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 [...]
Egypt: Novelist prosecuted for blasphemy
The prominent Egyptian novelist Youssef Zeidan, author of the bestselling book ‘Azazil’, stands trial for blasphemy and contempt of Islam, Christianity and Judaism because of his book ‘The Arabic Theology’. Zeidan appeared in front of the High State Security Prosecutor in mid-February 2013. The official memo which notified the author of the investigation was very stern and [...]
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 [...]
Egypt: Comedian on trial: “They try to exhaust us”
The popular satirist and comedian Bassem Youssef was interrogated nearly four hours in court on 31 March 2013 for alleged insults against President Mohamed Morsi and Islam. His case has intensified discussions about freedom of expression in the country. “A new complaint has been filed against me by the state prosecutor for spreading rumors and [...]
Iran: Passport of Swedish-Iranian actress confiscated by police
The Iranian actress Maryam Moghaddam, who lives in Sweden and who participated in the controversial film ‘Closed Curtain’, remains stuck in Iran after she received a travel ban and her passport was confiscated by Iranian police. Maryam Moghaddam traveled from Sweden to Iran to visit her mother in a family matter in early March 2013, [...]
Qatar: Poet’s life sentence reduced
On 25 February 2013, poet Mohammed Ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami’s life sentence for a critical poem was reduced to 15 years. A final ruling by the Supreme Court is expected within 30 days, reported PEN International. The Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International considers Al-Ajami to be convicted in violation of his right to freedom [...]
Cuba: Writer sentenced to five years in prison
Writer and blogger Ángel Santiesteban Prats has been sentenced to five years in prison for alleged trespassing and assault on the basis of an apparently flawed trial, wrote The Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International on 22 February 2013. Ángel Santiesteban Prats is an award-winning writer and author of the blog ‘The Children Who [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Cameroon: Seven-year prison sentence confirmed for writer
On 8 January 2013 it was announced that writer Enoh Meyomesse is to be honoured with an Oxfam Novib / PEN Freedom of Expression Award. More than a year after his arrest, he was sentenced to seven years in prison on 27 December 2012. The Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International believes Meyomesse’s detention, [...]
Egypt: Prosecutors investigate comedian for insulting the president
A popular Egyptian political satirist, Dr Bassem Youssef, who shot to fame with his amateur internet videos poking fun at public figures in the wake of the February 2011 uprising, is being investigated by prosecutors for allegedly insulting the president. This was reported by BBC World. A formal complaint was brought against Bassem Youssef for [...]
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 [...]
Mongolian dissident writer wins Hellman/Hammett Grant
Ms. Huuchinhuu Govruud, also known as Gao Yulian, a Southern Mongolian dissident writer, activist, and member of a banned organisation called the Southern Mongolian Democratic Alliance, won the prestigious Hellman/Hammett Grant for 2012, being one of 41 recipients from 19 countries. In early November 2010, Huuchinhuu was arrested by the Chinese authorities for rallying the [...]
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. [...]
Denmark: Art happening or hate speech?
Limits of free expression in the arts are currently being discussed and tested in court in Denmark. In a trial on 13 December 2012, the prosecutor claimed the artist Firoozeh Bazrafkan has violated the Danish “racism article” against hate speech, while the artist claimed it was an art happening and even turned her own trial [...]
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 [...]
Qatar: Poet Al-Ajami sentenced to life in prison
A Qatari court’s life sentence for the poet Muhammad Ibn al-Dheeb Al-Ajami after a grossly unfair trial on 29 November 2012 “flagrantly violates the right to free expression”, Human Rights Watch said on 4 December 2012. AMY GOODMAN, journalist, Democracy Now: “So, if someone read Mohammad’s poem today in Qatar out loud, they too would [...]
Malta: Ban of theatre play upheld by Constitutional Court
Shocked producers of the play ‘Stitching’ will take their case to the European Court of Human Rights after Malta’s Constitutional Court of Appeal on 29 november 2012 upheld a ban on performing the production in Malta. “We feel that this sentence is not a gag on the play ‘Stitching’ but on all artists,” stated the [...]
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 [...]
Lebanon: Censored film director initiates legal case against the state
All three of Lebanese director Danielle Arbid’s films have been banned in her native Lebanon. She has initiated a legal case against censorship and the Lebanese state – the first trial of its kind. “This is in motion. If we win, this will help other directors and artists to be more conscious of their rights. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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
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. [...]
Turkey: Court case against ‘obscene’ books postponed three years
On 5 July 2012 at the Çağlayan Courts of Justice in İstanbul, a judge set aside expert opinion that would have ended the trials against the publishers of the Turkish editions of William Burroughs’ ‘The Soft Machine’ and Chuck Palahniuk’s ‘Snuff’. Instead they, and the books’ translators, face three more years of uncertainty after the [...]
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 [...]
Iran: Travel ban on film director
In the past two years, the Iranian government has moved from merely banning films – most of which were allowed to be released internationally – to arresting actors and filmmakers, reported PressPlay. Jafar Panahi is the highest-profile director to suffer such treatment. A harsh legislative decision banned the Iranian director from filmmaking and travelling for [...]
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 [...]
Spanish artist facing prison for ‘cooking crucifix’ film
Leading Spanish artist Javier Krahe faces up to a year in prison after being prosecuted for “offending religious feelings”. Appearing in court in Madrid, Javier Krahe said he would go into exile in France if found guilty. He faces a possible fine of 144,000 euros. In a parody on the resurrection of Christ, [...]
Pakistan: Possible death sentences for dancing at a wedding party
Pakistani media is bringing confusing reports from northern Pakistan about a tribal court which allegedly handed down death penalty to four women and two men for dancing at a wedding party. Rumours said the four women from Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhunkhwa were shot dead by their families. However police and official sources rejected this [...]
Myanmar/Burma: Seven performance artists face charges
Seven Burmese performance artists will face charges in a Mandalay court on 31 May 2012 after they allegedly broke an obscure law last week by performing in public with five foreigners who were subsequently deported. Irrawaddy’s Man Thar Lay writes: Officials from Mandalay’s Police Station No. 2 charged seven artists on Tuesday 29 May 2012 [...]
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 [...]
Sudan: Reported death sentence against poet
Sudanese poet Abdelmoniem Rahma was reportedly tried in a military court in November and there have been alarming reports that he has since been sentenced to death. It is unclear, however, on what charges he has been convicted. He has been denied access to a lawyer and his family do not know his whereabouts. There are [...]
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 [...]
Egyptian court upholds comic actor’s prison sentence
A court in Egypt has upheld the three-month prison sentence given to leading comic actor Adel Imam for insulting Islam in his films and plays, reported BBC News on 25 April 2012. 71-year-old actor Adel Imam was also fined 170 US dollars by the court in the capital, Cairo. The case brought against Adel Imam [...]
India: Writer challenges police censorship in court
Writer N. V. Sankaran – also known as Gnani – has taken the ‘procedural practice’ of submitting threatre scripts to police for prior approval to be tried at the Madras High Court. This was reported by Times of India Unlike other states in India, theatre groups in Tamil Nadu must submit a copy of the [...]
Lebanon: Two stand-up comedians detained for breaching public morality
This was reported by al-Akhbar newspaper on 24 April 2012. Edmond Haddad, known for his role on al-Jadeed television’s Chi.N.N. comedy show, and Rawiya al-Shab, who is a theatre and film actress, were detained for a stand-up show they presented in 2009 at a pub in Gemmayzeh. A local media outlet was covering the event [...]
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 [...]
