Free speech and censorship

Topic: Free speech and censorship

Istanbul State Theatre (photo: DW/Pelin Unker)

Culture in Turkey

Is Erdogan purging Turkish state theatre?

At least 150 theatre professionals were recently fired without reason in Turkey, just days before they were expecting to receive permanent contracts. Creatives accuse the government of a politically motivated purge. By Pelin UnkerMore

Flouting freedoms in Turkey: Self-censorship thriving Interview with jailed Turkish human rights activist Osman Kavala: "Nonsensical accusations"Restoring Istanbulʹs Ataturk Cultural Centre: More than merely prestige?

Image of Turkish human rights activist Osman Kavala presented by his lawyer at a press conference (photo: Getty Images/AFP/O. Kose)

Interview with jailed Turkish human rights activist Osman Kavala

"Nonsensical accusations"

Turkish art patron and businessman Osman Kavala has been in jail for more than two years, accused of wanting to overthrow the government. Beril Eski spoke to him about his life in prison and his civil society projectsMore

Creeping authoritarianism: Turkeyʹs one man band Turkey a year after the Gezi protests: The dream is over Gezi protests in Turkey: A libertarian and unifying movement

Turkish-German writer Dogan Akhanli (photo: picture-alliance)

Interview with author Dogan Akhanli

"The tradition of looking the other way"

Published in German, Dogan Akhanli's novel "Madonna's Last Dream" pays homage to Sabahattin Ali’s classic "Madonna in a Fur Coat" – as well as being a narration of the crimes of the 20th century from the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust through to the refugee stories of our time. Gerrit Wustmann spoke to the Cologne-based authorMore

The case of Dogan Akhanli: Without mercy Imprisoned Turkish writer Ahmet Altan: Literature is more powerful than tyranny Interview with Sanem Altan, daughter of Turkish detainee Ahmet Altan: ″The rule of law is disappearing″

Jewher Tohti, daughter of imprisoned Uighur civil rights activist Ilham Tohti, holder of the EU Sakharov Prize 2019 (photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Uighur activist Ilham Tohti awarded EU Sakharov prize 2019

"His goal was always to promote dialogue"

Imprisoned Uighur human rights activist Ilham Tohti has been awarded the Sakharov prize 2019 for human rights by the EU Parliament. His daughter Jewher Ilham, who lives in the U.S., will receive the prize on his behalf and spoke to Max Sander ahead of the ceremonyMore

Profile: the Uighur civil rights activist Ilham Tohti: The moderate critic Uighur repression: Pandering to President Xi Qantara archive: China's Muslim minority – China's battle against the Uighurs

German-Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar (photo: DW)

Interview with the artist Parastou Forouhar

Iranian society in shock

Every year German-Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar travels to Iran to commemorate her parents who were killed by secret service agents. This year, the funeral service coincided with the nationwide protests in Iran. Interview by Farhad PayarMore

Interview with Nader Hashemi on the protests in Iran: Violence "reflects the Iranian regime's desperation"German-Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar: What it means to be Iranian these days Interview with the Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar: "Their audacity leaves me speechless"

Interview with Malaysian artist Nadiah Bamadhaj

Freeing the body from conservatism

One of the most relevant Malaysian artists of her generation, Yogyakarta-based Nadiah Bamadhaj uses sculpture, drawing, collage and video to challenge the restrictive societal norms in Southeast Asian countries and explore body politics. Interview by Naima MorelliMore

Indonesia′s ArtJog fair: Open your eyes!Profile of artist Nadiah Bamadhaj by The National Portrait Gallery of Australia "Artjog" art exhibition in Indonesia: Putting art before cinema

A student protester holds up a placard outside the Lebanese Ministry of Education in Beirut on 7 November 2019 (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Malla)

Mass protests in Sudan, Algeria, Lebanon and Iraq

Is this the Arab Spring 2.0?

Nearly a decade after the Arab Spring fizzled out, a new wave of protests has swept across the Middle East and North Africa. What is different this time – and will the protesters get what they want? By Marwan MuasherMore

Unrest in the Arab world: The genie is out of the bottle The Arab Spring and the "Spring of Nations": Failed revolutionaries?Authoritarian reinstatement in the Arab world: Whatʹs left of the Arab Spring

Arrested Turkish writer Ahmet Altan (source: S. Fischer Verlag)

Imprisoned Turkish writer Ahmet Altan

Literature is more powerful than tyranny

Unable to travel to Munich to attend the presentation ceremony for his Geschwister-Scholl Prize, writer Ahmet Altan penned a message against hatred and nationalism from his prison cell in Turkey. Read out by his close friend Yasemin Congar, it formed his acceptance speechMore

Released from prison: Turkish author Ahmet Altan and the power of words Book review: Ahmet Altanʹs "Like a Sword Wound": The rotten Empire Interview with Sanem Altan, daughter of Turkish detainee Ahmet Altan: ″The rule of law is disappearing″

Journalists demand freedom of the press in Cairo in 2016; "Journalism is not a crime" (photo: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS.com/A. Sayed)

Sisi's raids on the press

Egypt's Mada Masr – "We're not going to shut up"

Raids on Egypt's last independent news outlet, Mada Masr, have left its staff shaken but defiant. Reporters are working under "increasingly hostile" circumstances in Cairo, reveals journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous in interview with Diana HodaliMore

Official Mada Masr website Egypt police free journalists held in raid on news outlet Interview with Lina Attalah: "The media are PR machines of the military"

Turkish author Asli Erdogan (photo: PEN International)

Smear campaign against Turkish author Asli Erdogan

"The things I didn’t say"

The Turkish author Asli Erdogan has been living in Germany for the past two years. In Turkey, she is still on trial. Now a wrongly-translated interview has triggered a smear campaign against her. Gerrit Wustmann spoke to herMore

Interview with Turkish author Asli Erdogan: "There is nothing left of democracy in Turkey" Interview with Turkish writer Asli Erdogan: "It's my country too"Artists in Turkey: Erdogan′s new targets

In solidarity with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the Thomson Reuters project manager detained in Iran: London's Mayor Sadiq Khan and her husband appeal for her release (source: Twitter)

Foreign academics risk arrest in Iran

Tehran's new hostage policy

Political hostage takings are nothing new in Iran. But the detention of several western academics represents a new dimension. There are grounds for suspecting that hardliners in the judiciary, intelligence service and Revolutionary Guard Corps are intent on scuppering talks to salvage the nuclear accord. By Ulrich von SchwerinMore

Iran's Zarif warns U.S. of 'consequences' over oil sanctions Maximum pressure and asymmetrical tactics: Dangerous shifts in the U.S.-Iranian stand-off Rising tension in the Middle East: Where are the USA and Iran heading?

Released from prison

Turkish author Ahmet Altan and the power of words

The Turkish writer and journalist Ahmet Altan was imprisoned for three years and four months. He had always been outspoken and he remained outspoken in prison, where he wrote a collection of essays and a novel. He has now been awarded the Geschwister-Scholl-Preis for his tireless dedication. By Gerrit WustmannMore

Journalists Ahmet Altan and Nazli Ilicak freed in Turkey Book review: Ahmet Altanʹs "Like a Sword Wound": The rotten Empire Interview with Sanem Altan, daughter of Turkish detainee Ahmet Altan: ″The rule of law is disappearing″

Journalist, blogger and human rights activist Esraa Abdel-Fattah (photo: Getty Images/AFP)

Human rights in Egypt

Free Esraa Abdel-Fattah!

More than 4,300 people have been arrested in Egypt amid anti-government protests. One of them is Esraa Abdel-Fattah. Human rights groups and even a U.S. diplomat are calling for her release. By Sarah SalamaMore

Egypt arrests blogger and journalist Esraa Abdel Fattah Egypt's presidential election: The defamation game Human rights under Sisi: Egypt's open-air prison

Morocco's teachers demonstrate for better working conditions on 24.03.2019 in Rabat (photo: Reuters)

Democracy and human rights

Morocco's police state makes a comeback

Morocco's rule of law, human rights and freedom of the press are under attack. According to political scientist Mohamed Taifouri, although the 2011 constitution includes a large number of freedoms, the state repression that was thought to have been overcome is making a comebackMore

Morocco and the return of autocracy: Playing with fire Moroccoʹs treatment of Hirak El-Shaabi: Fair trial? Fat chance Reform in Morocco: Sapping the political will

Poster calling for the release of German journalist Deniz Yucel, arrested in Turkey in 2017 (photo: picture-alliance/rtn)

Held hostage by the Turkish authorities

Deniz Yucel, the "agent terrorist"

Former correspondent for Germany's "Die Welt" Deniz Yucel comes to terms with his imprisonment in Turkey in an intimate new book. Impressively and humorously, he talks about his struggle for dignity and self-assertion and provides an insight into the debates behind the scenes. Nevertheless, some questions remain unanswered. By Ulrich von SchwerinMore

Release of German journalist Deniz Yucel: It′s not over yet Violence against journalists increasing: Press freedom under fire in Turkey Interview with Sanem Altan, daughter of Turkish detainee Ahmet Altan: ″The rule of law is disappearing″

Photomontage Farzane Zamen and Ramy Essam (photo: Najma Abukar/picture-alliance/Zumapress)

Art and censorship

Iran and Egypt – where making music means torture and exile

Musical freedom of expression is under fire, but artists like Iran's Farzane Zamen and Egypt's Ramy Essam refuse to be silenced. Cristina Burak has the detailsMore

Music and power in Iran: An instrument of propaganda and control Pop music and social protest in the Arab world: The echo of revolt The soundtrack of the Arab Spring: Pop, pathos, and poetry

Topic: Free speech and censorship

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