Abstract
Comedian Frankie Boyle performing a set at Stand Up for Satire
Credit: Credit: Elina Kansikas
Hosted by Al “The Pub Landlord” Murray, the event at the Union Chapel in north London drew a sell-out crowd of 900, with performances from some of the biggest names in British and Irish comedy: Andrew Maxwell, Frankie Boyle, Kerry Godliman, Doc Brown, Gráinne Maguire and Shappi Khorsandi (host of Index’s Freedom of Expression Awards in March).
Index has always championed comedians, satirists and cartoonists facing persecution around the world. To complement the event, a set of articles from the Index on Censorship magazine archive on censorship and comedy, including pieces by Milan Kundera and Rowan Atkinson, were re-published.
In July, Index joined with the Sabeen Mahmud Foundation to host a tribute to the murdered activist, in London. Sabeen Mahmud was the founder of The Second Floor, a coffee house and “community space for open dialogue” in Karachi, Pakistan. She was killed by gunmen in April, after hosting a panel discussion on the missing people of Balochistan. Our joint event, Unsilencing Pakistan, took place in her honour.
British-Pakistani comedian Aatif Nawaz hosted the night of speakers and performers celebrating Sabeen’s life and Pakistani culture. Childhood friends of Sabeen, including activist Ali Dayan Hasan and novelist Kamila Shamsie, spoke, and there were also talks on the state of free speech in Pakistan by The New York Times correspondent Declan Walsh, and Tehmina Kazi, from British Muslims for Secular Democracy.
Also in July, the summer issue of Index on Censorship magazine, themed on academic freedom, was launched at Birkbeck, University of London, with a debate entitled Silenced on Campus. Panellists included Greg Lukianoff, president of America’s Foundation for Individual Rights in Education; Lord Ken Macdonald, the ex-director of public prosecutions and Liberal Democrat life peer; journalist Julie Bindel, Nicola Dandridge chair of Universities UK, and blogger and spoken-word artist Siana Bangura. Chaired by Index CEO Jodie Ginsberg, the debate explored no-platforming, safe spaces, trigger warnings and the new UK Counter-Extremism Bill, which looks set to further restrict free speech on British campuses by introducing measures aimed at targeting “extremist” rhetoric.
Comedian Al Murray poses with a selfie stick at Stand Up for Satire
Credit: Elina Kansikas
Index helped organise a protest outside the Azerbaijani embassy in South Kensington on 12 June, the day of the European Games’ opening ceremony in Azerbaijan. It happened just after The Guardian’s chief sports correspondent Owen Gibson, representatives from Amnesty International and an activist from Platform London were denied entry to the country for the duration of the games. The inaugural European Games took place in Azerbaijan in June, which Index used to draw people’s attention to the many censored and imprisoned journalists in the country. These include human rights activists Leyla and Arif Yunus, human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, pro-democracy campaigner Rasul Jafarov and investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova.
Index senior advocacy officer Melody Patry said: “Index continues to follow closely the cases of imprisoned journalists and activists. As Azerbaijan prepares to host other sporting events, Index remains active in the Sport for Rights campaign and will continue to denounce the ongoing repression of those who express dissent, expose corruption or support human rights.”
Other recent events included a discussion on artistic censorship in repressive regimes at the National Centre for Early Music in Walmgate in June. The panel, chaired by Index’s associate arts producer Julia Farrington, included Iranian sisters and former Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression award winners Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat, both of whom are artists and singers who strongly advocate freedom of expression.
At Leeds Big Bookend festival, Index on Censorship magazine’s editor Rachael Jolley led a debate entitled The new civility: are religious freedom and freedom of speech intertwined?
On the panel were Yorkshire Evening Post assistant features editor Chris Bond; local imam Qari Muhammad Asim; and author and Index contributor Anthony Clavane.
And at Wilderness in Oxfordshire, festival goers packed a large marquee for an Index debate on cartooning and offence. The Independent’s cartoonist Dave Brown; Nigerian cartoonist Tayo; Prospect Magazine’s Sameer Rahim; and Index chairman, journalist David Aaronovitch all took part.
Index on Censorship now has a new youth advisory board, a global network of free expression enthusiasts aged between 18 and 25. There were over 40 applications to become part of the July-to-December roster. The appointed group of nine, hailing from Bosnia, the Netherlands, South Africa, India, the UK and the US, will now meet virtually, via Google Hangouts, once a month. As well as acting as global Index ambassadors, they will also research a variety of written and multimedia news features, which will be published on the Index website.
Finally, Index on Censorship has become a founder member of the Leipzig-based European Centre for Press and Media Freedom. The centre also brings together the European Federation of Journalists and Russian Mass Media Defence Centre, along with academic institutions from around Europe. Its aim is to address media freedom and violations in EU member states and beyond. Index CEO Jodie Ginsberg said, “Index is thrilled to be part of this initiative because of its potential to increase the impact of all media freedom campaigns in the region.” Index’s own Mapping Media Freedom project has now verified and published around 900 reports of assaults on journalistic free expression from more than 40 countries, and has recently been expanded to cover Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Hannah Machlin, project officer for Mapping Media Freedom, said: “In light of the draconian measures against independent journalism within the former Soviet Union, the project is expanding to cover new countries.”
The project uses two methods to gather reports, crowd-sourcing and Index’s 17 correspondents around the region, and then records attacks on journalists. Details are factchecked before being added to the map. The team will also offer legal advice and support to journalists who request it as well as offering digital security training.
© Max Goldbart