FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AWARDS

MORE OF OUR PAST WINNERS

2019

ARTS

Zehra Dogan | Turkey

CAMPAIGNING

Cartoonists Rights Network International

DIGITAL ACTIVISM

Fundación Karisma | Colombia

JOURNALISM

Mimi Mefo | Cameroon

2018

ARTS

The Museum of Dissidence

CAMPAIGNING

Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms

DIGITAL ACTIVISM

Habari RDC

JOURNALISM

Wendy Funes

2017

ARTS

Rebel Pepper

CAMPAIGNING

Ildar Dadin

DIGITAL ACTIVISM

Turkey Blocks

JOURNALISM

Maldives Independent

2016

ARTS

Murad Subay

CAMPAIGNING

Bolo Bhi

DIGITAL ACTIVISM

GreatFire

JOURNALISM

Zaina Erhaim

MUSIC IN EXILE

Serge Martin Bambara aka Smockey

2015

ARTS

Mouad "El Haqed" Belghouat

CAMPAIGNING

Amran Abdundi

DIGITAL ACTIVISM

Tamás Bodoky

JOURNALISM

Rafael Marques de Morais

JOURNALISM

Safa Al Ahmad

2014

ARTS

Mayam Mahmoud

ADVOCACY

Shahzad Ahmed

DIGITAL ACTIVISM

Shubhranshu Choudhary

JOURNALISM

Azadliq

2013

ARTS

Zanele Muholi

ADVOCACY

Malala Yousafzai

DIGITAL ACTIVISM

Bassel Khartabil

JOURNALISM

Kostas Vaxevanis

2012

ARTS

Ali Ferzat

ADVOCACY

Nabeel Rajab, Bahrain Center for Human Rights

INNOVATION

Freedom Fone

JOURNALISM

Idrak Abbasov

40TH ANNIVERSARY AWARD

Memorial Archive of St Petersburg

2011

ARTS

MF Husain

NEW MEDIA

Tunileaks

CAMPAIGNING

Gao Zhisheng

JOURNALISM

Ibrahim Eissa

SPECIAL COMMENDATION

Belarus’s prisoners of conscience

2010

MUSIC

Mahsa Vahdat and Ferhat Tunç

PUBLISHING

Andalus Press

CAMPAIGNING

Rashid Hajili

JOURNALISM

Radio La Voz

SPECIAL COMMENDATION

Heather Brooke

2009

FILM

The Devil Came on Horseback

NEW MEDIA

Psiphon

CAMPAIGNING

Malik Imtiaz Sarwar

JOURNALISM

The Sunday Leader

BOOK

Beijing Coma by Ma Jian

2008

FILM

Ahlaam and Mohamed Al-Daradji

NEW MEDIA

Wikileaks

CAMPAIGNING

U Gambira

JOURNALISM

Arat Dink and Agos Magazine

BOOK

The Art of Political Murder: Who killed Bishop Gerardi? By Francisco Goldman

2007

FILM

5 Days and Yoav Shamir

WHISTLEBLOWER

Chen Guangcheng

CAMPAIGNING

Siphiwe Hlophe

JOURNALISM

Kareem Amer

BOOK

Being Arab by Samir Kassir

2006

FILM

Turtles Can Fly, director Bahman Ghobadi

WHISTLEBLOWER

Huang Jingao

CAMPAIGNING

Beatrice Mtetwa

JOURNALISM

Sihem Bensedrine

BOOK

Into The Quick of Life: The Rwandan Genocide: The Survivors Speak and A Time for Machetes: The Rwandan Genocide: The Killers Speak by Jean Hatzfeld.

2005

FILM

Final Solution, director Rakesh Sharma

WHISTLEBLOWER

Grigoris Lazos

LAW

Centre for Constitutional Rights

JOURNALISM

Sumi Khan

BOOK

Soldiers of Light by Daniel Bergner

2004

FILM

Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony, Director Lee Hirsch

WHISTLEBLOWER

Satyendra Kumar Dubey

BOOK

Slave by Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis

JOURNALISM

Kaveh Golestan

MUSIC

West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

SPECIAL

Mordechai Vanunu

CENSOR OF THE YEAR

John Ashcroft

2003

FREE EXPRESSION

Hashem Aghajari

WHISTLEBLOWER

Tony Kevin

SERVICES TO CENSORSHIP

Jonathan Moyo

CIRCUMVENTION OF CENSORSHIP

Al-Jazeera

JOURNALISM

Fergal Keane

2002

FREE EXPRESSION

Anna Politkovskaya

WHISTLEBLOWER

Jiang Weiping

SERVICES TO CENSORSHIP

Silvio Berlusconi

CIRCUMVENTION OF CENSORSHIP

Şanar Yurdatapan

2001

FREE EXPRESSION

Mashallah Shamsolvaezin

WHISTLEBLOWER

Grigory Pasko

SERVICES TO CENSORSHIP

UK Ministry of Defence

CIRCUMVENTION OF CENSORSHIP

Lauri Cranor, Avi Rubin and Marc Waldman

READ MORE ON THE AWARDS

Social sex entrepreneur, artist and top journalist to judge Freedom of Expression Awards

by Index on Censorship | 10 Jan 20 | About Index, Awards, Awards Update, News and features, Press Releases | 0 Comments

The awards honour champions of free expression and those battling censorship around the world in the field of arts, campaigning, digital activism and journalism.

This Week at Index: Judges announced for 2020 Freedom of Expression Awards

by Jonathan Perfect | 10 Jan 20 | About Index, Awards, Awards Update, This Week | 0 Comments

Index on Censorship is proud to announce three new judges for its 2020 Freedom of Expression Awards. These are New York-based artist Molly Crabapple, award-winning Guardian journalist Amelia Gentleman and Cindy Gallop, founder of social sex video platform MakeLoveNotPorn.

Zehra Dogan: I became more widely known after winning the Index Freedom of Expression Award

by Ryan McChrystal | 07 Nov 19 | Awards, Awards Update, Fellowship, Fellowship 2019, News and features | 0 Comments

We caught up with Dogan to find out what she has been working on since winning the Index on Censorship award.

Mimi Mefo: The voiceless in my country need me and I have to keep writing

by Ryan McChrystal | 24 Oct 19 | Awards, Awards Update, Fellowship, Fellowship 2019, News and features | 0 Comments

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Winner of the 2019 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Journalism Award, the Berlin-based Cameroonian journalist Mimi Mefo was one of less than a handful of reporters working without fear or favour in Cameroon’s climate of...

Fundación Karisma: The tension around free speech and social media is one of the big issues of our time

by Index on Censorship | 18 Oct 19 | Awards, Awards Update, Fellowship 2019, News and features | 0 Comments

We caught up with Carolina Botero Cabrera, executive director of Fundación Karisma, to find out what the organisation has been working on since winning the Index award in April

Cartoonists Rights Network International continues to monitor the loss of cartoonists from media outlets around the world

by Ryan McChrystal | 09 Aug 19 | Artistic Freedom, Awards, Awards Update, Fellowship 2019, News and features | 0 Comments

Since winning the 2019 Index Award for Campaigning, CRNI has been monitoring the situation with Badiucao, a Chinese dissident cartoonist living in exile in Australia

Podcast: Freedom of Expression Awards 2019 Winners’ Roundtable

by Lewis Jennings | 15 Apr 19 | Americas, Awards, Awards Update, Cameroon, Colombia, Europe and Central Asia, Fellowship, Fellowship 2019, Middle East and North Africa, News and features, Turkey, United Kingdom | 0 Comments

A special edition of the Index on Censorship podcast celebrating the winners of the Freedom of Expression Awards 2019.

Wendy Funes: Despite the pain that violence has left in Honduras it is wonderful to see a world with so much solidarity

by Emily Seymour | 01 Apr 19 | Awards, Awards Update, Fellowship, Fellowship 2018, News and features | 0 Comments

“Despite my fears and the pain that violence has left in my country, it has been wonderful to see that it has been worthwhile to dream in a world with so much solidarity”

Kurdish artist Zehra Doğan released from Turkish prison

by Index on Censorship | 24 Feb 19 | Awards, Awards Update, Fellowship 2019, News and features | 0 Comments

Index on Censorship welcomes the release of 2019 Freedom of Expression Arts Award nominee

Fellowship Update: An important element of Index’s work

by Perla Hinojosa | 18 Jan 19 | Awards Update, Fellowship, Fellowship 2018, News and features | 0 Comments

The Index Awards Fellowship has become an important element of Index on Censorship’s work

Museum of Dissidence: We must sacrifice ourselves if we want to achieve freedom in Cuba

by Ryan McChrystal | 11 Jan 19 | Awards, Awards Update, Fellowship, Fellowship 2018, News and features | 0 Comments

Artistic freedom is under attack in Cuba, but artists are fighting back.

ECRF: As long as there are people defending human rights in Egypt, there is hope

by Perla Hinojosa | 09 Jan 19 | Awards, Awards Update, Egypt, Fellowship, Fellowship 2018, Middle East and North Africa, News and features | 0 Comments

The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, winner of the 2018 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award for Campaigning, is one of the few remaining human rights organisations in Egypt