Recognising artists, filmmakers and writers whose work asserts artistic freedom and battles against repression and injustice
Accepting the award Ali Ferzat said:
Artists are an integral part of any popular revolt. Their work encourages people to participate and take part in the revolution. Artists come from among the people and express their hopes, dreams and struggles.
When an artist becomes the living conscience of his people, he assumes an immense responsibility: everyone looks up to him. The artist needs to keep a compass in his heart and mind to be faithful to his people’s needs. That compass is the affection people have for the artist and the fact they trust him to deliver their human and national message to the world.
For any artist, his compass should be the degree to which people accept and identify with his work, the extent to which he is considered their living conscience; a lamplighter who shines a light on love, humanity and freedom when times are dark and difficult.
Artists know they are following the correct track when the international community and organisations honour their work and acknowledge it, they know they are on the right path towards love, peace and freedom.
Click here to see the full shortlist for the Arts Award
Freedomfone by Kubatana accept the Innovation Award, which recognises innovation and original use of new technology to circumvent censorship and foster debate, argument or dissent
Accepting the award FreedomFone activist Upenyu Makoni-Muchemwa said:
Repressive governments deliberately hinder people’s access to information to entrench control and minimise dissent. New media technologies, and the innovative uses of old media, challenge this control. The Kubatana Trust of Zimbabwe’s primary objective is to make human rights and civic information accessible from a centralised, electronic source. We use the Internet, email, blogging, SMS, Freedom Fone, DVDs and print publications to share this information with Zimbabweans living in urban and rural locations.
Our technical director, Brenda Burrell had a vision to enable activists and NGOs to create short form audio programmes, which people could call-in to listen to using their phones. Thus Freedom Fone was conceptualised.
Information can be shared and received at anytime in any language wherever there is mobile coverage. Traditional roadblocks of licensing, regulation and literacy are bypassed, and freedom of expression is broadened. However, it is not surprising that a regime which so thoroughly seeks to suppress dissent and suffocate opportunities for free expression and debate, should be threatened by a service which broadens access to information and encourages the open exchange of opinion.
The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, an entity generally acknowledged to have been set up to control, rather than to expand the access to information, advised Kubatana that we were operating an “unlicensed broadcasting service” and that we were in violation of the law by making these audio dramas accessible over phones.
We have sought advice from both local and regional legal practitioners, and the opinion is that the Freedom Fone services provided by Kubatana are not in violation of any broadcasting laws. Currently Kubatana is seeking support to challenge the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe in court. Kubatana’s Freedom Fone and services like it provide new opportunities for communication, mobilisation and activism.
In repressive environments, this will be met with resistance. However, it is important not to buckle under this pressure or constrain one’s own creative use of technology. Rather, we must use innovative technologies to expand access to information and broaden discussions of censorship, repression and control of the media environment. We are honoured to receive this award and would like to take this opportunity to thank our various donors and supporters for enabling our work. Most importantly we would like to thank the people who make up the Kubatana Community in Zimbabwe.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL SHORTLIST FOR THE INNOVATION AWARD, SPONSORED BY GOOGLE
Azerbaijani journalist Idrak Abbasov wins the journalism award, which recognises investigative journalism of dogged determination across a range of media, including print, online, radio and television
Accepting the award, Idrak Abbasov said:
First of all, I would like to thank Index on Censorship and all those present. I know that there are many people here today who devote their lives to the struggle for other people’s right to know the truth.
In Azerbaijan, where I have come from, telling the truth can cost a journalist their life. In countries such as Azerbaijan we journalists have to make a choice, and we choose the right to tell the truth.
For this right to tell the truth Elmar Guseinov gave his life in 2005. He knew he would not be forgiven, but he did not stop writing the truth.
I am not complaining. I made a conscious choice when I chose this profession, and I thank fate every day for my work.
Censorship, persecution, limited access to public information, arrests – the situation of the mass media in Azerbaijan is growing worse and their freedom is being curtailed year after year.
At the moment, nine journalists are under arrest on trumped-up charges of possessing drugs or weapons. In Azerbaijan, a request from a deputy of the ruling party is sufficient grounds for arresting the editor of a journal that is criticising the government, even in the absence of evidence. This is what happened to Evez Zeynalli.
In the town of Guba, four journalists were arrested without any charge whatsoever. Human rights activists are convinced that they were arrested for passing on to bloggers a video recording of an event that the censor had not wanted to see publicised.
Khadija Ismayilova, a journalist working for Radio Liberty, was blackmailed in an attempt to force her to stop her investigations into offshore companies owned by the President’s family. In 2009 Radio Liberty, the BBC and Voice of America were banned from local radio stations.
This is the price that my colleagues in Azerbaijan are paying for the right of the Azerbaijani people to know the truth about what is happening in their country. For the sake of this right we accept that our lives are in danger, as are the lives of our families. But the goal is worth it, since the right to truth is worth more than a life without truth.
CLICK HERE to view the full shortlist of the Guardian journalism award
Index’s most recent report Azerbaijan’s silenced voices is online now
Recognising campaigners or activists who have fought repression, or have struggled to challenge political climates
Alaa Abd El Fattah, blogger, Egypt
Alaa Abd El Fattah is at the forefront of protests against Egypt’s current military rule. Over the last 12 months, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has tried to silence dissent, crushing protests, restricting the media and questioning and imprisoning activists who criticise its actions.
Abd El Fattah is one of an estimated 12,000 civilians tried by military courts since the fall of Mubarak. The blogger and activist was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence against the military during clashes between the security forces and Coptic Christians. He was jailed on 31 October 2011 after he refused to recognise the legitimacy of the military interrogators in overseeing civilian trials. He was released pending investigation on 25 December, but continues to speak out against SCAF.
Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, NGO, Bahrain
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) has played a crucial role in documenting human rights violations, political repression and torture in the Gulf kingdom. Despite efforts to silence and discredit it, the BCHR has kept international attention on the brutal government crackdown that began last February. It has prevented the Bahrain government from whitewashing its international image, and at times when news media were severely restricted and foreign journalists barred, it acted as a crucial news source.
Former BCHR president Abdulhady al Khawaja is one of eight activists serving life sentences for peacefully protesting at the Pearl Roundabout which has since been demolished. Like many other activists he claims he has been tortured in prison. BCHR employees regularly experience threats, violence and harassment. In January 2012, BCHR president Nabeel Rajab was severely beaten by security forces while peacefully protesting.
Lord Lester of Herne Hill, QC, UK
Anthony Lester is a British barrister and Liberal Democrat peer whose work in the field of human rights has transformed the legal landscape. His support for the libel reform campaign has led to one of the greatest advances for free speech in recent years in the UK, potentially transforming the most infamous and enduring chill on freedom of expression in the country. Following the introduction of Anthony Lester’s private member’s defamation bill in May 2010, the government then used it as the basis for its own bill a year later. If it becomes law this year, it will mark the end of London’s notorious reputation as “a town named sue”, the libel capital of the world, and fulfil Anthony Lester’s personal aim of providing a “catalyst for reform” in an historic moment for free speech in the UK.
