Your ballot is a shield against would-be despots and tyrants and the consequences of your vote go far beyond your immediate neighbourhood
2024, the year that four billion go the polls
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CATEGORY: Middle East and North Africa
Contents – Having the last laugh: The comedians who won’t be silenced
Contents
From the Danube to the Baltic Sea, Germany takes an authoritarian turn
German authorities are increasingly silencing pro-Palestine activism in an effort to stamp out anything they fear could be seen as antisemitic
The world needs to learn from Masha Gessen moments
The Russian-American writer was at the centre of a controversy yet things were not exactly as they first seemed
Art institutions accused of censoring pro-Palestine views
Ai Weiwei and other artists speak to Index amid a spike in censorship within the art world right now as a result of the Middle East conflict
We must not stay silent on Iran’s use of the death penalty
Hundreds have been executed in Iran this year as the regime continues to punish those involved in the protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death
Moments of Freedom 2023
The Index team and our supporters have come together to identify moments in the past 12 months when the world did not seem so dark. Help us choose the most inspiring
Qatar fails to deliver on World Cup promises
One year on from the 2022 World Cup, improvements to human rights in Qatar have yet to materialise
Life and death in Iran’s prisons
The human rights activist Narges Mohammadi faces yet more charges for her activism and her refusal to wear hijab
The Magufuli hangover
Tanzania’s civic space was hopeful for reform after the death of John Magufuli in 2021 but early optimism under President Samia Hassan has evaporated