lives, and their families’. One of the most high-profile cases of a targeted attack was that of Hamza al-Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief and veteran journalist Wael al-Dahdouh, whose wife and another two children were also previously killed in Israeli airstrikes. Two Israeli and three Lebanese journalists have also been killed in the conflict, with the International Criminal Court seeking arrest warrant applications for both Israeli and Hamas leaders for war crimes.

All these cases show a growing disregard for journalists’ lives, but also for the very essence of journalism itself. When not threatened with death or physical violence, media personnel are threatened with imprisonment, the closing of legitimate news offices, internet blackouts, and psychological and financial abuse. SLAPPs - strategic lawsuits against public participation - for instance, are being increasingly used globally by powerful and wealthy people as an abusive legal tool to threaten journalists into silence with eye-watering fines. How can “the fourth estate” truly hold power to account, when those in power can so easily dismantle and destroy their means of doing so?

At a time of devastating global conflict, the ability for journalists to report on stories free from the threat of harm, imprisonment, lawsuits or death has never been more important. To protect journalism itself, international and national law must work harder to protect the individuals most at risk. Without the threat of retribution for powerful individuals, the cycle of censorship will only continue.

 

Contents – Inconvenient truths: How scientists are being silenced around the world

16 Oct 24 | Belarus, Bolivia, China, Germany, India, Iran, Israel, Magazine Contents, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestine, Russia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Volume 53.03 Autumn 2024

Contents

Ever since Galileo Galilei faced the Roman inquisition in the 17th century for proving that the Earth went round the sun, scientists have risked being ruthlessly silenced. People are threatened by new discoveries, and especially ones that go against their political ideologies or religious beliefs. The Autumn 2024 issue of Index examines how scientists to this day still face censorship, as in many places around the world, adherence to ideology stands in the way of scientific progress. We demonstrate how such nations crack down on scientific advancement, and lend a voice to those who face punishment for their scientific achievements. Reports from as far as China and India, to the UK, USA, and many in between make up this issue as we put scientific freedom under the microscope.

Up Front

When ideology enters the equation: Sally Gimson
Just who is silencing scientists?

The Index: Mark Stimpson
A tour around the world of free expression, including a focus on unrest in Venezuela

Features

A vote for a level playing field: Clemence Manyukwe
In Mozambique’s upcoming election, the main challenger is banned

Whistling the tune of ‘terrorism’: Nedim Türfent
Speaking Kurdish, singing in Kurdish, even dancing to Kurdish tunes: do it in Turkey and be prepared for oppression

Running low on everything: Amy Booth
The economy is in trouble in Bolivia, and so is press freedom

A dictatorship in the making: Robert Kituyi
Kenya’s journalists and protesters are standing up for democracy, and facing brutal violence

Leave nobody in silence: Jana Paliashchuk
Activists will not let Belarus’s political prisoners be forgotten

A city’s limits: Francis Clarke
The Hillsborough disaster still haunts Liverpool, with local sensitivities leading to a recent event cancellation

History on the cutting room floor: Thiện Việt
The Sympathizer is the latest victim of Vietnam’s heavy-handed censors

Fog of war masks descent into authoritarianism: Ben Lynfield
As independent media is eroded, is it too late for democracy in Israel?

Movement for the missing: Anmol Irfan, Zofeen T Ebrahim
Amid rising persecution in Pakistan, Baloch women speak up about forced disappearances

Mental manipulation: Alexandra Domenech
The treatment of dissidents in Russia now includes punitive psychiatry

The Fight for India’s Media Freedom: Angana Chakrabarti, Amir Abbas, Ravish Kumar
Abuse of power, violence and a stifling political environment – daily challenges for journalists in India

A black, green and red flag to repression: Mehran Firdous
The pro-Palestine march in Kashmir that became a target for authorities

Special Report: Inconvenient truths - how scientists are being silenced around the world

Choked by ideology: Murong Xuecun, Kasim Abdurehim Kashgar
In China, science is served with a side of propaganda

Scriptures over science: Salil Tripathi
When it comes to scientific advancement in India, Hindu mythology is taking priority

A catalyst for corruption: Pouria Nazemi
The deadly world of scientific censorship in Iran

Tainted scientists: Katie Dancey-Downs
Questioning animal testing is a top taboo

Death and minor details: Danson Kahyana
For pathologists in Uganda the message is clear: don’t name the poison

The dangers of boycotting Russian science: JP O’Malley
Being anti-war doesn’t stop Russian scientists getting removed from the equation

Putting politics above scientific truth: Dana Willbanks
Science is under threat in the USA, and here’s the evidence

The science of purges: Kaya Genç
In Turkey, “terrorist” labels are hindering scientists

The fight for science: Mark Stimpson
Pseudoscience-buster Simon Singh reflects on whether the truth will out in today’s libellous landscape

Comment

On the brink: Jo-Ann Mort
This November, will US citizens vote for freedoms?

Bad sport: Daisy Ruddock
When it comes to state-sponsored doping, Russia gets the gold medal

Anything is possible: Martin Bright
The legacy of the fall of the Iron Curtain, 35 years later

Judging judges: Jemimah Steinfeld
Media mogul Jimmy Lai remains behind bars in Hong Kong, and a British judge bears part of the responsibility

Culture

The good, the bad and the beautiful: Boris Akunin, Sally Gimson
The celebrated author on how to tell a story, and an exclusive new translation

Song for Stardust: Jessica Ní Mhainín, Christy Moore
Celebrating the folk song that told the truth about an Irish tragedy, and was banned

Put down that book!: Katie Dancey-Downs, Allison Brackeen Brown, Aixa Avila-Mendoza
Two US teachers take their Banned Books Week celebrations into the world of poetry

Keeping Litvinenko’s voice alive: Marina Litvinenko
The activist and widow of poisoned Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko has the last word

Ukraine: Index and partners mourn death and demand justice for Victoria Roshchyna

14 Oct 24 | News and features, Russia, Statements, Ukraine

Index on Censorship, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and partner organizations today mourn the death of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who died in unclear circumstances while in Russian detention, and whose death was confirmed by Russian and Ukrainian authorities on Thursday. We welcome the opening of an investigation by Ukrainian authorities on grounds of “war crime combined with premeditated murder” and demand that Russian authorities do the same to elucidate the circumstances of Roshchyna’s death and bring to justice all those who could be responsible.

Roshchyna, a freelance journalist with Ukrainska Pravda, a major Ukrainian publication, and several other leading Ukrainian outlets, left Kyiv in late July 2023 with the intention to reach Russian-occupied territory in southeastern Ukraine. Soon after her departure, she went missing, with many of her colleagues expressing their fear that she was most likely being held by Russian forces.

In May 2024, nearly a year after her departure, Roshchyna’s family reported that Russian authorities had confirmed to them that the journalist was being held in Russian custody. However, the charges against her, as well as the place of her detention remained unknown.

Following the announcement of her death, reports emerged suggesting that Roshchyna had spent the past four months in an individual prison cell in the Russian city of Taganrog, which is located immediately next to the Ukrainian border. Prior to this, it has been reported that she was held in pre-trial detention by Russian forces in Berdyansk, a city in southeastern Ukraine currently under Russian occupation.

According to Russian authorities, Roshchyna died on September 19. Unconfirmed reports by Ukrainian media suggest that she passed away while being transported from Taganrog to Moscow. According to the same reports, Russia was preparing to include Roshchyna into a prisoner exchange with Ukraine.

While it is unclear what location the journalist managed to reach as part of the reporting trip she began in late July 2023, it was known that she planned to report from regions of Ukraine under Russian occupation.

“Victoria was herself from the Zaporizhia region,” Ukrainska Pravda editor-in-chief Sevgil Musayeva told IPI in October 2023, when Roshchyna’s disappearance was first made public. “She saw it as her mission to tell the stories of the people under occupation and when fears grew that the Russian military may be planning to blow up the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, she wanted to go.”

Roshchyna was one of the very few Ukrainian journalists to travel to Russian-occupied territories to cover the impact of the war. In March 2022, she was taken captive by Russian forces while reporting near Mariupol, when the city was under a prolonged siege by Russian forces. She was released ten days later and continued working as a journalist from Kyiv. She documented her experiences in captivity here.

MFRR partners, Index on Censorship and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reiterate their support of journalists who continue to report on Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We mourn the death of yet another journalist who lost her life while attempting to cover the consequences of this brutal invasion, and demand justice for her and other deceased colleagues. 

Signed:

International Press Institute (IPI)

European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

Index on Censorship

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

ARTICLE 19 Europe

OBC Transeuropa (OBCT)

International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF)

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

Free Press Unlimited (FPU)