Iran: Report from Tehran where banned tunes thrive
“Cab rides in Tehran reveal how many flout the rules banning music genres including metal, R&B, hip-hop and kooche-bazaari,” wrote the British newspaper The Guardian on 7 May 2013. The anonymous writer of the article in The Guardian mentions that Iman Hojjat — one of five Tehran musicians who were arrested in January 2013 on charges [...]
India: Artists protest against state-sponsored censorship
A protest march demanded that the Bombay High court immediately release of members of the cultural troupe Kabir Kala Manch. Published on YouTube.com on 8 May 2013. On 2 May 2013, artists, writers, journalists, filmmakers, students, cultural activists and actors from theatre groups marched in protest from Sriram Centre to Maharashtra Sadan in Mumbai demanding [...]
Russia: Request for parole from Pussy Riot member rejected in court
A court in the Russian region of Mordovia has denied a request for parole from 23-year-old Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, mother of a five-year-old and one of two jailed members of the feminist punk collective Pussy Riot, reported Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty with quotes from Interfax, AFP, and Russia Today Judge Lidiya Yakovleva said in [...]
Pakistan: Online music video banned by Telecommunication Authority
“They are helping us by making this video controversial,” Beygairat Brigade’s lead singer Ali Aftab Saeed said to Pakistan’s The Express Tribune, after the band’s online music video ‘Dhinak Dhinak’ was banned by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. Beygairat Brigade put out their new song, ‘Dhinak Dhinak’, on Vimeo on 20 April 2013. First Post wrote: “The song, [...]
Algeria: Singer prosecuted for song which mocks police
The young Algerian raï singer Cheb Fayçal appeared in court before the Attorney General in Oran on 25 April 2013, and the public prosecutor requested six months imprisonment. The verdict will be delivered on 2 May. The 29-year-old singer is prosecuted for having performed a song that poked fun at the police and mentions the [...]
Myanmar/Burma: Corporate censorship is gaining control
Thangyat is a traditional form of entertainment performed for the New Year Thingyan Water Festival in Burma / Myanmar which takes place this week. Thangyat was banned by the military government after the uprising in 1988 but was kept alive in exile before being allowed back last year. But corporate censorship is now comfortably stepping [...]
South Korea: Popular music video banned for ‘abuse of public property’
A South Korean tv station has banned Psy’s music video ‘Gentleman’, allegedly because the rapper can be seen abusing public property, kicking a cone which says ‘no parking’. According to the state-funded KBS, the video clip goes against its standards as a public broadcaster. KBS stated that they have banned videos in the past for [...]
Turkey: Pianist Fazil Say sentenced for Twitter posts
World-renowned Turkish pianist Fazil Say was given a 10 month suspended jail sentence for blasphemy by the 19th Criminal Court in Istanbul on April 15 2013 after retweeting an ancient poem on Twitter. Fazil Say, 42, was found guilty of violating Article 216 (3) of the Turkish Criminal Code, which prohibits the ‘denigration of the [...]
Tunisia: Artists imprisoned because of rap video
Actress Sabrine Klibi and cameraman Mohamed Hedi Belgueyed were sentenced to six months in prison for their participation in the music video ‘Cops are Dogs’, reported Tunisia Live. At the Court of First Instance of Ben Arous, a southern suburb of Tunis, the artists were charged according to five articles of the Tunisian Penal Code [...]
Morocco: Rapper El Haked is finally free
After being arrested twice and serving a one year jail term for his critical lyrics ‘Kilab ed-Dowla’ (‘Dogs of the State’), Mouad Belghouat, whose alias is El Haked (also spelled: Haqed), is finally free, reported Jadaliyya on 2 April 2013. El Haked’s trial attracted huge crowds and brought international and national scrutiny on the supposed [...]
China: German band Kraftwerk banned for being pro-Tibetan
The German electronic band Kraftwerk have apparently fallen foul of the Chinese authorities, not for their lyrics or their dissolute ways, but for something they did 14 years ago: In 1999, they were scheduled to perform at a pro-Tibetan independence concert in 1999. According to reports in Beijing, the ministry of culture denied the German [...]
Belarus: Feature film about repression and censorship
A unique film about the arbitrary repression in Belarus was screened in Stockholm on 20 March 2013. Unique because it dramatises the suppression in a way which for instance a documentary would not be able to. The film’s title is the Belarusian opposition slogan. It’s called ‘Viva Belarus!’ and is about the young rock musician [...]
Angola: CDs, DVDs and audiovisual works confiscated by police
“The Angolan National Police have confiscated CDs DVDs and a series of audiovisual works by Angolan activists in an act of censorship against voices that are unsettling those in power in Angola,” reported Global Voices on 14 March 2013. These works include rapper Brigadeiro 10 Pacotes’ new DVD, a DVD about “the life and work of [...]
Tunisia: Rapper and video team charged for hate speech, two arrested
Mohamed Belgueyed, the owner of a video camera, and actress Sabrine Klibi were taken into custody on 10 March 2013 for their connection to the new music video ‘Cops are Dogs’ by Tunisian rapper Weld El 15. The video was uploaded to YouTube on 3 March 2013: The rapper, Weld El 15, (real name: Ala [...]
Turkmenistan: Two popular singers released from prison
The two popular singers Maksat Kakabaev and Murad Ovezov were released from prison as part of an amnesty celebrating the National Flag Day in Turkmenistan, reported Freedom Now: “Maksat Kakabaev (also known as MARO) and Murad Ovezov are popular singers who were wrongfully detained in Turkmenistan on fabricated charges. Mr. Kakabaev and Mr. Ovezov were [...]
Azerbaijan: Rapper arrested, allegedly for song criticising police
“We strongly condemn the detention and harassment of popular Azerbaijani rapper Said Aliyev, also known as Dado, and consider this action as unlawful interference with his right to freedom of expression,” wrote The Art for Democracy campaign in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, on 4 March 2013. On 27 February 2013, Said Aliyev was called [...]
Pakistan: Manifestations of tolerance and acceptance of music and art
On Music Freedom Day 2013 at a local hotel in Peshawar, music lovers put their voices together to ensure the freedom of artistic and musical expressions. The participants boldly condemned militancy and extremism in all its forms. Also, at the Peshawar Press Club, a seminar and a protest walk was organised to inform about the [...]
Pakistan: The undeclared ban on playing music lingers on
During the last decade, Pashto music has lost artists and singers of high repute. Some have preferred to seek political asylum in the foreign countries. Many are living a miserable life. Receiving threats from militants has become a routine matter. But have things improved lately? Sher Alam Shinwari set out to investigate what the situation [...]
Harstad in Norway: First ever safe haven city for persecuted musicians
On Thursday 14 February 2013 at the Nordic music industry conference by:Larm in Oslo, the Norwegian Musicians’ Union presented their new project SafeMuse – and the first ever ‘safe haven city’ within the field of music: Harstad. Imagine that the police would come to the door of the artist and musicians after the concert in [...]
France: Rap lyrics targeted
The French Minister of the Interior Manuel Valls wants to fight “aggressive” rap lyrics attacking the state, insulting the flag and women. This is the conclusion after a member of the senate had chosen to question him on the subject of what she called “absolutely unprecedented violence against France”. Manuel Valls first responded that “rap [...]
India: Major media attention on lack of artistic freedom of speech
India has been enthralled in what Salman Rushdie called a ‘cultural emergency’, with writers and artists harassed for opinions. “In India today, it seems, free speech is itself an atrocity,” wrote Suketu Mehta in New York Times on 5 February 2013: “Writers and artists of all kinds are being harassed, sued and arrested for what [...]
Russia: 25-year-old rapper stomped to death
In Arkhangelsk, a city in Northern Russia, a man was stomped to death on 17 February 2013 for rapping at a sports bar. Alexei Gorlishchev, 25, was rapping at the local Bookmaker Pub, sparking the ire of some patrons, the Lifenews.ru tabloid reported. One of the critics, Artyom Furzikov, 21, offered the rapper to “take [...]
Mexico: ‘Narcocorridos’ can be sung again in Sinaloa
On 14 February 2013, The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) in Mexico found that Sinaloa’s governor, Mario Lopez Valdez, had exceeded his powers when he created a legislation which banned public performances of ‘narcocorridos’, drug ballads. The court reversed the decision of the state government of Sinaloa, in northern Mexico, which in [...]
Haiti: President accused of censoring three carnival bands
Lead singers behind some of Haiti’s most controversial carnival tunes this year say they are being shut out of the annual three-day pre-Lenten carnival because the President considers their songs too critical of the government. The Haitian bands claim that Haiti’s charismatic president, Michel Martelly, has personally been disinviting bands with carnival songs which criticise [...]
Tanzania: Banned musicians appear on Zanzibar festival
This year, the Sauti za Busara festival, which begins today, focuses on freedom of musical expression. Tenth year in a row, the East African music festival again opens its stages for approximately 400 invited performers and an excited local as well as relatively large international audience. This year, the festival has a special focus on [...]
Turkey: Pianist Fazıl Say in court for the second time
The celebrated Turkish pianist, composer and writer Fazıl Say will be appearing in court for the second time on Monday 18 February 2013. Fazıl Say is on trial for some comments he posted on Twitter and is charged for blasphemy and insulting religious values, with a possible 18-month prison prison sentence. (More about the charges [...]
Egypt: Concert cancelled because of threats
In Cairo, singer and guitarist Ramy Essam, winner of Freemuse Award 2011 who performed in front of hundred thousands of people during the final days of the 2011-revolution on Tahrir Square, had to cancel his performance to a few dozen fans due to threats of physical violence. Ramy Essam’s manger received information that groups of [...]
Freemuse Award to Festival au Désert in Mali
“The Freemuse Award 2013 is given to ‘Festival au Désert’, which in spite of extreme Islamists’ attempts to silence all music in Mali, defends freedom of musical expression and struggles to continue keeping music alive in the region”, says Marie Korpe, Executive Director, Freemuse. From Bamako, Founder and Festival Director Manny Ansar says: “It is [...]
Several musicians brutally killed in Mexico
Several of the musicians from the Mexican group Kombo Kolombia who have been reported missing since 24 January, have been found dead. It is still uncertain how many band members that have been killed. Kombo Kolombia had been playing a gig in a private bar on Thursday 24 January and alledgedly the muicians were abducted [...]
Iran: Singer Arya Aramnejad released from prison
Less than two weeks after a group of international artists joined Freemuse in a campaign for the release of the Iranian singer Arya Aramnejad, who was given 91 days prison sentence, he was able to leave prison. According to Freemuse’s sources, he was released due to so called “international reactions”. In 2012, Aramnejad was given [...]
Iran: Five members of an underground band arrested
Iranian police have arrested five members of an underground band suspected of producing music for Farsi-speaking, dissident satellite channels based in the US, and working with dissident Iranian singers abroad, reported PRI’s The World, and a semiofficial Fars news agency. A prominent Iranian songwriter was reportedly among five musicians arrested in a police raid in [...]
International artists support imprisoned Iranian singer
In a letter to the Iranian authorities, world renowned artists join Freemuse in a protest against the imprisonment of their Iranian colleague Arya Aramnejad. The artists’ appeal letter [PDF] Singer Lapiro de Mbanga, who successfully ran a case against Cameroon in The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention because of his wrongful imprisonment, is [...]
Chile: Arrest order issued for the killers of singer Victor Jara
A judge in Chile has ordered the arrest of eight former army officers over the murder 39 years ago of well-known left-wing singer Victor Jara — one of the best known victims of Chilean military rule. A few days later, four of the men handed themselves in to the authorities, reported BBC News and Fox [...]
Turkey: Protests after Grup Yorum concert was banned
A concert with the Kurdish folk ensemble Grup Yorum which was planned to be performed at Olympic Sports Hall in Bağcılar, İstanbul, was cancelled in the last minute. Group members and a crowd of 500 protested against the cancellation at Bağcılar Yavuzselim district. Police arrived to disperse the protesters but were met with resistance. “They [...]
Turkey: Ferhat Tunç’s prison sentence turned into speaking ban
On 27 June 2012, Dersim Malatya Third High Criminal Court sentenced singer Ferhat Tunç to two years in prison for having promoted İbrahim Kaypakkaya in a speech he held on 1 May 2011. According to new legal rearrangements, the sentence has now been turned into a three year ban on speaking about the same subject. [...]
Kidjo: Fight against censorship by supporting artists who are silenced
Under the headline ‘Songs of Freedom’, singer Angelique Kidjo writes about music censorship and the power of music in The International Herald Tribune’s special theme issue, ‘Global Agenda: Turning Points’ “The mix of melodies and words carries a message much more powerful than spoken ideas. Why? Maybe because when someone sings, truth speak directly to [...]
China: ‘Gangnam for Freedom’ – Solidarity dance videos flourish
Ai Weiwei’s censored parody of the famous South Korean music video ‘Gangnam Style’ has created a special Internet trend: solidarity dance videos In October 2012, China’s best-known dissident artist Ai Weiwei presented a music video on the net, ‘Ai Weiwei does gangnam style’, dancing with handcuffs to symbolise Beijing’s efforts to silence him, which was [...]
Azerbaijan: Art for Democracy campaign launched
On 10 December 2012, the Baku-based Human Rights Club launched a human rights campaign, Art for Democracy, to provide support to artists who are subjected to human rights violations. “It will be the first campaign of its kind in Azerbaijan, and we hope this new, creative approach will be effective,” said Human Rights Club Chairman [...]
Guide for how to deal with cases of incitement to hatred
“A clearer approach is needed for states on how to address incitement to hatred in domestic laws, and how to practically assess individual cases,” writes ARTICLE 19 as the organisation published a 52-pages policy guidelines to do just that: to set out a clear path forward on the issues of when to prohibit freedom of [...]
Turkey: Authorities’ persecution of Kurdish artists continues
The first hearing of the court case against four members of Grup Yorum along with nine others who are charged with ‘membership of and propaganda for a terrorist organisation’, DHKP-C, was held at İstanbul No. 15 High Criminal Court. In a defense statement Ayfer Rüzgar said that the accusations simply can be seen as an [...]
Tibet: Banned songs by detained singers translated to English
Information about the current situation for persecuted artists in Tibet is scarce, and in particular on the English-speaking part of the Internet where it is almost non-existing. An exiled Tibetan runs a website which aims to change that. “After the conference in Oslo I felt inspired to translate more music videos from Tibet into English, [...]
Russian court has banned Pussy Riot’s videos
A court in Moscow has labelled the band’s videos as ‘extremist material’, including the infamous ‘Punk Prayer’ in a cathedral in Moscow, Pussy Riot’s official website and the band’s popular LiveJournal-blog where it brings manifests and photos, reported Russian news agencies. The Moscow court has ruled that websites must remove video clips of Pussy Riot’s [...]
Singer Jowan Safadi arrested in Jordan for blasphemy
This is song is allegedly one of the reasons that Jowan Safadi was arrested. Jowan Safadi was arrested in Amman on charges of ‘insulting religion’ after his concert on 27 November 2012. A campaign was launched on Twitter under the hashtag #FreeJowanSafadi and also on his Facebook-page – where Jowan Safadi himself then posted [...]
Colombia: Ten rappers murdered for criticizing the system
Ten rappers have been murdered in the last two years in the Colombian city Medellín. Their “crime”: that they volunteered to help getting young people away from paramilitary groups and drug gangs. 14 rappers have gone underground, and even more fear for their lives, reported the Danish newspaper Arbejderen. An article in the Danish newspaper [...]
China: Blocked videos and independent films
China’s best-known dissident artist Ai Weiwei’s parodic ‘Gangnam Style’ video was blocked by Chinese authorities within 24 hours after it was uploaded to China’s video sharing site Tuduo on 24 October 2012. The original ‘Gangnam Style’ music video by South Korean artist Psy featuring his infamous horse-riding dance is the Guinness World Record holder for [...]
Russia: No regrets for Pussy Riot despite bad treatment during court case
Index on Censorship had the exclusive opportunity to interview Pussy Riot member Ekatrina Samutsevich who was freed by a Moscow court on 10 October 2012. The interview took place during the same week as Samutsevich’s friends and fellow band mates Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were sent to prison camps in remote Russian regions. Samutsevich [...]
European Commission: Artists are free to ‘offend, shock or disturb’
The European Union criticised Poland’s supreme court for allowing prosecutors to try Adam Darski, lead singer in the heavy metal band Behemoth, for illegal artistic expression. At issue is the interpretation of Article 196 of the Polish penal code referring to “the crime of offending religious sensibilities.” While on stage in 2007, singer Adam Darski [...]
Syria: Art, creative resistance and active citizenship
The links between creative resistance and active citizenship, art and civic conscience have been a strong component of the Syrian uprising. Finally, citizens have turned into peer-creators and users, who have now the tools to express their creativity. BY DONATELLA DELLA RATTA • OCTOBER 2012 • [A4 PDF] During the early days [...]
Egypt: Row over song which allegedly insults Islam
On 1 November 2012, Egypt’s Ministry of Culture censored a scene with a song in a popular new film, after Islamists claimed the song insulted Islam, reported Egypt Independent and Al Bawaba. The film ‘Abdu Mouta’ which is playing in cinemas across Egypt, recorded the highest one-day revenue in the history of Egyptian cinema, making [...]
Freemuse sends appeal letter to the president of Vietnam
Email from: Freemuse Sent: 5 November 2012 13:13 To: Embassy of Vietnam in Denmark Subject: Freemuse appeal – Att: The Ambassador Priority: High Dear Ambassador, Freemuse is an international organisation with special consultative status to the UN. Please find attached an appeal from Freemuse regarding the imprisonment of two singers in your country. We request [...]
Silencing Music in Turkey – a briefing on the past 12 months
Silencing Music in Turkey 2012: 18-pages PDF document This leaflet with updates on violations of musical expression in Turkey in the past 12 months was published in October 2012 by the Initiative for Freedom of Expression in Istanbul, Turkey, and distributed at the first World Conference on Artistic Freedom of Expression, ‘All That is Banned [...]
Somalia: Poet, playwright and songwriter killed by unknown gunmen
Somali poet, playwright and songwriter Warsame Shire Awale was killed in the country’s capital, Mogadishu, on 29 October 2012 in the evening, reported BBC World. Warsame Shire Awale who was in his 60s worked for the Radio Kulmiye where he wrote and acted in radio plays critical of the militant group, al-Shabab, who he accused [...]
Vietnam: Two musicians sentenced to four and six years in prison
A Vietnamese court convicted two renowned musicians to four and six years imprisonment for anti-state propaganda and links to a banned political group, one of their lawyers said on 30 October 2012. Viet Khang, 34, (real name: Vo Minh Tri) was given a four-year prison term while Hoang Nhat Thong, 37, (real name: Tran Vu [...]
Iranian musician responds upright to death threats
This interview with Shahin Najafi and Günter Wallraff took place five months after a fatwa – a death sentence – was issued against the singer and rapper Shahin Najafi. It proclaimed him an apostate for recording the rap-song ‘Ay Naghi’ and sentenced him to death under Islamic law. The assault ensured that the name ‘Shahin [...]
Mali: The day the music stopped
“We do not want Satan’s music,” said an Islamist spokesman as he banned the broadcasting of all western music from his stronghold in Gao, a city that finds itself within the most literal and brutal Sharia jurisdiction in the world today; the ‘red zone’ in northern Mali. The region is also home to the world-renowned [...]
Fear, threats and self-censorship among Syrian rappers
Syrian rappers are split about how to engage in the fronts of an uprising that have turned to civil war. President Bashar al-Assad’s fear-based society is making everyone think twice. Refugees of Rap, a group of rappers from the Palestinian refugee camp Yarmouk in Syria, has a new album ready for release about a [...]
Turkey: Court case against pianist adjourned until February
Turkish pianist Fazil Say appeared in court in Istanbul but the court adjourned his case until 18 February 2013. Fazil Say is charged with inciting hatred and insulting the values of Muslims because of some Twitter posts, some of which he didn’t write himself, but simply forwarded. Fazil Say denied the charges in front of [...]
Russia: Pussy Riot member freed, two others to remain in prison
On 10 October 2012, a Moscow appeals court freed one of the jailed Pussy Riot members, 30-year-old Ekaterina Samutsevich, but upheld the two-year prison sentence for the two others who are to serve remainder of their sentences in penal colony. All three women were convicted in August of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for an [...]
Russia: Rock opera ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ blocked
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ from 1970 has been banned in Russia after a group of locals complained that it might offend religious sentiment, reported AFP, UPI and RIA Novosti on 28 and 29 September 2012. The rock opera was scheduled to open the Rock Opera theatre in Rostov-on-Don on 18 October [...]
Uganda: Commission bans song for being critical of City Authority Director
The Uganda Communication Commission denied Bobi Wine’s song ‘Tugambire ku Jennifier’ airplay in Ugandan radio and tv because the body received complaints from several people about that it is abusive. The Human Rights Network for Journalists called on the Uganda Communication Commission to cancel the ban. In the song, Bobi Wine (real name: Sentamu Kyagulanyi) [...]
Turkey: Grup Yorum members allegedly tortured in custody
A singer and a violinist with the left-wing band Grup Yorum claim they were tortured in police custody after they were detained during an unauthorized demonstration in İstanbul’s Yenibosna neighborhood. Grup Yorum vocalist Sema Altın and violinist Ezgi Dilan were taken into custody after they had participated in protests in front of the Council of [...]
Deeyah speaks out at the Oslo Opera House
Music has stopped in Northern Mali due to attacks from religious extremists. But even in Europe singers have been threatened and silenced. In 1996 Norwegian born Deeyah moved from Oslo to London after threats. Continuing her career in the UK, her performances however led to difficult confrontations with orthodox Muslims, whose threats eventually made it [...]
Maldives: President rejects ministry’s ban on mixed-gender dance events
According to the Maldives’ presidential spokesman, the government has rejected a ban on dancing in public between men and women which was initially called by its own Islamic Affairs Ministry. At first, according to the private newspaper Minivan, the Islamic Affairs Ministry sent a circular to all government institutions “banning the holding of any mixed-gender [...]
Report from Bamako: Can musical Mali play on?
Islamism is on the march and threatening to wipe out the country’s cultural heritage, wrote freelance journalist Rose Skelton in the British newspaper The Independent on 18 August 2012. Malian artists have exported their music with more success than perhaps any other country in sub-Saharan Africa. And Malian music has not only been exported across [...]
Afghanistan: 17 civilians killed, allegedly for listening to music
17 civilians have been killed by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province, possibly for having been attending a party with music in an area under the control of the Taliban, according to Reuters, BBC News and Khaama Press. The bodies of two women and 15 men were found by the side of a road [...]
Vietnam: Ministry of Culture temporarily banned two singers
Two vietnamese singers, Tan and Tho, were temporarily banned from performing in any domestic or international events after they had abandoned a performance at a diplomatic show celebrating the signing of a friendship treaty between Vietnam and Laos. The singers Trong Tan and Anh Tho “must be disciplined for what they’ve done to ensure fairness [...]
Afghanistan: Religious leaders stopped ‘immoral’ eid celebration concert
An eid celebration concert by the popular young singer Shafiq Mureed was cancelled after local mullahs had labelled his music ‘immoral’, reported Freemuse’s regional network partners in Afghanistan. The city of Herat is one of the most sophisticated and culturally active towns in Afghanistan. A call from religious leaders in Herat made authorities stop and [...]
Cuba: Banned exiled singers allegedly stricken from censorship list
The BBC reported on 8 August 2012 that several Cuban radio stations confirm they no longer face restrictions on playing music by exiles. The BBC-reporter Sarah Rainsford wrote that the Cuban state-run radio had declared that previously forbidden Cuban-American musical performers such as Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan and Willy Chirino have now been stricken from [...]
Iran: Banned Israeli Persian-language album gains popularity
The music of Rita Jahan-Foruz — an Iranian-born, Israel-based singer — is becoming increasingly popular in both Iran and Israel, as political tensions grow between the two countries. 50-year-old Rita Jahan-Foruz’s music is banned in her birthplace Iran where any music whose singing, performance or distribution is not approved by the authorities is deemed illegal. [...]
South Korea: Enhanced censorship on cultural contents
A new South Korean bill requires every music video to be rated prior to upload. Failure to comply will result in up to two years in prison or a hefty fine, reported Global Voices on 20 August 2012. Artists and South Korean net users have labeled it a new form of enhanced censorship on cultural [...]
Pussy Riot found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison
On 17 August 2012, the three members of the punk collective Pussy Riot received guilty verdicts and were each sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. According to the judge, they had “deeply insulted the faith of believers with their disrespectful criminal act and that the punk protest was blasphemous against the orthodox church.” When the heavy [...]
After Pussy Riot, artists must stand for each other, everywhere
It’s impossible to know yet whether the wave of international support received by the Russian punk collective Pussy Riot during their just completed trial impacted the verdict in any way. But it’s clear that the plight of the three young women who now face two years’ imprisonment has ignited the passion of American and European [...]
Iraq: Black Metal’s anti-religious message meets Islam
In July 2012 Kim Kelly from the Atlantic finally got in touch with somebody he had tried to reach for over a year: 28-year-old Anahita who is the voice behind the black metal solo project Janaza as well as its sister project Seeds of Iblis. Anahita is probably Iraq’s first female black metal singer – [...]
China: Danish singer banned by censorship authorities
The Danish singer and rapper Linkoban, known as Ling Ly in China, performed twice in Beijing in July 2012, despite the fact that she had been banned by the Chinese censorship authorities. Linkoban and her crew of dancers had to make a number of last-minute changes on their China tour after the Chinese authorities imposed [...]
Morocco: Rapper El Haked’s sentence upheld in court of appeal
On 27 July 2012, the Casablanca court of appeal upheld the one year prison sentence given to rapper El Haked in May. The court confirmed that his police-critical song circulating on Youtube together with a ridiculing photo-montage was ‘detrimental to public servants’. 24-year-old rapper Mouad Belghouate, known as El Haked
Iran: Two more concerts have been cancelled
Small Media reported about two more instances of concerts being cancelled by local authorities with permission being revoked for the scheduled performances of Ali Ghamsari in Qazvin and Shahrdad Rohani in Kerman. Respected traditional musician Ali Ghamsari said that his concert was cancelled due to the inclusion of women musicians. He had been denied permission [...]
Russia: Rock‘n’roll support for Pussy Riot
As the case against the Russian feminist punk protest band Pussy Riot gains international attention, musicians and artists from all corners of the world have joined the long line of human rights activists’ protests against the continued persecution of three of the band members. In mid-July 2012, Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of the world-famous American rock band [...]
Russia: Freemuse calls for free and fair trial for Pussy Riot
Freemuse sends appeals to President Vladimir Putin, Kirill I of the Russian Orthodox Church, the public and district prosecutor and the district court, calling for a fair and free trial for the three band members of Pussy Riot In an appeal letter sent to Russian authorities on 27 July 2012, Freemuse reminds the public prosecutor and the [...]
Russia: Pussy Riot band members to remain in detention until 2013
At a closed hearing on 20 July 2012, the Khomovnichesky District Court extended until 12 January 2013 the detention of three members of the female punk band Pussy Riot who are prosecuted for having performed an anti-Putin song in a Moscow church. The decision prompted immediate condemnation from their lawyers, opposition figures, human rights activists and supporters from all over the world. [...]
China: Increased control on music publishing in Tibet
New measures by Chinese authorities involve significantly increased controls in the Tibetan music publishing, reported Human Rights Watch on 13 July 2012. In the lead-up to the 18th Party Congress, due to take place in late 2012, restrictions on news, media, and communications in Tibet have been stepped up by Chinese authorities. The measures also [...]
Iran: Cancellation of several pop concerts
A new wave of concert cancellations started from Tehran and has spread throughout the country, reported Small Media from London. Just one hour before it was scheduled to start, a concert of traditional music by Salar Aghili was cancelled in Hamedan. According to media reports, a local director of the administration board of the Ministry [...]
Belarus: Blacklisted rock musician speaks about censorship
Freemuse interview with musician Lavon Volski, a guitarist and vocalist of the group Krambambula The Belarusian singer and musician Lavon Volski gave an exclusive interview to Freemuse about the current repressions of the Belarusian regime against the independent music scene in the country which since 1994 has been governed by president Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Volski, born [...]
Kenya: Three musicians investigated for propagating hate speech
Popular live musicians John De’ Mathew, Muigai wa Njoroge and Kamande wa Kioi have been accused of propagating hate speech. The Mugithi singers, who are popular live musicians, singing songs in Kikuyu language that border on ‘hate speech’ against Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is one of the contenders for the top seat in [...]
Turkey: Singer Ferhat Tunç sentenced to two years in prison
A court in the eastern province of Malatya sentenced Kurdish singer and composer Ferhat Tunç to two years in prison on terrorism related charges due to his invocation during a speech in 2011 where he mentioned names of three deceased Turkish leftists, reported BIA News Center on 27 June 2012. During the May 1st celebrations [...]
Russia: Punk group Pussy Riot to remain in prison
On 20 June 2012, a Tagansky district court ruled to keep the three detained band members of Pussy Riot in prison until 24 July 2012 while the police probe continues. Since February 2012, three band members of the all-female punk rock band from Moscow have been in the Butyrskaya prison, while two other members are [...]
Turkey: Acclaimed pianist charged for blasphemy
Turkish composer and pianist Fazil Say faces trial on 18 October 2012 on charges of insulting religious values, with a possible 18-month prison sentence, his lawyer Meltem Akyol told news agencies in Istanbul. Fazil Say has long been a controversial artist in Turkey. He is a classical musician who declares himself an atheist in a [...]
Belarus Free Theatre: Strong criticism of repression in Belarus
“Everything has changed for the worse,” said Natalia Kaliada, exiled co-founder of the Belarus Free Theatre, in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian about the escalating brutality in her homeland. “New arrests are taking place. New people are going to jail for long-term sentences. Even rock concerts are banned in Belarus. Nothing has [...]
Israeli musicians plan to break Richard Wagner taboo
A classical music event in Israel on 18 June 2012 is expected to break the country’s taboo on performing the music of Richard Wagner, the 19th century German composer and a well-known anti-Semite. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the event, scheduled for 18 June 2012, will be an academic symposium at Tel Aviv University [...]
Malaysia / Philippines: Religious groups unite in bid to silence pop singer
Christian and Muslim groups attempt to ban American superstar Lady Gaga’s shows during her Asia tour, calling her music, persona and style the ‘work of Satan’, while tens of thousands of her fans in Seoul, Jakarta and Manila campaign for the singer’s right to freedom of expression. Over 750 articles about the topic are listed [...]
Azerbaijan and Eurovision: Behind the propaganda
This video was produced by Human Rights Watch to show why the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) should speak out against Azerbaijan’s appalling record on freedom of expression in the lead-up to the Eurovision Song Contest. It contains an interview with exiled musician Jamal Ali: The Eropean Broadcasting Union, EBU, declined to show this video at [...]
Another legal action against Turkish singer Pınar Aydınlar
The following was published by Antenna-TR in its Freedom of Expression Weekly Bulletin Issue 19/2012 on 11 May 2012: A lawsuit was filed against folk singer Pınar Aydınlar (also known as Pinar Sağ) and the Group Munzur members Özlem Gerçek and Erkan Duman demanding between one and five years of imprisonment for terrorist organisational propaganda [...]
One year prison sentence for Morrocan rapper who criticised police
The sentencing of a rapper on 11 May 2012 to one year in prison for “insulting the police” shows the gap between the strong free-expression language in Morocco’s 2011 constitution and the continuing intolerance for those who criticise state institutions, Human Rights Watch stated. Statement and report from Rabat by Human Rights Watch The sentence [...]
Death threat against Germany-based Iranian rapper
After the exiled Iranian rapper and rock guitarist Shahin Najafi released a controversial song entitled ‘Imam Naghi’, an Iranian cleric issued a death sentence (fatwa) against him, a news site in the country started a campaign calling for his assassination, and a religious site issued a reward for killing the Iranian musician. The song ‘Imam [...]
Tibetan singer arrested and taken to unknown location
Fear for the safety of Tibetan singer Lo Lo who was arrested on 19 April 2012 and whose whereabouts and fate since then are unclear. According to the information received, the 29-year-old singer Lo Lo was arrested in Yushul region of eastern Tibet on 19 April 2012 and taken to an unknown location by local [...]
Belarus: Trial of pro-opposition singer-songwriter
Pro-opposition singers Igor Simbiryov and Dzmitryy Bartosik were arrested during an open-air performance near Minsk on 6 May 2012, the Belarusian news agency Belapan reported on 7 May 2012. According to opposition activist Yuryy Hanchar, policemen brought the musicians and some spectators to a police station in the town of Zhdanovichy in Minsk Region. “After [...]
Great Britain: Controversy over calls for cultural boycott of Israel
In September 2011, four musicians — Tom Eisner, Nancy Elan, Sarah Streatfeild and Sue Sutherley — in the world-renowned London Philharmonic Orchestra were summarily suspended without pay for six months for being among 24 musicians who signed a letter, published in The Independent newspaper, objecting to a London Proms concert by the Israel Philharmonic at [...]
Sweden: Concerts with Jamaican reggae singer Sizzla cancelled
In March 2012, the 35-year-old Jamaican reggae musician Sizzla Kalonji was stopped from performing in Sweden, second time around in the same month, because of his infamous homophobic lyrics. Sizzla was scheduled to perform in Slakthuset in Stockholm on 28 March 2012, but few hours before the concert, Slakthuset’s management announced that they had cancelled [...]
Myanmar/Burma: ‘Will censorship of music end?’
In April 2012, BBC News’ reporter in Rangoon, Jonah Fisher, interviewed Ye Ngwe Soe, lead-singer of the punk band No U Turn, which is one of the best-known acts on the Rangoon punk scene, about the restrictions and censorship musicians face in Myanmar / Burma. Here is an excerpt of the article: “For decades all [...]
Mali: Islamists have banned music in northern region
In Kidal, heartland of the Islamist Ansar Dine group, music has been replaced by prayer readings on the local radio. The group wants to impose strict sharia law across Mali. In three short days in the beginning of April 2012, a mix of rebel forces seized the three main regional centres of a territory [...]
Mexico: Musicians are kidnapped and tortured
On 8 April 2012, Julio Cesar Leyva Beltran, a singer with the Mexican band Los Ciclones del Arroyo, was kidnapped and tortured after refusing to perform a song requested by a group of people at a party, police said according to several news media. 41-year-old Julio Cesar Leyva Beltran was abducted from a party in [...]
Azerbaijan: About censorship, fear and Eurovision
In May 2012, artists from all over Europe will gather in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, for the world’s biggest non-sport television event, the Eurovision Song Contest. The authoritarian regime that rules the country sees its chance to paint a picture of Azerbaijan as a modern and prosperous country. But native musicians have very limited [...]
Lebanon: Protest against increased censorship
In light of the notable increase in censorship in Lebanon over the last year, a number of musicians, performers, filmmakers and comedians decided to put on a show at Metro al-Madina in Beirut on 15 March 2012, entitled ‘I am Free’. The event brought together popular artists such as the Lebanese producer and musician Zeid [...]
Azerbaijan: Two musicians detained
Two musicians and the leader of a youth organisation were detained after protests in the capital Baku on 17 March 2012. They are currently being held in Sabael District Police Office, and there is concern that they have been subjected to torture. “Fresh doubts have been raised about the suitability of Azerbaijan to host May’s Eurovision [...]
Study on censorship in Lebanon: law and practice
This study aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of censorship in Lebanon. The publishers hope “it will allow the many local artistic and cultural actors the opportunity to lobby for the most appropriate legislative amendments to the current censorship regulations which are currently not conducive to their work.” The study provides an extended definition of [...]
