04 Mar 14 | Americas, Awards, News and features, United States
Glenn Greenwald had previously blogged on surveillance and civil liberties for Salon and the Guardian, attracting thousands of followers with his dogged writing. Laura Poitras’s background is in documentary making, having made highly acclaimed films about Iraqis living during the US military occupation and The Oath, a film about Yemenis caught up in the War on Terror.
A lawyer by training, Greenwald built a strong reputation for detailed, forensic articles. According to the Guardian, an article by Greenwald about Poitras’s work and fears over targeting by the government was what convinced Edward Snowden to approach him with his cache of NSA files in late 2012.
Working with a range of outlets, from the Guardian to Brazil’s O Globo, Greenwald published a range of stories on the workings of the National Security Agency’s surveillance. Germany-based Poitras collaborated with Der Spiegel amongst others, generating huge debate in that country.
In August 2013, Greenwald’s partner David Miranda was detained at Heathrow Airport under terrorism legislation and had documents he had received from Poitras confiscated by UK authorities.
Interviewed by Esquire magazine, Greenwald explained why he felt it was important to uncover mass surveillance: “ultimately the reason privacy is so vital is it’s the realm in which we can do all the things that are valuable as human beings. It’s the place that uniquely enables us to explore limits, to test boundaries, to engage in novel and creative ways of thinking and being”
Nominees: Advocacy | Arts | Digital Activism | Journalism
Join us 20 March 2014 at the Barbican Centre for the Freedom of Expression Awards
This article was posted on March 4, 2014 at indexoncensorship.org
28 Feb 14 | Awards, News and features
The Colectivo Chuchan is a mental health pressure group campaigning to change the treatment of people within Mexico’s mental health institutions.
Members all have ongoing mental health challenges themselves and most have spent time in institutions. Through their work they give a voice and access to freedom of expression to Los Abandonados, the millions of Mexican people who might otherwise be stuck in institutions with no hope of changing their situations.
Nominees: Advocacy | Arts | Digital Activism | Journalism
Join us 20 March 2014 at the Barbican Centre for the Freedom of Expression Awards
The Colectivo works to convince Mexican government to integrate people with psychiatric disabilities back into their communities, rather than institutionalise them. Encouraged by their own experiences, the Colectivo believe this can be achieved if these people are given support. Executive Director Raúl Montoya Santamaría, for instance, has spoken about mental illness and Colectivo Chuchan at events, conferences, universities and on TV and radio in Mexico – bringing important attention to an issue that might otherwise not be covered.
“Meeting the Colectivo Chuchan had a profound effect on me and they helped to breakdown a lot of my ignorance of psychiatric disability. Their battle to change the attitudes of a nation will be long and arduous; most of them may not be alive to see the transformation. Some of them risk damaging their own mental health for this cause, but they see the human rights of people with psychiatric disabilities as something worth fighting for,” said Ade Apitan, presenter for an Unreported World team covering the tragedy of Mexico’s mental institutions.
This article was originally posted on February 28, 2014 at indexoncensorship.org
Due to an factual error in the original video, it was replaced by a corrected version on 10 March 2014 at 2.47pm
27 Feb 14 | Awards, News and features, Pakistan
Shahzad Ahmad accepting his award (Photo: Alex Brenner for Index on Censorship)
Index Freedom of Expression Awards: Advocacy nominee Shahzad Ahmad from IndexOnCensorshipTV on Vimeo.
Shahzad Ahmad is one of the leading voices in the fight against online censorship in Pakistan. The country faces a deteriorating state of cyber freedom, as the government uses draconian censorship laws and increasing surveillance to police the internet.
Ahmad is country director of Bytes4All. The group campaigns for internet rights and democracy by building capacity for human rights defenders, as well as advocacy and awareness-raising.
Ahmad and Bytes4All have sued the Pakistani government over the suspected use of surveillance software, FinFisher – a piece of software that infects a computer and takes full control of it, intercepting Skype calls and allowing every keystroke the user types to be sent across the internet to another computer. Developed by UK-based company Gamma International, it has been used to target activists in Bahrain amongst other countries. He is also suing the government over its ongoing blocking of YouTube which deprives the country of one of the world’s most popular video channels.
Nominees: Advocacy | Arts | Digital Activism | Journalism
Join us 20 March 2014 at the Barbican Centre for the Freedom of Expression Awards
In a recent article, Shahzad wrote: “We want to be a proud democracy, so we need to uphold democratic principles and for that we want Pakistan to be tolerant and moderate. But Government oppression is rising day by day. Censorship happens because of moral policing, corruption and because the authorities do not want to be transparent. They don’t want to give citizens freedom of information or permission to question them.”
This article was posted on March 3, 2014 at indexoncensorship.org
27 Feb 14 | Awards, Burma, News and features
Generation Wave has been at the forefront of promoting democratic engagement in Burma, using hip hop, graffiti, film and street art to challenge authoritarianism since 2007 – with a strict policy of non-violence.
The organisation grew out of what became known as the Saffron Revolution – the 2007 protests led by saffron robed monks, which were violently put down by the Burmese military. For four years, the group was outlawed and had to operate underground.
These days, as Burma’s military has relaxed its grip on the country and started the transition to democracy, Generation Wave focuses on direct political activities and political capacity building among youth in the country, and the group has celebrated its last two anniversaries with public events.
Nominees: Advocacy | Arts | Digital Activism | Journalism
Join us 20 March 2014 at the Barbican Centre for the Freedom of Expression Awards
However, the transition is still very much a work in progress. While there have been steps in the right direction, the political situation in Burma remains uncertain and activists like Generation Wave still face challenges. Over 20 members are former political prisoners. A number were released in 2012 as part of a mass presidential pardon, but several face ongoing charges, including co-founder and current president Moe Thway, who has appeared in court more than 130 times.
In 2013 Generation Wave sought official recognition as an institute in order to be able to carry out their activities in the clear light of day, but doing this is less straightforward than it might seem. “Our aim is to register as an organisation, because we don’t want to be an illegal organisation – but during the [registration] process I was told to promise that I wouldn’t work with politics. But that is impossible, because all of our work is concerned with politics,” general director Min Yan Naing said.
This article was posted on February 27, 2014 at indexoncensorship.org
