26 Jul 2018 | Campaigns -- Featured, Counter Terrorism, Statements, United Kingdom
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship rejects proposals for a new UK treason law.
A report by influential think tank Policy Exchange proposed creating a new offence of treason that would be committed if anyone “does any act” intended to aid “an attack on the UK by any state or organisation.” Index believes this definition is so broad as to be unworkable and presents a grave threat to freedom of expression.
The report was co-authored by Tom Tugendhat MP, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, and has been endorsed by former Home Secretary Amber Rudd.
“The UK already has a raft of terror laws and successive reviewers of these laws have argued there is no need for further legislation in this area,” said Index chief executive Jodie Ginsberg. “Vaguely defined laws such as the one proposed can easily be used by more extreme governments to punish political enemies rather than simply tackle those engaged in violence.”
“We should resist these repeated attempts to try to tackle terrorists using broad brush laws that ultimately chip away at all our hard won freedoms and liberties.”
Index on Censorship has also called for changes to the proposed Counter Terror and Border Security Bill currently going through parliament.[/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:1532607187002-45641f4b-0394-6″ taxonomies=”6534″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
26 Jul 2018 | Events
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”101752″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”101751″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”101753″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”69903″ img_size=”700×400″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]Join Sonos and Index on Censorship for an evening of thought provoking discussions around issues relating to queer music and censorship in the UK and around the globe.
Panellists include:
• MNEK – English singer, songwriter and record producer
• Sado Opera – LGBTQ+ Russian party band
• Princess Julia – DJ & music writer
Index’s Julia Farrington will moderate the panel.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”In partnership with” font_container=”tag:p|text_align:left”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”101757″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.sonos.com/en-gb/home”][/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: Wednesday, 1st August 2018 19:00pm – 20:30pm
Where: Sonos Store London, 21-23 Earlham St, London, WC2H 9LL (directions)
Tickets: Free. Please RSVP by Monday 30th July @5pm: sonos@mcsaatchi.com
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26 Jul 2018 | Campaigns -- Featured, Egypt, Middle East and North Africa, Statements
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Screenshot from Mona el-Mazbouh’s apology video.
The below signatories express grave concern for the status of free speech and expression in Egypt. The authorities continue to openly silence anyone who is critical of the Egyptian government and of the state of affairs in Egypt. The arrest of Lebanese tourist Mona el-Mazbouh last month is yet another episode in President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s continued crackdown on rights and freedoms. We call for the immediate and unconditional release of Mona el-Mazbouh, who was sentenced to eight years in prison earlier this month.
Background
Lebanese Mona el-Mazbouh, 24, posted a 10-minute video to her Facebook account in May after she was allegedly sexually harassed, a lived reality that is experienced on a daily basis by most women in Egypt. The video included profanity against Egypt and Egyptians. Mona was stopped and arrested on 31 May at Cairo airport before leaving Egypt, after her video went viral on social media. Egyptian lawyer Amr Abdelsalam had filed a report against her with the general prosecution, accusing her of insulting the Egyptian people and the president. Abdelsalam has asked that she be added to the scores of Egyptians barred from leaving the country while her case remains open and until her sentence is completed, and to later permanently prevent her from entering the country.
The Egyptian attorney general ordered the immediate referral of Mona to an expedited criminal trial on 3 June for insulting the Egyptian people on social media. The prosecution accused Mona of “spreading false rumours that aim to harm society and defame religions, as well as creating inappropriate content and displaying it through her Facebook page”.
A Cairo misdemeanours court sentenced Mona to eight years in prison on 7 July for publishing a video with indecent content, defaming religion, insulting the Egyptian people and insulting the president. She was also fined EGP10,700 (around $598 USD).
Draconian laws that curtail free expression in Egypt
Accusations such as insulting the Egyptian people or the president are a serious transgression of the right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed and protected by the Egyptian constitution and international human rights law. Over the past two years, there have been rapid and disturbing developments concerning the closure of physical and digital public spaces in Egypt, and an increased surveillance of social media and digital content.
A few weeks before Mona’s arrest, on 11 May, Egyptian activist Amal Fathy was arrested two days after she posted a video on Facebook condemning sexual harassment and disapproving of the government’s negligence on the issue. Fathy was charged with “disseminating a video on social media to publicly incite overthrowing the government”, “publishing a video that includes false news that could harm public peace”, and “misusing telecommunication tools”.
In addition, the Egyptian government continues to draft and approve laws that significantly curtail freedom of expression online, while heightening surveillance and censorship of social media users. On 5 June, Parliament approved the final draft of the new Cybercrime Law, titled “the Law on Combating Cybercrimes” that legalises broad censorship of the internet and facilitates comprehensive surveillance of communications.
Most recently, Parliament also approved a final reading a bill allowing authorities to monitor social media users and combat “fake news”, whereby individuals whose social media accounts have more than 5,000 followers could be placed under the supervision of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulations.
These developments reinforce the troubling and ongoing trend in Egypt of silencing public discourse and shrinking civic space that has now led to Mona’s arrest and detention.
Urgent action required
Before her arrest, Mona published a second video addressing the public response she received for the first. In her second video, Mona apologised for the content of the first, and clarified that she was not making a political statement and did not mention the Egyptian President at all in her initial video.
She was initially sentenced to 11 years in prison, however, her sentence was reduced to eight years after her lawyer provided the court with evidence that she “underwent a surgery in 2006 to remove a blood clot from her brain, which has impaired her ability to control anger”. Mona awaits her appeal date set for 29 July.
The below signatories believe that Mona el-Mazbouh’s arrest is a violation of her basic rights and freedoms, and connotes an even bigger threat to the general state of free expression in Egypt. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Mona el-Mazbouh, and request that all charges be dropped allowing Mona to leave and enter Egypt freely.
Signed,
Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE)
7amleh – Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media
Adil Soz – International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech
Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC)
Article 19
Association of Caribbean Media Workers
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI)
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
Freedom Forum
Human Rights Network for Journalists – Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda)
I’lam Arab Center for Media Freedom Development and Research
Independent Journalism Center (IJC)
Index on Censorship
Maharat Foundation
March
Mediacentar Sarajevo
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
Pacific Islands News Association (PINA)
Pen American Center
Pen Canada
Social Media Exchange (SMEX)
South East Europe Media Organisation
Vigilance for Democracy and the Civic State
Visualizing Impact (VI)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1532684122469-2df2f596-084e-2″ taxonomies=”147″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
25 Jul 2018 | Campaigns -- Featured, Egypt, Statements
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Leading human rights lawyers from Doughty Street Chambers have submitted a new complaint to the United Nations regarding Egypt’s treatment of Amal Fathy, the detained wife of a co-founder of the award-winning human rights group the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF).
Ms Fathy was arrested after posting a video criticising sexual harassment in Egypt – of which she herself is a victim – to Facebook. After a police raid of their home in the early hours of the morning Ms Fathy, her husband Mohamed Lotfy and their two-year-old son were taken to a police station. Mr Lotfy and their son were released several hours later, but Ms Fathy has been charged with membership of a terrorist organisation and other related charges and remains detained.
Ms Fathy is a communications student and former activist and actress who is active on social media, where she advocates and expresses her views on ongoing issues in Egypt especially on women’s rights.
The complaint to the United Nations working group on arbitrary detention, submitted jointly with ECRF and global freedom of expression campaigners Index on Censorship, argues that Ms. Fathy’s arbitrary detention is a clear violation of her right to freedom of expression, her right to liberty and her right to freedom from arbitrary detention.
Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC of Doughty Street Chambers said: “Amal Fathy has now been detained arbitrarily for 74 days, in unsanitary conditions, without meaningful access to her lawyers, and away from her family and young son. Egypt has failed to explain the legal basis for her continued detention, but it is clear that whatever the pretext, this is an inhumane and illegal punishment imposed simply because she and her husband have undertaken peaceful and legitimate campaigning on human rights issues. Amal Fathy spoke out about the rights of women; now the Egyptian authorities are silencing her by holding her in prison for months on end, with no proper legal basis.”
Mohamed Lotfy said “ECRF is alarmed by the unprecedented wave of arrests of Egyptian human rights defenders, and Amal is one them, which shows a new trend of violations in one of the worst crackdowns on civil society in Egypt. The most worrying aspect of these resent cases is that they were all referred to State Security Prosecution on totally irrelevant charges such as joining terrorists groups. These charges, if referred to court by the Prosecution, could lead to sever sentences of imprisonment.”
Perla Hinojosa, fellowships and advocacy officer at Index on Censorship said: “Index calls on Egyptian authorities to immediately release Amal Fathy. Freedom of expression should not be criminalised and the government’s continued attempts to silence activists and journalists through detention and the fear of detention is unwarranted.”
In May, Doughty Street — jointly with ECRF and Index on Censorship, lodged complaints with United Nations rapporteurs on freedom of expression and human rights defenders regarding Ms Fathy’s detention.
Mr Lotfy is one of the leaders of ECRF, which has played a key role in increasing awareness of enforced disappearances, censorship, torture and violations of freedom of expression and association in Egypt. This has resulted in frequent incidents of harassment, arrest and detention of staff. ECRF received an Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Campaigning Award in April 2018.
On July 15th, the Egyptian government enacted a controversial law which would monitor personal social media, blogs or websites with more than 5,000 followers. Authorities would have the power to block them if accused of publishing fake news, as interpreted by the government. This crackdown on activists and journalists limits and controls freedom of expression further.
The organisations have asked the United Nations working group on arbitrary detention to issue a finding that Ms Fathy’s detention is arbitrary and in violation of Egypt’s obligations under international law, and to call for her immediate release, and to ask Egypt to investigate her unlawful detention and to award her compensation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][three_column_post title=”Egypt” full_width_heading=”true” category_id=”147″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
