Free speech and censorship
All topics-
Obituary: Egyptian LGBTQ activist Sarah Hegazy
"How can I survive in a society based on hate?"
In 2017, Sarah Hegazy was arrested in Cairo for displaying a rainbow flag, the symbol for homosexuality and queerness, at a concert. The activist recently took her own life in Canada. By Christopher Resch
-
Oversight board appointee faces online smear campaign
Facebook, Tawakkol Karman and Arab cyber-bullying
Appointed to the Facebook oversight board, Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman has faced hostility from Arab state media and social media users, who accuse her of Islamist ties. By Kersten Knipp & Ismail Azzam
-
Book review: "Moon Brow" by Shahriar Mandanipour
The angels of war
Over ten years after the publication of "Censoring an Iranian Love Story", Shahriar Mandanipour's latest novel, "Moon Brow", is now available in German translation. This is a story about the loss of youth, the horrors of war and a land in the iron grip of dictatorship. By Gerrit Wustmann
-
Coronavirus and press freedom in Turkey
Erdogan's crusade against "all media and political viruses"
Is the Turkish president Erdogan using the fight against coronavirus to silence the few remaining critical press voices in the country? Opposition and journalists fear a new wave of censorship. By Daniel Derya Bellut
-
Assad's crimes against his own people
Syrian ex-secret police stand trial in Germany
For the first time anywhere, Syrian intelligence officers are facing trial – in Germany. The court aims to probe the defendant's alleged crimes, as well as cast light on Bashar al-Assad's system of torture and oppression. By Matthias von Hein
-
Politics, inequality and a lack of transparency
Coronavirus and the Middle East's ongoing state of emergency
Plagued by troubled state-citizen relationships on the one hand and conflict on the other, states in the Middle East could discover new uses for COVID-19 lockdown measures. By Abdalhadi Alijla
-
COVID-19 consequences
Coronavirus halts year-long protests in Algeria
Exploiting the coronavirus emergency, Algeria’s ruling classes have ramped up their repressive campaign against the protest movement, opposition and free media. By Sofian Philip Naceur
-
Freedom of the press
Turkey's Pelican group – Erdoganʹs state within a state?
After Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government set its sights on critical news outlet OdaTV, several of its journalists now face harsh prison sentences. Is Turkey's president using a secret group to control judges? By Hulya Schenk & Daniel Derya Bellut
-
Interview with the Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof
"Devils donʹt exist"
Mohammad Rasoulof's "There Is No Evil" won the main prize at the Berlinale. Maryam Mirza talked to the director, who is currently forbidden from leaving Iran, about his film
-
Press freedom under attack
The Arab world's new wave of media repression
Since the 2011 uprisings, authoritarian rulers in the Arab world have worked out how to manipulate and instrumentalise the media to their own ends, nipping any new democratic quake in the bud. By Lydia Khalil
-
Uighur repression in China
Beards and hijabs behind bars
A newly leaked document confirms how China is imprisoning Muslim minority Uighurs based solely on their religion. Naomi Conrad met with a whistle-blower and visited relatives of those held captive
-
Contemporary Iranian literature
Reading outside the box
Mullahs, dictatorship, nuclear conflict – Iran could be reduced to these keywords if one were to rely only on the articles in the daily press. But to really understand a country better, you have to study its literature. And Iranian literature is just as diverse as the country itself. By Gerrit Wustmann