1 Oct 2018 | Awards, Awards Update, Fellowship, Fellowship 2018, News and features
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”99932″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]There was never any illusion that Egypt’s 2018 election would either be free or fair. The result was always going to mean a return to power for President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. And with a Sisi emboldened by victory, the human rights violations that followed were equally as predictable.
“It’s a lot more difficult these days,” Ahmad Abdallah, head of the board of trustees of the Cairo-based Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, winner of the 2018 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for Campaigning, tells Index. “Since the election we’ve seen a lot of arrests of political activists and human rights defenders, along with bloggers and journalists.”
On 21 May Haytham Mohamadeen, a lawyer and labour rights defender, who offers pro-bono legal aid to workers, was arrested pending investigation on charges of “aiding a terrorist organisation” and “calling for illegal protests”. Members of the opposition were arrested, including former diplomat Maasoum Marzouk, who, along with six other opposition figures, was arrested in Cairo ahead of planned anti-government protests. They were accused of “aiding a terrorist group” and “participating in a criminal agreement with the purpose of committing a terrorist crime”.
“Lots of people are now being detained who wouldn’t have previously been detained, including former supporters of Sisi,” Abdallah says.
The arrests have also hit quite close to home for ECRF. In May Amal Fathy, an activist and wife of a co-founder of the organisation, Mohamed Lotfy, was arrested along with her husband and two-year-old son in the middle of the night for a video she posted to Facebook criticising sexual harassment, of which she herself is a victim.
While Lofty and their son were soon released, Fathy was charged with crimes that include membership in a terrorist organisation, calling for terrorist acts and spreading false news that “damages the public order and harms national security”.
“Amal was ill even before jail, but her imprisonment has only made her medical situation worse,” Abdallah says. “We cannot provide her with the medications she needs while in jail, so day after day her situation is getting worse. And for what? She has done nothing — nothing at all. She simply expressed herself, and we are now unfortunately seeing what happens when someone speaks out.”
Abdallah can see firsthand that Lofty and their son are suffering also. “Lofty is usually the most active person, a spark of hope for everyone, but you can see how Amal’s detention has affected him because they are soul mates,” he says. “But Lofty is strong — he will get through this dark period.”
Index, in partnership with Doughty Street Chambers, have helped with Fathy’s case and have filed complaints to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and to the UN rapporteurs on freedom of expression and human rights defenders, which Abdallah says has been very helpful.
“We’ve expected a lot from Doughty Street and they have done a lot,” he says. “They’ve been absolutely great in their work for Amal, and she is happy with it; even though they don’t know her personally, it gives her hope and strength in prison.”
On Saturday 29 September, a court gave Fathy a two-year-suspended sentence and a fine for “spreading fake news”. The court also fined her 10,000 Egyptian pounds (£430). According to Reuters, her lawyer said she would appeal the verdict.
The Egyptian activist Haitham Mohamedeen, who works as a lawyer with ECRF, was also arrested in May in the wave of arrests targeting activists, but Abdallah explains this had more to do with his campaigning as a revolutionary socialists. Many ordinary citizens have also been caught up in the arrests, but these can receive much less attention as they don’t involve someone with an already high profile.
“We have even seen cases from non-Egyptians, one of whom is Lebanese citizen Mona el-Mazboh, who made a video criticising sexual harassment in Egypt,” Abdallah says. “She’s not an activist, she’s not connected to Egyptian activists, whether political or human rights defenders, and she’s been sentenced for several years.”
El-Mazboh was subsequently released after she was given a one-year suspended sentence.
In July Egypt’s parliament passed new a law giving the state powers to block social media accounts. Social media sites with more than 5,000 users are now classified as media outlets and users can be penalised for spreading fake news or incitement to break the law. The vague law, which Sisi says is designed to uphold freedom of expression, also prohibits journalists from filming in certain places.
“Unfortunately, in a legal framework, what the government is doing is illegal,” Abdallah says. “People are being hunted because of what they say on social media.”
ECRF has recorded 1,520 cases of enforced disappearances between 2013 until August 2018. Virtually all those who reappeared have been tortured in total impunity. Abdallah explains how these shocking numbers alone aren’t always enough to pique the interest of other members of society. “People are actually paying more attention now because the economic situation is getting worse, which is affecting their everyday life,” he says. “They are coming at it from the perspective of social and economic grievances — which of course we don’t have — not from a concern for human rights.”
With subsidies being lifted and wages stagnating, ordinary people are suffering. “Even those Egyptians with no interest in politics can see the situation is not going well,” Abdallah says.
Getting the attention of the international community is an even greater challenge. “This is because so few human rights defenders are free to speak to the press, and many have been detained,” he explains “Self-censorship is a problem among a lot of activists because everyone who is willing to speak ends up in jail.”
For Abdallah, international solidarity is a must because the situation Egypt finds itself in is identical to so many around the world. “All human rights violations affects us,” he says. “Look at the crisis in Syria, which led to a wave of migration to Europe, which has led to more restrictions — it’s all interconnected.”
“It’s very important to be connected to these activists, and learn from their experiences. It provides a seed for future work, so we can help each other.”[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_column_text]
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Index works with the winners of the Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship to help them achieve goals through a 12-month programme of capacity building, coaching and strategic support.
Through the fellowships, Index seeks to maximise the impact and sustainability of voices at the forefront of pushing back censorship worldwide.
Learn more about the Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1538379443908-9f9e78a4-e26d-2″ taxonomies=”24135″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
30 Sep 2018 | Events
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”102958″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Many would argue that these are the fundamental goals of a good education. So why has Cambridge University taken to warning its students that the sexual violence in Titus Andronicus might be traumatic for them? Why are other universities in America and increasingly in Britain introducing measures to protect students from speech and texts they might find harmful? Safe spaces, trigger warnings and no-platforming are now campus buzzwords – and they’re all designed to limit free speech and the exchange of ideas. As celebrated social psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues in his forthcoming book The Coddling of the American Mind, university students are increasingly retreating from ideas they fear may damage their mental health, and presenting themselves as fragile and in need of protection from any viewpoint that might make them feel unsafe.The culture of safety, as Haidt calls it, may be well intentioned, but it is hampering the development of young people and leaving them unprepared for adult life, with devastating consequences for them, for the companies that will soon hire them, and for society at large.
That, Haidt’s critics argue, is an infuriating misinterpretation of initiatives designed to help students. Far from wanting to shut down free speech and debate, what really concerns the advocates of these new measures is the equal right to speech in a public forum where the voices of the historically marginalised are given the same weight as those of more privileged groups. Warnings to students that what they’re about to read or hear might be disturbing are not an attempt to censor classic literature, but a call for consideration and sensitivity. Safe spaces aren’t cotton-wool wrapped echo chambers, but places where minority groups and people who have suffered trauma can share their experiences without fear of hostility.
On November 19th Haidt comes to the Intelligence Squared stage to discuss and debate these ideas. Joining him will be the former chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who believes that educating young people through debate and argument helps foster robustness; writer and radical activist Laurie Penny, who campaigns for the voices of less privileged groups to be heard; and sociologist Kehinde Andrews, one of the UK’s leading thinkers on race and the history of racism.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Panelists” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”102951″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Kehinde Andrews
Associate professor in sociology at Birmingham City University, a regular writer of opinion pieces for the Guardian, Independent and Ebony magazine, and editor of the series ‘Blackness in Britain’. He was part of the team that launched the first Black Studies degree in Europe, and is co-chair of the Black Studies Association and of the Harambee Organisation of Black Unity. He is author of Back to Black: Retelling Black Radicalism for the 21st Century.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”102950″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Jonathan Haidt
Social and cultural psychologist, who is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business. His 2013 book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, was described by the New York Times as ‘a landmark contribution to humanity’s understanding of itself’. His latest book is The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”102952″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Laurie Penny
Author and commentator, who has been described as ‘one of the most accomplished and acerbic of the new, young journalists emerging from the protest movements of the 2010s’. She is a contributing editor to The New Statesman and has also written for The Guardian, Time magazine, Buzzfeed, The New York Times and Vice. She has written five books including Bitch Doctrine: Essays for Dissenting Adults and Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”102954″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Rabbi Lord Sacks
Jonathan Sacks was Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth between 1991 and 2013. He is a philosopher and author of over 30 books, most recently the bestselling Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence. He has a number of professorships at academic institutions, including New York University, Yeshiva University and King’s College London.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”Chair” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”102953″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Emily Maitlis
Presenter of BBC Newsnight and one of the country’s best known broadcasters.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”In Partnership With” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”102971″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”https://www.intelligencesquared.com/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
When: Monday, 19 November 2018, 7PM
Where: Emmanuel Centre 9-23 Marsham St Westminster SW1P 3DW
Tickets: From £15 via Intelligence Squared
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28 Sep 2018 | Campaigns -- Featured, Counter Terrorism, Statements
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The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, has today written to the UK government to express his concerns about the impacts of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill on media freedom, which Index on Censorship and others have criticised.
Désir recognises the importance of countering terrorism, but says that legislation should not undermine the work of journalists or impact freedom of expression.
He draws attention to Clause 2 of the bill, which would criminalise the publication of images or video clips of an item of clothing or an article in such a way as to arouse reasonable suspicion that the person is a member or supporter of a terrorist organisation. He recommends that the government adopt more narrow definitions to ensure that journalistic work does not fall within the scope of this provision.
Désir expresses reservations regarding Clause 3 which would criminalise viewing or accessing online content likely to be useful for terrorism, noting that the clause could criminalise searches for journalistic purposes or other research.
The Representative also conveyed his concerns regarding the expansion of border control powers, emphasising the need to protect confidential journalistic sources.
Joy Hyvarinen, head of advocacy, said “Index shares the concerns that the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media has raised with the UK government regarding the impacts of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill. We welcome his intervention, which shows how seriously these developments are viewed internationally.”
Désir’s intervention follows a report by United Nations special rapporteur Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin who expressed concerns about several parts of the bill and emphasised that it should be brought in line with the UK’s obligations under international human rights law.
Index on Censorship made a submission to the committee scrutinising the bill in the House of Commons earlier this year calling for changes. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-quote-left” color=”black” background_style=”rounded” size=”xl” align=”right”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
As it stands, the law could have an impact on the freedom of the media. I am concerned that the provision has the potential to criminalise a too broad range of behaviour, and risks creating a chilling effect on journalistic freedom to report on the concerned organisation.” — Harlem Désir, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, in his letter to the UK’s government.
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Laws that protect our rights to read, research, debate and argue are too easily removed. Index is concerned that clauses of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill will diminish those rights and freedoms. It submitted a paper to parliament to ask it to consider changes to the proposed bill in June 2018.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1538143671858-a4bdf7ba-e426-7″ taxonomies=”27743″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
28 Sep 2018 | Journalism Toolbox Spanish, Spain
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Los periodistas mexicanos son objeto de amenazas por parte de un gobierno corrupto y cárteles violentos, y no siempre pueden confiar en sus compañeros de oficio. Duncan Tucker informa.
“][vc_single_image image=”97006″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]«Espero que el gobierno no se deje llevar por la tentación autoritaria de bloquear el acceso a internet y arrestar activistas», contaba el bloguero y activista mexicano Alberto Escorcia a la revista de Index on Censorship.
Escorcia acababa de recibir una serie de amenazas por un artículo que había escrito sobre el reciente descontento social en el país. Las amenazas se agravaron al día siguiente. Invadido por una sensación de ahogo y desprotección, comenzó a planear su huida del país.
Son muchas las personas preocupadas por el estado de la libertad de expresión en México. Una economía estancada, una moneda en caída libre, una sangrienta guerra antinarco sin final a la vista y un presidente extremadamente impopular, sumados a la administración beligerante de Donald Trump recién instalada en EE.UU. al otro lado de la frontera, llevan todo el año generando cada vez más presión.
Una de las tensiones principales es el propio presidente de México. Los cuatro años que lleva Enrique Peña Nieto en el cargo han traído un parco crecimiento económico. También se está dando un repunte de la violencia y los escándalos por corrupción. En enero de este año, el índice de popularidad del presidente se desplomó hasta el 12%.
Y lo que es peor: los periodistas que han intentado informar sobre el presidente y sus políticas han sufrido duras represalias. 2017 comenzó con agitadas protestas en respuesta al anuncio de Peña Nieto de que habría una subida del 20% a los precios de la gasolina. Días de manifestaciones, barricadas, saqueos y enfrentamientos con la policía dejaron al menos seis muertos y más de 1.500 arrestos. El Comité para la Protección de los Periodistas ha informado que los agentes de policía golpearon, amenazaron o detuvieron temporalmente a un mínimo de 19 reporteros que cubrían la agitación en los estados norteños de Coahuila y Baja California.
No solo se silencian noticias; también se las inventan. La histeria colectiva se adueñó de la Ciudad de México a consecuencia de las legiones de botsde Twitter que incitaron a la violencia y difundieron información falsa sobre saqueos, cosa que provocó el cierre temporal de unos 20.000 comercios.
«Nunca he visto la ciudad así», confesó Escorcia por teléfono desde su casa en la capital. «Hay más policía de lo normal. Hay helicópteros volando sobre nosotros a todas horas y se escuchan sirenas constantemente. Aunque no ha habido saqueos en esta zona de la ciudad, la gente piensa que está ocurriendo por todas partes».
Escorcia, que lleva siete años investigando el uso de bots en México, cree que las cuentas de Twitter falsas se utilizaron para sembrar el miedo y desacreditar y distraer la atención de las protestas legítimas contra la subida de la gasolina y la corrupción del gobierno. Afirmó haber identificado al menos 485 cuentas que incitaban constantemente a la gente a «saquear Walmart».
«Lo primero que hacen es llamar a la gente a saquear tiendas, luego exigen que los saqueadores sean castigados y llaman a que se eche mano del ejército», explicó Escorcia. «Es un tema muy delicado, porque podría llevar a llamamientos a favor de la censura en internet o a arrestar activistas», añadió, apuntando que la actual administración ya ha pasado por un intento fallido de establecer legislación que bloquee el acceso a internet durante «acontecimientos críticos para la seguridad pública o nacional».
Días después de que el hashtag de «saquear Walmart» se hiciera viral, Benito Rodríguez, un hacker radicado en España, contó al periódico mexicano El Financieroque le habían pagado para convertirlo en trending topic. Rodríguez explicó que a veces trabaja para el gobierno mexicano y admitió que «tal vez» fuera un partido político el que le pagara para incitar al saqueo.
La administración de Peña Nieto lleva mucho tiempo bajo sospecha de utilizar bots con objetivos políticos. En una entrevista con Bloomberg el año pasado, el hacker colombiano Andrés Sepúlveda afirmaba que, desde 2005, lo habían contratado para influir en el resultado de nueve elecciones presidenciales de Latinoamérica. Entre ellas, las elecciones mexicanas de 2012, en las que aseguraba que el equipo de Peña Nieto le pagó para hackear las comunicaciones de sus dos mayores rivales y liderar un ejército de 30.000 bots para manipular lostrending topicsde Twitter y atacar a los otros aspirantes. La oficina del presidente publicó un comunicado en el que negaba toda relación con Sepúlveda.
Los periodistas de México sufren también la amenaza de la violencia de los cárteles. Mientras investigaba Narcoperiodismo, su último libro, Javier Valdez —fundador del periódico Ríodoce— se dio cuenta que hoy día es muy habitual que en las ruedas de prensa de los periódicos locales haya infiltrados chivatos y espías de los cárteles. «El periodismo serio y ético es muy importante en tiempos conflictivos, pero desgraciadamente hay periodistas trabajando con los narcos», cuenta. «Esto ha complicado mucho nuestra labor. Ahora tenemos que protegernos de los policías, de los narcos y hasta de otros reporteros».
Valdez conoce demasiado bien los peligros de incordiar al poder. Ríodoce tiene su sede en Sinaloa, un estado en una situación sofocante cuya economía gravita alrededor del narcotráfico. «En 2009 alguien arrojó una granada contra la oficina de Ríodoce, pero solo ocasionó daños materiales», explica. «He recibido llamadas telefónicas ordenándome que dejase de investigar ciertos asesinatos o jefes narcos. He tenido que omitir información importante porque podrían matar a mi familia si la mencionaba. Algunas de mis fuentes han sido asesinadas o están desaparecidas… Al gobierno le da absolutamente igual. No hace nada por protegernos. Se han dado muchos casos y se siguen dando».
Pese a los problemas comunes a los que se enfrentan, Valdez lamenta que haya poco sentido de la solidaridad entre los periodistas mexicanos, así como escaso apoyo de la sociedad en general. Además, ahora que México se pone en marcha de cara a las elecciones presidenciales del año que viene y continúan sus problemas económicos, teme que la presión sobre los periodistas no haga más que intensificarse, cosa que acarreará graves consecuencias para el país.
«Los riesgos para la sociedad y la democracia son extremadamente graves. El periodismo puede impactar enormemente en la democracia y en la conciencia social, pero cuando trabajamos bajo tantas amenazas, nuestro trabajo nunca es tan completo como debería», advierte Valdez.
Si no se da un cambio drástico, México y sus periodistas se enfrentan a un futuro aún más sombrío, añade: «No veo una sociedad que se plante junto a sus periodistas y los proteja. En Ríodoce no tenemos ningún tipo de ayuda empresarial para financiar proyectos. Si terminásemos en bancarrota y tuviésemos que cerrar, nadie haría nada [por ayudar]. No tenemos aliados. Necesitamos más publicidad, suscripciones y apoyo moral, pero estamos solos. No sobreviviremos mucho más tiempo en estas circunstancias».
Escorcia, que se enfrenta a una situación igualmente difícil, comparte su sentido de la urgencia. Sin embargo, se mantiene desafiante, como en el tuit que publicó tras las últimas amenazas recibidas: «Este es nuestro país, nuestro hogar, nuestro futuro, y solo construyendo redes podemos salvarlo. Diciendo la verdad, uniendo a la gente, creando nuevos medios de comunicación, apoyando a los que ya existen, haciendo público lo que quieren censurar. Así es como realmente podemos ayudar».
Escucha la entrevista a Duncan Tucker en el podcast de Index on Censorship en Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/indexmagazine
Duncan Tuckeres un periodista independiente afincado en Guadalajara, México.
Este artículo fue publicado en la revista Index on Censorship en primavera de 2017.
Traducción de Arrate Hidalgo.
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