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INDEX ON CENSORSHIP | VOL.53 | NO.3 The Index PEOPLE WATCH DAISY RUDDOCK highlights the stories of human rights defenders under attack Zara Esmaeili IRAN Women’s rights activist Zara Esmaeili was arrested by Iranian security forces after a video she posted on social media of her singing Back to Black by Amy Winehouse in public without a hijab went viral. Esmaeili is known for her performances in parks and on trains, which are done in protest of the Islamic Republic’s laws prohibiting women from singing, dancing and not wearing a hijab in public. Esmaeili’s family has not been able to contact her since she was detained, and there is no knowledge of her whereabouts or condition. Bakhrom Khamroev RUSSIA Human rights defender and lawyer Bakhrom Khamroev had his sentence upheld by a court in Russia in August. Khamroev, who was born in Uzbekistan, is well-known for providing legal defence to Muslims accused of being in the Hizb ut-Tahrir organisation, which is banned in several countries. He was arrested in 2022 and sentenced to 22 years in prison for “public calls for terrorist activities, public justification of terrorism or propaganda of terrorism” after allegedly making posts on social media about religion. Arif Sohel BANGLADESH Arif Sohel, a human rights defender from Bangladesh, was placed on a six-day remand by a court in Dhaka in July. Sohel had been abducted from his home in Ambagan two days before, and his whereabouts were unknown until his court appearance. Sohel was targeted for being a key member of The Students Against Discrimination Movement - a student-led protest demanding reform of the quota system in government jobs in Bangladesh. Sohel was one of thousands detained before Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country. Antonio Pacheco EL SALVADOR Five human and environmental rights activists from El Salvador including Antonio Pacheco are currently under house arrest after their public hearing - intended to take place in July - was postponed until October. Antonio Pacheco and Saul Rivas Ortega are human rights defenders in the Santa Marta area while Alejandro Laínez García, Miguel Ángel Gámez and Pedro Rivas Laínez are community leaders. They are all on trial due to unsubstantiated allegations linking them to a 1989 murder and have been under house arrest since September 2023. Ink spot In late August, the Taliban announced a wide-ranging new Law on the Promotion of Vir tue and the Prevention of Vice which gives the state the right to control and censor people’s private lives in Afghanistan. These “vice and vir tue” laws state that women must wear clothing covering their entire bodies. The rules also say women’s voices must not be heard in public which includes being overheard singing or reading outside their homes. UN Human Rights Offi ce spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said the new laws make women into “ faceless, voiceless shadows”. The silencing of Afghan women is picked up here by Italian cartoonist Enrico Bertuccioli. C R E D I T: ( E s m a e i l i ) Z a r a E s m a e i l i ; ( K h a m r o e v ) B a k h r o m K h a m r o e v v i a F a c e b o o k ; ( S o h e l ) F r o n t L i n e D e f e n d e r s ; ( P a c h e c o ) F r o n t L i n e d e f e n d e r s ; E n r i c o B e r t u c c i o l i / C a r t o o n M o v e m e n t 8 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG
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UP FRONt World In Focus: Venezuela Protests erupted in Venezuela in July after incumbent candidate Nicolás Maduro claimed victory in the presidential elections. Evidence suggests that the election was rigged and the result is hotly disputed by the opposition party 1 Caracas The recent election results have been widely questioned, with world leaders calling for an investigation into their validity after opposition complaints about a fabricated vote count. Thousands of people took to the streets of Venezuela capital Caracas to protest the alleged corruption in the election and were met with a large police response using tear gas and rubber bullets. There were already fears of a violent crackdown due to the Maduro administration’s reputation for having a heavy-handed approach to demonstrators, and these concerns escalated once the president promised to “pulverise” those challenging his rule. So far, human rights groups claim that more than 2,000 people have been arrested and at least 22 people have been killed in the election’s aftermath. 2 Portuguesa Although most of the protests occurred in the capital city, free expression issues could be found country-wide. Polling stations were a particular cause for concern, as voters were met with long queues and delays on election day, and there were reports of some voters being blocked from accessing them altogether or even stations being moved without warning. Prior to election day, Transparencia Electoral - a Venezuelan NGO - warned of irregularities in the electoral process after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was blocked from running. Some officials who went to polling stations to observe the process were intimidated or banned from entering. Repression continued after the election; a number of opposition members were rounded up and arrested campaign coordinator María Oropeza even 2 1 VENEZUELA TRINIDAD & TOBAGO COLOMBIA 3 BRAZIL livestreamed her own arrest from her home in Portuguesa. 3 Venezuela-Colombia border Over the past 10 years there has been a surge in citizens migrating out of Venezuela due to the dire economic circumstances, with a reported 7.8 million having fled the country. This became a major talking point during the election as the government made it vir tually impossible for those living abroad to vote, disenfranchising millions of people. Voters abroad faced a number of hurdles - those registering to vote had to provide a valid identity card (passports weren’t allowed) which are not issued abroad. This meant many Venezuelans whose IDs had expired could not vote. Venezuelan migrants complained that they had been omitted from the electoral register altogether, and that consulates opened for voter registration at very limited times. The result of this was that fewer than 68,000 people overseas were registered to vote, despite an estimated 3.9 million Venezuelans abroad being of voting age. INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG 9

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INDEX ON CENSORSHIP | VOL.53 | NO.3

The Index

PEOPLE WATCH DAISY RUDDOCK highlights the stories of human rights defenders under attack

Zara Esmaeili

IRAN

Women’s rights activist Zara Esmaeili was arrested by Iranian security forces after a video she posted on social media of her singing Back to Black by Amy Winehouse in public without a hijab went viral. Esmaeili is known for her performances in parks and on trains, which are done in protest of the Islamic Republic’s laws prohibiting women from singing, dancing and not wearing a hijab in public. Esmaeili’s family has not been able to contact her since she was detained, and there is no knowledge of her whereabouts or condition.

Bakhrom Khamroev

RUSSIA

Human rights defender and lawyer Bakhrom Khamroev had his sentence upheld by a court in Russia in August. Khamroev, who was born in Uzbekistan, is well-known for providing legal defence to Muslims accused of being in the Hizb ut-Tahrir organisation, which is banned in several countries. He was arrested in 2022 and sentenced to 22 years in prison for “public calls for terrorist activities, public justification of terrorism or propaganda of terrorism” after allegedly making posts on social media about religion.

Arif Sohel

BANGLADESH

Arif Sohel, a human rights defender from Bangladesh, was placed on a six-day remand by a court in Dhaka in July. Sohel had been abducted from his home in Ambagan two days before, and his whereabouts were unknown until his court appearance. Sohel was targeted for being a key member of The Students Against Discrimination Movement - a student-led protest demanding reform of the quota system in government jobs in Bangladesh. Sohel was one of thousands detained before Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country.

Antonio Pacheco

EL SALVADOR

Five human and environmental rights activists from El Salvador including Antonio Pacheco are currently under house arrest after their public hearing - intended to take place in July - was postponed until October. Antonio Pacheco and Saul Rivas Ortega are human rights defenders in the Santa Marta area while Alejandro Laínez García, Miguel Ángel Gámez and Pedro Rivas Laínez are community leaders. They are all on trial due to unsubstantiated allegations linking them to a 1989 murder and have been under house arrest since September 2023.

Ink spot

In late August, the Taliban announced a wide-ranging new Law on the Promotion of Vir tue and the Prevention of Vice which gives the state the right to control and censor people’s private lives in Afghanistan.

These “vice and vir tue” laws state that women must wear clothing covering their entire bodies. The rules also say women’s voices must not be heard in public which includes being overheard singing or reading outside their homes.

UN Human Rights Offi ce spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said the new laws make women into “ faceless, voiceless shadows”.

The silencing of Afghan women is picked up here by Italian cartoonist Enrico Bertuccioli.

C R E D I

T: ( E s m a e i l i )

Z a r a

E s m a e i l i ; (

K h a m r o e v )

B a k h r o m

K h a m r o e v v i a F a c e b o o k ; ( S o h e l ) F r o n t L i n e

D e f e n d e r s ; ( P a c h e c o ) F r o n t L i n e d e f e n d e r s ;

E n r i c o

B e r t u c c i o l i /

C a r t o o n

M o v e m e n t

8 INDEXONCENSORSHIP.ORG

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