31 Jul 19 | China, Journalism Toolbox (Chinese), Magazine, Volume 18.08 September 1989
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天安门大屠杀当日，中国著名当代青年诗人多多就在天安门广场。翌日他飞往英国并接受《查禁目录》杂志的采访。
多多原名粟世征，1951年出生于北京。多多自1972年文化大革命(1966-1976) 最黑暗的时期开始诗歌创作。多多一直独来独往，甚至算得上是个独行侠。年轻时多多曾接受过专业戏曲训练，他也以高度个人主义风格进行绘画创作。1989年六月四日天安门大屠杀后离开中国，流亡前多多一直在一家全国性报纸担任记者。
和他同时代的许多作家一样，多多采用现代主义方式创作，他的诗歌作品从未获得官方文学机构的青睐。在更加强硬的新官方路线下，出版这样的诗歌更是难上加难，基本不可能。然而多多的诗作得到了来之不易的赞誉—其他诗人同行的褒奖。今年早些时候，多多的诗集《里程》获得《今天》诗歌奖。
《今天》杂志由诗人芒克和北岛编辑，是1978至1979年间民主运动期间最重要的地下政治文学杂志。与北岛不同，诗人多多在许多社会和政治问题上并未公开发声，他并不能算得上是位政治诗人。然而在中国这样令人生畏、令窒息和压抑的社会中普遍存在着恐惧与压迫。事实上,这种恐惧和压迫弥存在于任何一个只知道如何嘲笑、恐吓和追捕其公民的社会里—多多的诗歌对此都有描写。
在经历了天安门广场屠杀，诗人多多于六月五日抵达英国。这是一场事先安排好的作品朗诵之旅。几天后，我和他回顾了中国发生的种种事件并讨论了中国未来的前景我和他回顾了中国发生的种种事件并讨论了中国未来的前景。我首先向他探讨了作家和记者在天安门大屠杀前的民主运动中所起的作用。
多多人认为, 在上一次民主运动, 即1978-79年的北京之春, 作家和艺术家是通过文学和艺术创作以实现知识启蒙。在这次民主运动中记者、作家和艺术家的重点不是艺术创作,而是支持和参与民主运动。他们直接参加了街头示威。正是以这样的身份, 多多本人在1989年4月到6月间经常出现在天安门。
“在过去的十年左右的时间里, 已经奠定了知识基础,这次运动不需要写诗, 需要的是上街示威……这次就像一场革命。革命时期,没有艺术，只有宣传。然而, 需要宣传就意味着街头示威高喊口号，但并需要把自己的艺术变成革命宣传工具 。”
然而, 早在这场 “革命” 发生之前, 作家们——无论他们的创作题材是诗歌、小说还是报道——都表达出对民主和自由的诉求。学者们也为这一运动的知识辩论做出相当大的贡献。正因如此北京市长最近将当局所谓的 “反革命动乱”归咎于学者群体。
我问多多在6月4日的杀戮之后如何看待中国政府；多多认为，在军队向公民开枪的那一刻，共产党就丧失了所有代表和统治中国人民的民意基础。
“他们完全开历史倒车，逆革命潮流……自从中共建政以来没有任何建树。他们变得反革命……他们是反革命政府…… ”
如果政府没有向人民开枪，并且与示威者进行谈判，而不是将参与者称为“反革命分子”，那么中国就不会处于目前如此糟糕的处境，即“中国共产主义制度最反动的表现”。多多看来，真正的反叛发生在军队开枪之后。
那么多多的希望和恐惧到底是什么？多多说：“我什么都不害怕。”但他对中国国内的民众的命运感到担忧，并希望在世纪之交，中国能够在没有流血和太多困难的情况下走上经济发达和民主进步的道路。
在这次民主运动前，多多同政治几乎毫无关系，只是因为他创作体现个人主义和现代主义诗歌的行为冒犯了国家和共产党中的强硬派。
“我不是政治诗人。在我的诗歌中，我描述了大自然、狗、人类的朋友、人、感情，思想和许多不同的东西。”他认为艺术应该是有建设性和积极的，而不仅仅是批判性的。作为一名公民、一名记者、民主运动的一分子多多目睹并参与了今年的政治抗议活动。
他认为当今中国问题的根源可以追溯到过去几年甚至几十年，它植根于中国的过去。个人的概念从未被中国社会所尊重：“中国人民被剥夺了个人的自由。如果我们不脱离群众的观念，成为个体，自由的个体，那么中国就没有前途，更没有希望。对此我深信不疑。”
但他认为中国人有意志来打破这种枷锁吗？多多觉得在北京被军队包围后，人民没有选择逃跑的那一刻就经历了转变，他们非但没有逃跑而且选择坚持不懈地对抗军队。
至于知识分子在为变革做准备方面的作用，多多认为必须先解决个人自由问题。长期以来，中国的知识分子已经将自己的创造力和知识利益纳入了群众利益之中。中国近百年的历史以民族救赎为中心，知识分子将自己的才能和精力投入其中。结果，他们牺牲了个人自由。 多多认为：“这将不复存在。尊重个人自由是民主的基础，从长远来看，只有民主才能造福人民。”
利大英文学学者和中国事务作家。多多诗集《从死亡中寻找》，由利大英和约翰·凯利翻译，利大英作序，于1989年8月由布鲁姆斯伯里出版社出版
被捕人士名单
估计有4,000人被捕。截至7月19日，大赦国际在其紧急行动公报中收集了大约185人名单。这些人包括：
钱李仁，《人民日报》（中国共产党机关报）社长，中国共产党中央委员会委员
谭文瑞，《人民日报》编辑
穆青，新华社社长，中国共产党中央委员会委员
鲍彤，中共总书记赵紫阳政治秘书，中共中央政治体制改革研讨小组办公室主任
高山，中共中央政治体制改革研讨小组办公室副主任
包遵信，中国社会科学院历史研究所研究员
陈一谘，中国国家经济体制改革研究所所长
王军涛，北京社会经济科学研究所研究员，《经济学周报》副主编
苏晓康，北京广播学院教授
陈子明，北京社会经济科学研究所所长
王若望，作家
张伟国，《世界经济导报》记者
许小伟（音），《世界经济导报》记者（软禁）
于浩成，首钢中国法律与社会发展研究所所长
王培公，剧作家
李洪林，改革理论专家
王前津（音），中国政法大学法学教授
李湘鲁，经济学家
刘伟国，诗人记者
白东平，北京工人自治联合会中央委员会委员
杨鸿（音），《中国青年报》记者
吴海正（音），云南教育学院讲师
张君（音），云南学自联记者
曹思源，赵紫阳智囊北京社会研究所研究员
刘晓波，北京师范大学讲师
任畹町,中国人权同盟创始人
李丹，中国国际广播电台六月四日凌晨播出谴责屠杀新闻稿的英文播音员
陈明远，北京语言学院教授
王丹、熊伟、马少方、杨涛，天安门广场学生领袖
刘焕文，北京工人自治联合会成员
许炳立（音），工人为天安门广场学生提供信息
郭海峰，学自联领导
杨福剑（音），北京工人自治工会领导
翁正明（音），上海青年民主党领导
王维林，阻挡坦克前进的北京工人
熊焱，天安门广场学生领袖
以下人士现已遭通缉：
方励之，天体物理学家，被誉为“中国的萨哈罗夫”与其妻子李淑贤女士，在美国大使馆寻求庇护。
严家琪，中国社会科学院政治研究所前所长，现在法国寻求庇护。
吾尔开西，学运四领袖之一，现在法国寻求庇护。
柴玲，学运四领袖之一，与其夫封从德在澳大利亚或在澳大利亚驻北京大使馆寻求庇护。
于浩成，法律专家，前大众出版社社长
吴天明，西安电影制片厂厂长，现暂居纽约
陈子明，北京社会经济科学研究所所长
万润南，中国最大私营企业四通公司总裁，据报道已离开中国
杨维（音），分子生物学家、中国民主联盟领导（前大赦国际良心犯）
周永平(音)，北京大学社会学教授
王志林（音）、杜秋生（音）、李静（音）、翁成忠（音）：四川社会科学院研究员
张伟国，《世界经济导报》编辑
陈明远，诗人、数学家、北京语言学院教授
高渝，中新社女记者
吴海珍(音)，云南教育学院外语系讲师[/vc_column_text][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1562080722145-dfd18b01-1482-9″ taxonomies=”29029″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Subscribe”][vc_column_text]In print, online. In your mailbox, on your iPad.
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15 Jul 19 | Magazine, News and features, Volume 48.02 Summer 2019
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Index editor Rachael Jolley argues in the summer 2019 issue of Index on Censorship magazine that it is vital to defend the distance between a nation’s leaders and its judges and lawyers, but this gap being narrowed around the world” google_fonts=”font_family:Libre%20Baskerville%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700|font_style:400%20italic%3A400%3Aitalic”][vc_column_text]
It all started with a conversation I had with a couple of journalists working in tough countries. We were talking about what kind of protection they still had, despite laws that could be used to crack down on their kind of journalism – journalism that is critical of governments.
They said: “When the independence of the justice system is gone then that is it. It’s all over.”
And they felt that while there were still lawyers prepared to stand with them to defend cases, and judges who were not in the pay of – or bowed by – government pressure, there was still hope. Belief in the rule of law, and its wire-like strength, really mattered.
These are people who keep on writing tough stories that could get them in trouble with the people in power when all around them are telling them it might be safer if they were to shut up.
This sliver of optimism means a great deal to journalists, activists, opposition politicians and artists who work in countries where the climate is very strongly in favour of silence. It means they feel like someone else is still there for them.
I started talking to journalists, writers and activists in other places around the world, and I realised that although many of them hadn’t articulated this thought, when I mentioned it they said: “Yes, yes, that’s right. That makes a real difference to us.”
So why – and how – do we defend the system of legal independence and make more people aware of its value? It’s not something you hear being discussed in the local bar or café, after all.
Right now, we need to make a wider public argument about why we all need to stand up for the right to an independent justice system.
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_icon icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-quote-left” color=”custom” size=”xl” align=”right” custom_color=”#dd3333″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”On an ordinary day, most of us are not in court or fighting a legal action, so it is only when we do, or we know someone who is, that we might realise that something important has been eroded” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Libre%20Baskerville%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700|font_style:400%20italic%3A400%3Aitalic”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]
We need to do it because it is at the heart of any free country, protecting our freedom to speak, think, debate, paint, draw and put on plays that produce unexpected and challenging thoughts. The wider public is not thinking “hey, yes, I worry that the courts are run down, and that criminal lawyers are in short supply”, or “If I took a case to trial and won my case I can no longer claim my lawyer’s fees back from the court”. On an ordinary day, most of us are not in court or fighting a legal action, so it is only when we are, or when we know someone who is, that we might realise that something important has been eroded.
Our rights are slowly, piece by piece, being undermined when our ability to access courts is severely limited, when judges feel too close to presidents or prime ministers, and when lawyers get locked up for taking a case that a national government would rather was not heard.
All those things are happening in parts of the world right now.
In China, hundreds of lawyers are in prison; in England and Wales since 2014 it has become more risky financially for most ordinary people to take a case to court as those who win a case no longer have their court fees paid automatically; and in Brazil the new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has just appointed a judge who was very much part of his election campaign to a newly invented super-ministerial role.
Helpfully, there are some factors that are deeply embedded in many countries’ legal histories and cultures that make it more difficult for authoritarian leaders to close the necessary space between the government and the justice system.
Many people who go into law, particularly human-rights law, do so with a vision of helping those who are fighting the system and have few powerful friends. Others hate being pressurised. And in many countries there are elements of the legal system that give sustenance to those who defend the independence of the judiciary as a vital principle.
Nelson Mandela’s lawyer, Sir Sydney Kentridge QC, has made the point that judges recruited from an independent bar would never entirely lose their independence, even when the system pressurised them to do so.
He pointed out that South African lawyers who had defended black men accused of murder in front of all-white juries during the apartheid period were not easily going to lose their commitment to stand up against the powerful.
Sir Sydney did, however, also argue that “in the absence of an entrenched bill of rights, the judiciary is a poor bulwark against a determined and immoderate government” in a lecture printed in Free Country, a book of his speeches.
So it turned out that this was the right time to think about a special report on this theme of the value of independent justice, because in lots of countries this independence is under bombardment.
It’s not that judges and lawyers haven’t always come under pressure. In his book The Rule of Law, Lord Bingham, a former lord chief justice of England and Wales, mentions a relevant historical example. When Earl Warren, the US chief justice, was sitting on the now famous Brown v Board of Education case in 1954, he was invited to dinner with President Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower sat next to him at dinner and the lawyer for the segregationists sat on his other side. According to Warren, the president went to great lengths to promote the case for the segregationists, and to say what a great man their lawyer was. Despite this, Warren went on to give the important judgement in favour of Brown that meant that racial segregation in public schools became illegal.
Those in power have always tried to influence judges to lean the way they would prefer, but they should not have weapons to punish those who don’t do so.
In China, hundreds of lawyers who stood up to defend human-rights cases have been charged with the crime of “subverting state power” and imprisoned. When the wife of one of the lawyers calls on others to support her husband, her cries go largely unheard because people are worried about the consequences.
This, as Karoline Kan writes on p23, is a country where the Chinese Communist Party has control of the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government, and where calls for political reform, or separation of powers, can be seen as threats to stability.
As we go to press we are close to the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square killings, when thousands of protesters all over China, from all kinds of backgrounds, had felt passionately that their country was ready for change – for democracy, transparency and separation of powers.
Unfortunately, that tide was turned back by China’s government in 1989, and today we are, once more, seeing China’s government tightening restrictions even further against those who dare to criticise them.
Last year, the Hungarian parliament passed a law allowing the creation of administrative courts to take cases involving taxation and election out of the main legal system (see p34). Critics saw this as eroding the gap between the executive and the justice system. But then, at the end of May 2019, there was a U-turn, and it was announced that the courts were no longer going ahead. It is believed that Fidesz, the governing party in Hungary, was under pressure from its grouping in the European Parliament, the European People’s Party.
If it were kicked out of the EPP, Hungary would have in all likelihood lost significant funding, and it is believed there was also pressure from the European Parliament to protect the rule of law in its member states.
But while this was seen as a victory by some, others warned things could always reverse quickly.
Overall the world is fortunate to have many lawyers who feel strongly about freedom of expression, and the independence of any justice system.
Barrister Jonathan Price, of Doughty Street Chambers, in London, is part of the team advising the family of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia over a case against the Maltese government for its failure to hold an independent inquiry into her death.
He explained why the work of his colleagues was particularly important, saying: “The law can be complex and expensive, and unfortunately the laws of defamation, privacy and data protection have become so complex that they are more or less inoperable in the hands of the untrained.”
Specialist lawyers who were willing to take on cases had become a necessary part of the rule of law, he said – a view shared by human-rights barrister David Mitchell, of Ely Place Chambers, in London.
“The rule of law levels the playing field between the powerful and [the] powerless,” he said. “It’s important that lawyers work to preserve this level.”
Finally, another thought from Sir Sydney that is pertinent to how the journalists I mentioned at the beginning of this article keep going against the odds: “It is not necessary to hope in order to work, and it is not necessary to succeed in order to hope in order to work, and it is not necessary to succeed in order to persevere.”
But, of course, it helps if you can do all three.
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Rachael Jolley is editor of Index on Censorship. She tweets @londoninsider. This article is part of the latest edition of Index on Censorship magazine, with its special report on local news
Index on Censorship’s spring 2019 issue is entitled Is this all the local news? What happens if local journalism no longer holds power to account?
Look out for the new edition in bookshops, and don’t miss our Index on Censorship podcast, with special guests, on Soundcloud.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”How governments use power to undermine justice and freedom” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2019%2F06%2Fmagazine-judged-how-governments-use-power-to-undermine-justice-and-freedom%2F|||”][vc_column_text]The summer 2019 Index on Censorship magazine looks at the narrowing gap between a nation’s leader and its judges and lawyers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=”107686″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2019/06/magazine-judged-how-governments-use-power-to-undermine-justice-and-freedom/”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Subscribe” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]In print, online. In your mailbox, on your iPad.
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05 Jul 19 | News and features, Volume 48.02 Summer 2019 Extras
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“What is said and what is written is unbelievably important,” said Trevor Phillips, chairman of the board of Index on Censorship, at the close of the recent launch party for the Summer 2019 edition of Index Magazine.
The summer 2019 edition, Judged: How Governments Use Power to Undermine Justice and Freedom, looks at attempts to undermine freedom of expression through attacks on the judiciary. The magazine covers issues ranging from new laws in Venezuela intended to limit freedom of the press to instances of self-censorship due to government control of content-sharing platforms in China to new technology created by journalists to check back against threats from politicians regarding the coverage of recent elections in South Africa.
Rachael Jolley, editor of Index magazine, explained that the idea behind the theme came from conversations she had with journalists in Italy covering areas with limited press freedom and hostile environments for journalists. She said, “one of the things that [the journalists] said kept them going was that there were still lawyers who were willing to stand up with them and defend them when they were attacked, when they had libel suits against them, when all the things that happen to them mean that they end up having to stand before a judge.”
This inspired Jolley to curate the latest edition of the magazine around legal issues, to address the legal fight for free speech behind the work of journalists to liberate the media under repressive regimes.
The keynote speaker of the evening was German writer Regula Venske, whose article What Does Weimar Mean to us 100 Years On? was published in the issue. Venske spoke about the history and ultimate downfall of the Weimar Republic, which is now known for fraught democracy and the promotion of freedom of expression, though Venske spoke about how attempts to preserve free speech in the republic were often complicated or insufficient. She walked the audience through some of the influential writing and art produced before the republic’s fall to Nazism.
To conclude, Venske quoted Weimar-era author and poet Erich Kästner: “You cannot fight the avalanche once it has developed into an avalanche, you have to crush the snowball.”
Venske added: “I think that is quite a good saying for the times we are now living in, though unfortunately, he did not leave a recipe for how one could prevent this. I think we need to keep on working for it.”
Phillips, the last speaker of the evening, lamented the state of media freedom in the multiple countries where right-wing leaders have recently come to power. He mentioned specifically the rise of Viktor Orbán in Hungary and Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, two countries covered in the summer issue. “My time at Index has been marked not by the incredible march of progress but actually a reminder, pretty much every week, why what this organisation does is so important,” he said.
He applied Kästner’s quote to the work Index on Censorship continues to do around the globe. Like Kästner, he explained, Index works to warn the people before the snowballs represented by the arrest of a journalist or the censorship of an artwork become an avalanche of fascism.
“The avalanche starts long before you hear it,” Phillips concluded. “A large part of what we do is give the avalanche warning.”
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Subscribe”][vc_column_text]In print, online, in your mailbox, on your iPad.
Subscription options from £18 or just £1.49 in the App Store for a digital issue.
Every subscriber helps support Index on Censorship’s projects around the world.
SUBSCRIBE NOW[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”107175″ img_size=”medium”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Listen”][vc_column_text]The summer 2019 magazine podcast, featuring interviews with best-selling author Xinran; Italian journalist and contributor to the latest issue, Stefano Pozzebon; and Steve Levitsky, the author of the New York Times best-seller How Democracies Die.
LISTEN HERE[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
19 Jun 19 | Magazine, Magazine Contents, Volume 48.02 Summer 2019
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”With contributions from Xinran, Ahmet Altan, Stephen Woodman, Karoline Kan, Conor Foley, Robert Harris, Stefano Pozzebon and Melanio Escobar”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Judged: How governments use power to undermine justice and freedom. The summer 2019 edition of Index on Censorship magazine
The summer 2019 Index on Censorship magazine looks at the narrowing gap between a nation’s leader and its judges and lawyers. What happens when the independence of the justice system is gone and lawyers are no longer willing to stand up with journalists and activists to fight for freedom of expression?
In this issue Stephen Woodman reports from Mexico about its new government’s promise to start rebuilding the pillars of democracy; Sally Gimson speaks to best-selling novelist Robert Harris to discuss why democracy and freedom of expression must continue to prevail; Conor Foley investigates the macho politics of President Jair Bolsonaro and how he’s using the judicial system for political ends; Jan Fox examines the impact of President Trump on US institutions; and Viktória Serdült digs into why the media and justice system in Hungary are facing increasing pressure from the government. In the rest of the magazine a short story from award-winning author Claudia Pineiro; Xinran reflects on China’s controversial social credit rating system; actor Neil Pearson speaks out against theatre censorship; and an interview with the imprisoned best-selling Turkish author Ahmet Altan.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Special Report: Judged: How governments use power to undermine justice and freedom”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Law and the new world order by Rachael Jolley on why the independence of the justice system is in play globally, and why it must be protected
Turkey’s rule of one by Kaya Genc President Erdogan’s government is challenging the result of Istanbul’s mayoral elections. This could test further whether separation of powers exists
England, my England (and the Romans) by Sally Gimson Best-selling novelist Robert Harris on how democracy and freedom of expression are about a lot more than one person, one vote
“It’s not me, it’s the people” by Stephen Woodman Mexico’s new government promised to start rebuilding the pillars of democracy, but old habits die hard. Has anything changed?
When political debate becomes nasty, brutish and short by Jan Fox President Donald Trump has been trampling over democratic norms in the USA. How are US institutions holding up?
The party is the law by Karoline Kan In China, hundreds of human rights lawyers have been detained over the past years, leaving government critics exposed
Balls in the air by Conor Foley The macho politics of Brazil’s new president plus ex-president Dilma Rousseff’s thoughts on constitutional problems
Power and Glory by Silvia Nortes The Catholic church still wields enormous power in Spain despite the population becoming more secular
Stripsearch by Martin Rowson In Freedonia
What next for Viktor Orbán’s Hungary? Viktoria Serdult looks at what happens now that Hungary’s prime minister is pressurising the judiciary, press, parliament and electoral system
When justice goes rogue by Melanio Escobar and Stefano Pozzebon Venezuela is the worst country in the world for abuse of judicial power. With the economy in freefall, journalists struggle to bear witness
“If you can keep your head, when all about you are losing theirs…” by Caroline Muscat It’s lonely and dangerous running an independent news website in Malta, but some lawyers are still willing to stand up to help
Failing to face up to the past by Ryan McChrystal argues that belief in Northern Ireland’s institutions is low, in part because details of its history are still secret
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Global View”][vc_column_text]Small victories do count by Jodie Ginsberg The kind of individual support Index gives people living under oppressive regimes is a vital step towards wider change[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”In Focus”][vc_column_text]Sending out a message in a bottle by Rachael Jolley Actor Neil Pearson, who shot to international fame as the sexist boss in the Bridget Jones’ films, talks about book banning and how the fight against theatre censorship still goes on
Remnants of war by Zehra Dogan Photographs from the 2019 Freedom of Expression Arts Award fellow Zehra Doğan’s installation at Tate Modern in London
Six ways to remember Weimar by Regula Venske The name of this small town has mythic resonances for Germans. It was the home of many of the country’s greatest classical writers and gave its name to the Weimar Republic, which was founded 100 years ago
“Media attacks are highest since 1989” by Natasha Joseph Politicians in South Africa were issuing threats to journalists in the run-up to the recent elections. Now editors have built a tracking tool to fight back
Big Brother’s regional ripple effect by Kirsten Han Singapore’s recent “fake news” law which gives ministers the right to ban content they do not like, may encourage other regimes in south-east Asia to follow suit
Who guards the writers? Irene Caselli reports on journalists who write about the Mafia and extremist movements in Italy need round-the-clock protection. They are worried Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini will take their protection away
China in their hands by Xinran The social credit system in China risks creating an all-controlling society where young people will, like generations before them, live in fear
Playing out injustice by Lewis Jennings Ugandan songwriter and politician Bobi Wine talks about how his lyrics have inspired young people to stand up against injustice and how the government has tried to silence him[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Culture”][vc_column_text]“Watch out we’re going to disappear you” by Claudia Pineiro The horrors of DIY abortion in a country where it is still not legal are laid bare in this story from Argentina, translated into English for the first time
“Knowing that they are there, helps me keep smiling in my cell” by Ahmet Altan The best-selling Turkish author and journalist gives us a poignant interview from prison and we publish an extract from his 2005 novel The Longest Night
A rebel writer by Eman Abdelrahim An exclusive extract from a short story by a new Egyptian writer. The story deals with difficult themes of mental illness set against the violence taking place during the uprising in Cairo’s Tahrir Square[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Column”][vc_column_text]Index around the world – Speak out, shut out by Lewis Jennings Index welcomed four new fellows to our 2019 programme. We were also out and about advocating for free expression around the world[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Endnote”][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Subscribe”][vc_column_text]In print, online, in your mailbox, on your iPad.
Subscription options from £18 or just £1.49 in the App Store for a digital issue.
Every subscriber helps support Index on Censorship’s projects around the world.
SUBSCRIBE NOW[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Listen”][vc_column_text]Music has long been a form of popular rebellion, especially in the 21st century. These songs, provide a theme tune to the new magazine and give insight into everything from the nationalism in Viktor Orban’s Hungary to the role of government-controlled social media in China to poverty in Venezuela
LISTEN HERE[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Listen”][vc_column_text]The summer 2019 magazine podcast, featuring interviews with best-selling author Xinran; Italian journalist and contributor to the latest issue, Stefano Pozzebon; and Steve Levitsky, the author of the New York Times best-seller How Democracies Die.
LISTEN HERE[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
