Index on Censorship

3 days ago | indexoncensorship.org | Jemimah Steinfeld

Indian paramilitary troopers stand alert after an unidentified military aircraft crashed in the Wuyan area of Pampore. Photo by ZUMA Press Inc / Alamy Live News A crisis is often seized as an opportunity, especially by those eager to silence dissent – and no more so than in Narendra Modi’s India.

1 week ago | indexoncensorship.org | Sally Gimson

This week, academics from all over Europe are gathering at the Times Higher Education Europe Universities Summit in Budapest. The conference has the strapline, “Pairing higher education excellence with world-leading research and innovation” and professors and academics including a pro-vice chancellor of Oxford University Anne Trefethen are speaking. So far, so dull.

1 week ago | indexoncensorship.org | Kaya Genç

The alarming escalation in the persecution of Turkey’s media workers is part of a calculated strategy. With the detention of Istanbul’s democratically elected mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on 19 March, the Turkish government has sent a chilling message to the public: nobody is safe, anyone can be arrested, so everybody should take caution. Journalists make up a significant sum among the more than 1,879 detained in last month’s protests, 260 of whom were formally arrested.

1 week ago | indexoncensorship.org | Jemimah Steinfeld

In today’s world of hot takes and moral outrage, we all want clear answers – good, bad, right and wrong – and people we can easily rally behind or blast – villain, victim, hero, heretic. But the cases of Kneecap, Jonny Greenwood and Dudu Tassa have resisted such clarity, and they’ve forced us to reckon with an uncomfortable truth: freedom of expression, especially in moments of deep political pain and division, isn’t always neat, easy or even popular.

1 week ago | indexoncensorship.org | Jemimah Steinfeld

Victoria Roshchyna had two strikes against her: she was Ukrainian and she was a journalist. Roshchyna frequently reported from Russian-occupied territories, which was and is incredibly dangerous work. In 2022, she was detained, which she wrote about for Index. A year later, she vanished once again. It took nine months for Russian authorities to confirm she was in custody, held without charge. As with much of Russia’s penal system, the details remain murky.