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1 week ago | 
indexoncensorship.org | Mark Stimpson |Daisy Ruddock |Jemimah Steinfeld |Martin Bright
Today, the torrent of online information, misinformation and disinformation makes it harder than ever to stay in the loop. As we get bombarded with news from all angles, important stories can easily pass us by. To help you cut through the noise, every Friday Index publishes a weekly news roundup of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression from the past seven days.
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1 week ago | 
indexoncensorship.org | Daisy Ruddock |Jemimah Steinfeld |Martin Bright
The 2025 edition of the annual European SLAPP Contest put on by the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) took place in Brussels last week in front of an enthusiastic crowd, brought together by a shared determination to celebrate those who use the legal system to harass and intimidate people across Europe so impressively. Though these corporations and individuals may be too humble to seek the spotlight themselves, we are determined to shine a light on their efforts.
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1 month ago | 
indexoncensorship.org | Katie Dancey-Downs |Daisy Ruddock
On 13 March 2025, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (“UNWGAD”) issued an opinion declaring that Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi’s detention of more than 753 days was arbitrary and in violation of international law. A joint petition was submitted to the UNWGAD by the Human Rights Foundation, Doughty Street Chambers, and Index on Censorship in July 2024.
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1 month ago | 
indexoncensorship.org | Katie Dancey-Downs |Daisy Ruddock |Mark Stimpson
Responding to news that Apple will be before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal on Friday, representatives from Big Brother Watch, Index on Censorship, and Open Rights Group have written to President of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the Rt Hon Lord Justice Singh, calling for the case to be made public. The letter states that the “case implicates the privacy rights of millions of British citizens who use Apple’s technology, as well as Apple’s international users”.
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1 month ago | 
indexoncensorship.org | Jemimah Steinfeld |Katie Dancey-Downs |Daisy Ruddock |Mark Stimpson
According to some analysts, the largest student-led demonstrations in Europe since 1968 are taking place today in Serbia. I almost missed that sentence in this story from the Sunday Times last weekend given all of the other news vying for my attention. I’m glad I didn’t. The article itself is well worth reading – a story that pulls in Abu Dhabi developers and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Now dodgy planning regulations aren’t exactly the lane of Index.
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1 month ago | 
indexoncensorship.org | Daisy Ruddock |Sarah Dawood |Jemimah Steinfeld |Alexandra Domenech
As the Oscars season came to a close this weekend, all eyes were once again on Hollywood. The prestigious awards ceremony, which took place on Sunday in Los Angeles, played host to some of the biggest names in cinema, all of whom were hoping to secure one of the infamous golden statuettes afforded to the year’s biggest on-screen successes. This year, many awards were given to Index-worthy films and documentaries, as they bravely called out human rights and free speech abuses.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
indexoncensorship.org | Daisy Ruddock
The Palestinian lawyer and human rights defender Diala Ayesh has been released, after spending almost a year in Israel’s Damon Prison. She was initially arrested on 17 January 2024 by Israeli military forces as she passed through a military checkpoint in the West Bank. On 25 January 2024, she was issued a four-month administrative detention order by the Israeli military’s Central Command for the occupied West Bank.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
indexoncensorship.org | Daisy Ruddock |Georgia Beeston
Well that was harder than we imagined. For our 2024 year-end campaign, author Marc Nash came up up a banned books holiday quiz where he took the titles of 20 books that have been banned around the world and created cryptic clues to each of the titles. Thank you to everyone who took part and we have chosen five people at random from those who entered to win a year's print subscription to Index on Censorship magazine.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
indexoncensorship.org | Daisy Ruddock |Georgia Beeston
Our Freedom of Expression Awards recognise those on the frontline of free expression and whose work has contributed significantly to confronting censorship – specifically in repressive regimes around the world. In recent years, award recipients of these prestigious awards have included Toomaj Salehi, Malala Yosafzai, Cartoon Rights Network, and Abdelrahman ‘Moka’ Tarek. See all previous winners here.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
indexoncensorship.org | Daisy Ruddock |Georgia Beeston
Last month’s official confirmation that Saudi Arabia has been chosen as the host of the 2034 World Cup is evidence that sport has a long way to go when it comes to the protection of human rights and freedoms. Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of the most prestigious competition in international football is just the state’s latest foray into the sporting world.
