The year 1989 saw events that shaped the world we currently live. We look at two essential figures who challenged the status quo at the time
An ode to two defining figures from 1989
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CATEGORY: Opinion
Saudi woman’s “death sentence” for using her voice
Salma al-Shehab, who was studying for a PhD at the University of Leeds, faces a 34-year sentence for supporting other Saudi women
Why we need to protect end-to-end encryption
Apps like Telegram and WhatsApp provide ways for human rights defenders and journalists to communicate without fear of discovery by authoritarian governments
A new chance to protect freedom of expression online
“Unintended consequences”, “ideologically incoherent”, “won’t change culture or make us safer”. I have written all these words and many more about the British Government’s Online Safety Bill. Index on Censorship has spent the last eighteen months...
An unwelcome return to the 1970s
Protests for women’s rights, widespread strikes, rampant inflation. Have we turned the clock back fifty years?
Why we all need to be angelic troublemakers
People forget that Pride is all about protest and we should recognise that free expression is vital to positive change
The terrible price of refusing to remain silent
On the anniversary of the murder of MP Jo Cox and as we learn of the fate of two journalists in Brazil, Ruth Smeeth says we must learn from their deaths
Raised voices: why we must continue to listen
The news coming in from Belarus, Brazil, Hong Kong and Russia is devastating, writes our CEO Ruth Smeeth
#Belarus: Andrei Aliaksandrau comes to trial
On Monday 7 June, our former colleague will face court behind closed doors, charged with treason for helping protesters against Lukashenka’s government. We will be watching
The UK government needs to work out just what “free speech” means
The Queen’s Speech had much to say about freedom of expression but there are conflicting views on what it means in Britain