24 May 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, Uncategorized
Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit filed a lawsuit against opposition writer Hamdi Kandil for insult and libel on 19 May. Kandil wrote an opinion piece in Al-Shuruq newspaper, entitled Huan al Watan Wa Huan Almutan (Humiliation of homeland and the citizen) in which here he criticises the minister and highlights government corruption.
18 May 10 | News and features
We are looking to recruit four regional experts with local contacts, expertise and language skills in Iran, China, Mexico and Egypt
To further extend our reach and impact, at home and abroad, Index on Censorship is launching a world-wide regional editors programme.
Four programmes each year for three years are planned in different priority regions for freedom of expression, each one led by regional experts with local contacts, expertise and language skills. These part-time positions are offered on a 12-month basis, with the intention that editors will continue to contribute to Index at the end of this period.
These roles are intended to be in-country however we may make exceptions in the cases of China and Iran.
The editors will play an essential role in Index’s plans for website expansion, bringing in a wider group of contributors and bloggers for the website. They will be talent scouts – advising us on emerging artists, musicians, free speech advocates, lawyers and writers directly engaging with challenging political issues or censorship.
The local editors’ role is to help the website – which is currently undergoing a redesign – to become the portal for discussing free speech in the UK and beyond, to develop new content and new audiences, to break free expression news and publish insightful analysis of censorship issues, to provide opinion, analysis, comment and reportage from sources all over the world and to promote content and share ideas through social media.
Editors will also be invited to contribute to Index’s quarterly award-winning magazine, suggest contributors, and help research and commission. They must have proven writing experience – ideally in journalism – and be able to contribute blogs and longer pieces to Index’s website at short notice.
The experts will closely coordinate with Index on Censorship’s London editorial desk, under the direction of editor Jo Glanville and online editor Emily Butselaar.
They will work to a discrete programme of activities in each region, to enhance and extend Index on Censorship’s publishing activities, advocacy initiatives and arts programming, including a special focus on free expression in the world of literature.
Their work will be incorporated into all areas of our organisation, creating a central resource for the magazine and through its programme of partnership activities, a resource in the literature sector by unearthing new writers, especially in translation, and leading them to publishing opportunities.
Applicants should have proven expertise in the field of free expression, earned through legal or advocacy experience or journalism and the arts.
If you are interested in applying for one of these positions please write to Emily Butselaar via Emily[at]indexoncensorship.org
17 May 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, Uncategorized
Egyptian author Youssef Ziedan faces a five-year jail term after being accused of insulting Christianity in his prize-winning novel Azazeel (Beelzebub). Set in 5th-century Egypt, Alexandria and northern Syria, Ziedan’s novel tells the story of an Egyptian monk who witnesses debates over doctrine between early Christians. The book was an Egyptian bestseller and last year won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction but the Coptic church had denounced it as offensive for its violent portrait of Coptic church father St Cyril. Now, a group of Egyptian and foreign Copts are using an Egyptian law — which prohibits insults against Islam, Christianity and Judaism — to prosecute Ziedan. In the past, the author has described his novel as “not against Christianity but against violence, especially violence in the name of the sacred”.
04 May 10 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, Uncategorized
Elton John was banned from playing a private show on 18 May after the head of Egypt’s musician union denounced his “anti-religious sentiments”. Union head Mounir al Wasimi said John should not be allowed to perform in Egypt because he is “a homosexual who wants to ban religions, claimed that the prophet Issa (Jesus) was gay and calls for Middle Eastern countries to allow gays to have sexual freedom…”.
