Free speech and censorship
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Art and the Iran protests
"Painting is like breathing for me"
Iranian artist Raoof Haghighi's latest exhibition, including works in support of the women of Iran, presents an intriguing range of styles and media. From stark, striking pencil sketches to lush portraits in oils, the art show from 7-16 April promises to be visually, intellectually and emotionally stimulating. Interview by Richard Marcus
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Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion
Inside the death squad
Bangladesh's elite counterterrorism force is committing extrajudicial killings, DW and Netra News reveal in a new investigation. Insiders confirm high-ranking approval. By Christian Caurla, Naomi Conrad, Arafatul Islam and Birgitta Schuelke
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Freedom of expression
Egypt’s female social media influencers face arrest
Charged with "inciting debauchery" and "violating family values": Last week, Egyptian TikTok celebrity Salma Elshimy became the latest in a growing list of women to fall foul of the Egyptian authorities over social media posts
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Golnar Shahyar's 'Tear Drop' and the Iran protests
"A revolution of culture and thought"
Raised in Iran, Golnar Shahyar studied in Canada and has lived in Vienna since 2008. The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist combines jazz, song-writing and Persian roots with strong lyrics. She talks to Stefan Franzen about her debut solo album "Tear Drop" and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement
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India opposition and the Bharat Jodo Yatra
Rahul Gandhi marches for unity
From September 2022 to January 2023, Rahul Gandhi walked the length of India to demonstrate against Narendra Modi and the BJP's divisive policies and rhetoric. Sentenced to two years for 'Modi' defamation on 24 March, Gandhi has now been stripped of his parliamentary mandate. Sonja Hegasy met with political observer S. M. Faizan Ahmed, who joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Delhi
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Press freedom in Egypt?
Mada Masr journalists to stand trial
Reporters from one of Egypt's last remaining independent media outlets are preparing for what activists criticise is a politically motivated trial. The international community should be doing more to help, they say. By Cathrin Schaer
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Turkey-Syria earthquake
What future for President Erdogan and the AKP?
The deadly earthquakes of 6 February may reshape Turkey’s political landscape forever. Many Turks hold the government responsible for the scale of the disaster, raising questions about its prospects in the upcoming elections and their outcome. Ayse Karabat reports from Istanbul
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Detention in Egypt
Cairo's model Badr prison rife with abuse
A new prison, touted by Egypt as a model for reform, that holds some of its most prominent prisoners denies inmates healthcare and subjects them to punitive treatment including isolation, relatives of those inside and rights groups say.
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Freedom of speech in Pakistan
Islamabad's shift towards Islamism
By curtailing free speech and doubling down on blasphemy laws, Islamabad is endangering its relationship with Europe and the United States, argues Kunwar Khuldune Shahid
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Germany's culture of remembrance
An exercise in empathy
Holocaust, Nakba and the German culture of remembrance: the Einstein Forum in Potsdam facilitated a discussion banned in Tel Aviv. Inge Guenther attended
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Afghan diaspora
Refugee from Taliban offers virtual tours of homeland
Forced to flee by the Taliban, Fatima Haidari now offers virtual tours of Afghanistan from her new home in Italy – with the proceeds funding secret English classes for women there
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Human rights in Algeria
Banned, intimidated, driven into exile
Algeria's civil society is once again being targeted by the authorities. With the judicial dissolution of the human rights league LADDH, yet another human rights group critical of the government has been shut down – the outlook could hardly be worse. By Sofian Philip Naceur