Friday, 14 February 2025
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** Political prisoner release shows that pressure works
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Some good news this week: three political prisoners from Belarus, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Andrey Kuznechyk, were released ([link removed]) , the result of intense negotiations between the US and Lithuanian governments and Belarusian authorities. This is no small feat, considering the climate of repression that continues to define President Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s regime. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seizing on the opportunity, also called for the release of nearly 1,300 political prisoners ([link removed]) still languishing behind bars in Belarus – a call we welcome.

It’s not just Belarus where we’ve seen progress. This week brought news of the release of Salma al-Shehab (pictured), a mother of two and PhD candidate at the University of Leeds, who was imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for simply advocating for women’s rights on social media. She was arrested in 2021 while on holiday and was initially given a three-year sentence but, on appeal, the sentence was increased to 34 years ([link removed]) , plus an extra 34-year travel ban. Even by Saudi Arabia’s harsh standards, her sentence was an outrageous overreach. Index has regularly highlighted al-Shehab’s case, calling for her release. So we were relieved (and somewhat surprised) to see that justice has finally prevailed—at least in her case. As activist Lina Al-Hathloul rightly points out al-Shehab was not an exception: “She is symbolic of a pattern. She was released because of this pressure but many more others still remain in
prison for the same charges.”

Elsewhere, in Iran, journalists Elaheh Mohammadi and Niloofar Hamedi have been released ([link removed]) after they were pardoned by the authorities. The pair had previously been sentenced to 12 and 13 years in prison respectively simply for doing their jobs – reporting on the truth. In this case, the truth being how Mahsa Amini was killed in police custody, her death sparking the Woman Life Freedom protests in the country.

None of these individuals should have spent a single day in jail. Yet, even as we recognise the injustices that remain, it’s crucial to cherish the wins when we get them. Their releases serve as important reminders; diplomacy and persistence can make a difference. So in the words of civil rights activist John Lewis, one of the Big Six leaders who organised the 1963 March on Washington with Martin Luther King Jr: “Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

Jemimah Steinfeld

CEO, Index on Censorship


** More from Index
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Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “The people of Belarus are showing the dictator that they want him gone” ([link removed])

Following January's sham election, political activists and journalists willing to challenge Aliaksandr Lukashenka face prison, exile or worse – but they refuse to stay silent


** Could Donald Trump’s administration be a double-edged sword for free speech? ([link removed])
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We speak with the USA-based non-profit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) about the new president's complicated approach to free expression


** Index condemns arrest of author and bookseller, Mahmoud Muna ([link removed])
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Author Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmad Muna were arrested by undercover Israeli police with dozens of their books being confiscated


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** Nominate a freedom of expression champion
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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 Yousafzai, Cartoon Rights Network, and Abdelrahman ‘Moka’ Tarek.
NOMINATE TODAY ([link removed])


** From elsewhere
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** >> TECH: ([link removed]) UK “demands backdoor” into encrypted data for Apple users globally ([link removed])
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** >> ISRAEL: ([link removed]) Most journalist deaths on record in 2024, Israel biggest culprit ([link removed])
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** >> UKRAINE: ([link removed]) ”No deal is better than a bad deal” in the ongoing war ([link removed])
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** >> UK: ([link removed]) MI5 gets caught lying over the actions of its spies ([link removed])
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** >> USA: ([link removed]) News agency banned after refusing to rename Gulf of Mexico ([link removed])
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** >> NETHERLANDS: ([link removed]) Greenpeace in first test of EU anti-SLAPP Directive ([link removed])
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** Flashback
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Secrets and lives: Sworn to secrecy: wives at Los Alamos ([link removed])

by TaraShea Nesbit ([link removed])

Index on Censorship, volume 43, issue 2 ([link removed])

Earlier this week, we celebrated International Women and Girls in Science Day ([link removed]) , now in its tenth year. It is a theme that resonates with us here at Index, particularly after our science-themed issue Inconvenient truths ([link removed]) , published in autumn 2024.

Science is a subject we have returned to again and again over our the five decades since Index was founded. In 2014, award-winning author TaraShea Nesbit wrote for us about some of the most silenced women involved in the development of the first atomic bomb in the Manhattan Project. Read her article here ([link removed]) .


** Support our work
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The world is becoming more authoritarian and our work supporting individuals like Salma al-Shehab and promoting freedom of expression in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Belarus and Iran has never been more important.

By supporting Index on Censorship today, you can help us in our work with censored artists, jailed musicians, journalists under threat and dissidents facing torture and worse.

Please donate today ([link removed])

Photos by Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo (Salma al-Shehab); US Department of Energy / Ed Westcott (Manhattan project)

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