Editing Index on Censorship

{{EngvarB|date=November 2023}}
{{Short description|Campaigning publishing organisation}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox organisation
|name         = Index on Censorship
|image        = Index_raster-rgb.png
|image_border = 
|size         = <!-- default 200 -->
|alt          = <!-- alt text; see [[WP:ALT]] -->
|caption      = 
|map          = <!-- optional -->
|msize        = <!-- map size, optional, default 200px -->
|malt         = <!-- map alt text -->
|mcaption     = <!-- optional -->
|abbreviation = 
|formation    = {{Start date and age|1972}}
|type         = Non-profit
|status       = <!-- ad hoc, treaty, foundation, etc -->
|purpose      = 
|headquarters = London, United Kingdom
|location     = 
|coords       = <!-- Coordinates of location using a coordinates template -->
|region_served = Worldwide
|membership   = 
|language     = <!-- official languages -->
|board_of_directors     = <!-- Trustees --> [[Trevor Phillips]] (Chair), Kate Maltby (Deputy Chair), Anthony Barling, Andrew Franklin, James Goode, Helen Mountfield, Ian Rosenblatt, Nick Timothy, [[Mark Stephens (solicitor)|Mark Stephens]], [[Ruth Smeeth]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Trustees and patrons |url=https://www.indexoncensorship.org/trustees-patrons/ |website=Index on Censorship |access-date=5 July 2024}}</ref>
|leader_title = Chief Executive
|leader_name  =  
|main_organ   = <!-- gral. assembly, board of directors, etc -->
|parent_organization = Writers and Scholars International
|affiliations = <!-- if any -->
|num_staff    = 12 <!-- per LinkedIn-->
|num_volunteers =
|budget       = 
|website      = [https://indexoncensorship.org/ indexoncensorship.org]
|remarks      =
}}
'''Index on Censorship''' is an organisation campaigning for [[freedom of expression]]. It produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association with the UK-registered charity Index on Censorship (founded as the Writers and Scholars Educational Trust), which are both chaired by the British television broadcaster, writer and former politician [[Trevor Phillips]]. The current CEO is Jemimah Steinfeld.

WSI was created<ref name="theiner">Scammell, Michael (1984), "How Index on Censorship Started", in Theiner, George, ''They Shoot Writers, Don't They?'', London: Faber & Faber, pp. 19–28. {{ISBN|978-0-571-13260-7}}.</ref> by poet [[Stephen Spender]], Oxford philosopher [[Stuart Hampshire]], the publisher and editor of ''[[The Observer]]'' [[David Astor]], and the writer and expert on the Soviet Union [[Edward Crankshaw]]. The founding editor of ''Index on Censorship'' was the critic and translator [[Michael Scammell]] (1972–1981), who still serves as a patron of the organisation.

== Founding history ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=August 2021}}

===An Appeal from the USSR===

The original impetus for the creation of ''Index on Censorship'' came from an Open Letter addressed "To World Public Opinion" by two Soviet dissenters, [[Pavel Litvinov]] and [[Larisa Bogoraz]]. In the words of the [[samizdat]] periodical ''[[A Chronicle of Current Events]]'', they described "the atmosphere of illegality" surrounding the January 1968 [[Trial of the Four|trial of Ginzburg and Galanskov]] and called for "public condemnation of this disgraceful trial, for the punishment of those responsible, the release of the accused from detention and a retrial which would fully conform with the legal regulations and be held in the presence of international observers."<ref>[https://chronicle-of-current-events.com/2013/09/25/1-2-protests-about-the-trial/ see "Protests about Galanskov-Ginzburg trial", ''A Chronicle of Current Events'', (1.2, 30 April 1968)].</ref> (One of the accused [[Alexander Ginzburg]] resumed his dissident activities on release from the camps, until expelled from the USSR in 1979; another, the writer [[Yuri Galanskov]], died in a camp in November 1972.)

''The Times'' (London) published a translation of the Open Letter and in reply the English poet [[Stephen Spender]] composed a brief telegram:

<blockquote>“We, a group of friends representing no organisation, support your statement, admire your courage, think of you and will help in any way possible.”<ref name="Matsui 2019 pp. 77–89">{{cite journal | last=Matsui | first=Yasuhiro | title=Forming a Transnational Moral Community between Soviet Dissidents and Ex-Communist Western Supporters: The Case of Pavel Litvinov, Karel van het Reve and Stephen Spender | journal=Contemporary European History | publisher=Cambridge University Press (CUP) | volume=29 | issue=1 | date=2019-11-13 | issn=0960-7773 | doi=10.1017/s096077731900016x | pages=77–89| s2cid=210508133 }}</ref></blockquote>

Among the other 15 British and US signatories were the poet [[W. H. Auden]],<ref name="Matsui 2019 pp. 77–89"/> philosopher [[A. J. Ayer]],{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} musician [[Yehudi Menuhin]],{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} man of letters [[J. B. Priestley]],{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} actor [[Paul Scofield]],{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} sculptor [[Henry Moore]],{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} philosopher [[Bertrand Russell]],<ref name="Matsui 2019 pp. 77–89"/> writer [[Mary McCarthy (author)|Mary McCarthy]]{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} and composer [[Igor Stravinsky]].<ref name="Matsui 2019 pp. 77–89"/>

Later that year, on 25 August, Bogoraz, Litvinov and five others demonstrated on [[1968 Red Square demonstration|Red Square]] against the [[invasion of Czechoslovakia]].<ref name="Matsui 2019 pp. 77–89"/>

A few weeks before, Litvinov sent Spender a letter (translated and published several years later in the first May 1972 issue of ''Index''). He suggested that a regular publication might be set up in the West "to provide information to world public opinion about the real state of affairs in the USSR".{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

===Title, scope and relations with Amnesty International===
Spender and his colleagues, Stuart Hampshire, David Astor, Edward Crankshaw and founding editor Michael Scammell decided, like Amnesty International, to cast their net wider. They wished to document patterns of censorship in right-wing dictatorships — the military regimes of Latin America and the dictatorships in Greece, Spain and Portugal — as well as the Soviet Union and its satellites.<ref name="theiner" />

Meanwhile, in 1971, [[Amnesty International]] began to publish English translations of each new issue of ''[[A Chronicle of Current Events]]'', which documented human rights abuses in the USSR and included a regular "Samizdat Update". In a recent interview, Michael Scammell explains the informal division of labour between the two London-based organisations: "When we received human rights material we forwarded it to Amnesty and when Amnesty received a report of censorship they passed it on to us".<ref>[https://www.colta.ru/articles/literature/25103-maykl-skemmel-vospominaniya-pavel-litvinov-indeks-tsenzury#i "Pavel Litvinov and the Creation of ''Index on Censorship''", Colta.ru, 8 August 2020] (in Russian).</ref>

Originally, as suggested by Scammell, the magazine was to be called ''Index'', a reference to the lists or indices of banned works that are central to the history of censorship: the Roman Catholic Church's [[Index Librorum Prohibitorum]] (Index of Forbidden Books); the Soviet Union's ''Censor's Index''; and apartheid South Africa's ''Jacobsens Index of Objectionable Literature''.<ref name="theiner" />

Scammell later admitted that the words "on censorship" were added as an afterthought when it was realised that the reference would not be clear to many readers. "Panicking, we hastily added the words 'on Censorship' as a subtitle", wrote Scammell in the December 1981 issue of the magazine, "and this it has remained ever since, nagging me with its ungrammaticality (Index ''of'' Censorship, surely) and a standing apology for the opacity of its title."{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

Describing the organisation's objectives at its inception, Stuart Hampshire said:

<blockquote>"the tyrant's concealments of oppression and of absolute cruelty should always be challenged. There should be noise of publicity outside every detention centre and concentration camp and a published record of every tyrannical denial of free expression."{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}</blockquote>

== The magazine ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=August 2021}}
[[File:Jodie Ginsberg - 2018 Human Rights and Democracy Report (48013652831) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Jodie Ginsberg, former Chief Executive Index on Censorship]]
''Index on Censorship'' magazine was founded by Michael Scammell in 1972.<ref name=euro>{{cite web|title=Members|url=http://www.eurozine.com/journals/samtiden/selfdescription.html|publisher=Eurozine|access-date=20 September 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141120065558/http://www.eurozine.com/journals/samtiden/selfdescription.html|archive-date=20 November 2014}}</ref> It supports free expression, publishing distinguished writers from around the world, exposing suppressed stories, initiating debate, and providing an international record of censorship. The quarterly editions of the magazine usually focus on a country or region or a recurring theme in the global free expression debate. ''Index on Censorship'' also publishes short works of fiction and poetry by notable new writers. ''Index Index'', a round-up of abuses of freedom of expression worldwide, was published in the magazine until December 2008.

While the original inspiration to create Index came from Soviet dissidents, from its outset the magazine covered censorship in right-wing dictatorships then ruling Greece and Portugal, the military regimes of Latin America, and the [[Soviet Union]] and its satellites.<ref name="theiner" /> The magazine has covered other challenges facing free expression, including religious extremism, the rise of nationalism, and [[Internet censorship]].

In the first issue of May 1972, Stephen Spender wrote:
<blockquote>"Obviously there is the risk of a magazine of this kind becoming a bulletin of frustration. However, the material by writers which is censored in Eastern Europe, Greece, South Africa and other countries is among the most exciting that is being written today. Moreover, the question of censorship has become a matter of impassioned debate; and it is one which does not only concern totalitarian societies."</blockquote>
Accordingly, the magazine has sought to shed light on other challenges facing free expression, including religious extremism, the rise of nationalism, and internet censorship. Issues are usually organised by theme, and contain a country-by-country list of recent cases involving censorship, restrictions on [[freedom of the press]] and other [[free speech]] violations. Occasionally, ''Index on Censorship'' publishes short works of fiction and poetry by notable new writers as well as censored ones.

Over the half century it has been in existence, ''Index on Censorship'' has presented works by some of the world's most distinguished writers and thinkers, including [[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn]], [[Milan Kundera]], [[Václav Havel]], [[Nadine Gordimer]], [[Salman Rushdie]], [[Doris Lessing]], [[Arthur Miller]], [[Noam Chomsky]], and [[Umberto Eco]].<ref>Hampshire, Stuart (1997), "Should Index be above the battle?" in W. L. Webb & Rose Bell, ''An Embarrassment of Tyrannies: 25 years of Index on Censorship'', London: Victor Gollancz, pp. 186–195. {{ISBN|0-575-06538-9}}.</ref>

Issues under the editorship of [[Jemimah Steinfeld]] featured investigations into how the UK's royal family censor their archives, the plight of Afghan journalists and the rise of Narendra Modi. The editor before, [[Rachael Jolley]], looked at taboos, the legacy of the [[Magna Carta]] and [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s legacy in protest. There have been special issues on China, reporting from the Middle East, and on internet censorship. The Russia issue (January 2008) won an [[Amnesty International]] Media Award 2008 for features by Russian journalists [[Fatima Tlisova]] and [[Sergei Bachinin]], and veteran Russian free speech campaigner Alexei Simonov, founder of the [[Glasnost Defence Foundation]].

Since January 2010 it has been published by [[SAGE Publications]], an independent for-profit academic publisher.<ref name="SAGE">{{cite press release|url=http://www.sagepub.com/press/2009/june/ic.sp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804033651/http://www.sagepub.com/press/2009/june/ic.sp |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 August 2009 |title=SAGE to publish Index on Censorship (via Wayback Machine)|publisher=SAGE Publications|date=June 2009}}</ref> Between 2005 and 2009, the magazine was published and distributed by [[Routledge]], part of the [[Taylor & Francis]] group.

In addition to print and annual subscriptions, ''Index on Censorship'' is available on [[Exact Editions]], an application for the iPhone/iPad and Android.<!-- no commercial advertising -->

It is also a partner with [[Eurozine]], a network of more than 60 European cultural journals.<ref name=euro />

== Publishing landmarks ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=August 2021}}
[[File:Svět knihy 2011 - Index on Censorship.jpg|thumb|Philip Spender, Jo Glanville, Michael Scammell]]
[[File:IndexOnCensorshipLogo.png|thumb|Logo until 2012]]
Other landmark publications include [[Ken Saro-Wiwa]]'s writings from prison (Issue 3/1997) and a translation of the Czechoslovak [[Charter 77]] manifesto drafted by [[Václav Havel]] and others in Issue 3/1977. Index published the first English translation of [[Alexander Solzhenitsyn]]'s Nobel Prize acceptance speech. ''Index on Censorship'' published the stories of the "[[Forced disappearance#Argentina|disappeared]]" in [[Argentina]] and the work of banned poets in [[Cuba]]; the work of Chinese poets who escaped the massacres that ended the [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989]]. ''Index on Censorship'' has a long history of publishing writers in translation, including [[Bernard-Henri Lévy]], [[Ivan Klima]], [[Ma Jian (writer)|Ma Jian]] and Nobel laureate [[Shirin Ebadi]], and news reports including [[Anna Politkovskaia]]'s coverage of the war in Chechnya (Issue 2/2002).

<!-- Not knighted until 1997. -->[[Tom Stoppard]]'s play ''Every Good Boy Deserves Favour'' (1977) is set in a Soviet mental institution and was inspired by the personal account of former detainee [[Victor Fainberg]] and [[Clayton Yeo]]'s expose of the use of psychiatric abuse in the USSR, published in ''Index on Censorship'' (Issue 2, 1975).<ref name="Nadel">Nadel, Ira (2004). ''Double Act: A Life of Tom Stoppard''. London: Methuen. pp. 264–268. {{ISBN|0-413-73060-3}}.</ref> It was first performed with the [[London Symphony Orchestra]]. Stoppard became a member of the advisory board of ''Index on Censorship'' in 1978 and remains connected to the publication as a Patron of ''Index''.

''Index on Censorship'' published the World Statement by the International Committee for the Defence of [[Salman Rushdie]] in support of "the right of all people to express their ideas and beliefs and to discuss them with their critics on the basis of mutual tolerance, free from censorship, intimidation and violence. Six months later, ''Index'' published the ''Hunger Strike Declaration'' from four student leaders of the [[Tiananmen Square protests of 1989]], [[Liu Xiaobo]], [[Zhou Duo]], [[Hou Dejian]] and Gao Xin.

''Index Index'', a round-up of abuses of freedom of expression worldwide, continued to be published in each edition of the magazine until December 2008, when this function was transferred to the website. The offences against free expression documented in that first issue's ''Index Index'' listing included censorship in Greece and Spain, then dictatorships, and Brazil, which had just banned the film ''[[Zabriskie Point (film)|Zabriskie Point]]'' on the grounds that it "insulted a friendly power" – the United States, where it had been made and freely shown.

''Index on Censorship'' paid special attention to the situation in then Czechoslovakia between the Soviet invasion of 1968 and the [[Velvet Revolution]] of 1989, devoting an entire issue to the country eight years after the [[Prague Spring]] (Issue 3/1976). It included several pieces by Václav Havel, including a first translation of his one act play ''Conversation'', and a letter to Czech officials on police censorship of his December 1975 production of ''[[The Beggar's Opera]]'' by [[John Gay]].<ref name="Nadel" />

The magazine also carried articles on the state of the Czech theatre and a list of the so-called Padlock Publications, 50 banned books that circulated only in typescript. Index also published an English version of Havel's play ''Mistake'', dedicated to [[Samuel Beckett]] in gratitude for Beckett's own dedication of his play ''Catastrophe'' to Havel. Both short plays were performed<ref>Glanville, Jo (16 September 2009). [http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2009/09/godot-to-the-rescue/ "Godot to the Rescue"]. Index On Censorship.</ref> at the Free Word Centre to mark the launch of Index's special issue looking back at the changes of 1989 (Issue 4, 2009).
<!-- SAGE already mentioned -->

== Campaigns ==
Index has been the driving force in the UK in the campaign to "StopSLAPPs", strategic lawsuits against public participation. As a result of their campaigning, in 2024 a private members bill was tabled. 

''Free Speech is not For Sale'', a joint campaign report by Index on Censorship and [[English PEN]] highlighted the problem of so-called [[libel tourism]] and the English law of defamation's chilling effect on free speech. After much debate surrounding the report's ten key recommendations, the UK Justice Secretary Jack Straw pledged to make English defamation laws fairer.<ref>Glanville, Jo (22 November 2009). [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/nov/22/libel-reform-jack-straw "Libel reform will liberate us all"], ''The Guardian'' (UK), ''Comment is Free''.</ref>

"A free press can't operate or be effective unless it can offer readers comment as well as news. What concerns me is that the current arrangements are being used by big corporations to restrict fair comment, not always by journalists but also by academics." He added: "The very high levels of remuneration for defamation lawyers in Britain seem to be incentivising libel tourism."<ref>Oakeshott, Isabel; Swinford, Steven (22 November 2009), [https://web.archive.org/web/20100430195105/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article6926997.ece "Jack Straw pledges action to end libel tourism"], ''The Times'' (UK).</ref>

These campaigns and others were illustrative of then CEO [[John Kampfner]]'s strategy, supported by then chair Jonathan Dimbleby, to boost Index's public advocacy profile in the UK and abroad beginning in 2008. Until then the organisation did not regard itself as "a campaigning organisation in the mould of [[Article 19]] or [[Amnesty International]]", as former news editor Sarah Smith noted in 2001,<ref name="Jones">Smith, Sarah (2001), "Index on Censorship" in Jones, Derek (ed.), ''Censorship: A World Encyclopaedia''. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|978-1-57958-135-0}}</ref> preferring to use its "understanding of what is newsworthy and politically significant to maintain pressure on oppressive regimes through extensive coverage".

== Arts and international programmes ==
Index on Censorship also runs a programme of UK based and international projects that put the organisation's philosophy into practice. In 2009 and 2010 Index on Censorship worked in Afghanistan, Burma, Iraq, Tunisia and many other countries, in support of journalists, broadcasters, artists and writers who work against a backdrop of intimidation, repression, and censorship.<ref name=JAYASEKERA>{{cite web |url=https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2008/06/index-projects-2009-10/ |title= Index Projects: 2009-10 |date=5 June 2008 |first=Rohan |last=JAYASEKERA |work=www.indexoncensorship.org |access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref>

The organisation's arts' programmes investigate the impact of current and recent social and political change on arts practitioners, assessing the degree and depth of self-censorship. It uses the arts to engage young people directly into the freedom of expression debate. It works with marginalised communities in UK, creating new platforms, on line and actual for creative expression.<ref name=JAYASEKERA/>

Index on Censorship works internationally to commission new work, not only articles for print and online, but also new photography, film & video, visual arts and performance. Examples have included an exhibition of photostories produced by women in Iraq, ''Open Shutters'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://photoworks.org.uk/open-shutters-iraq/ |title=From Issue 16: Open Shutters Iraq |work=photoworks.org.uk |date=October 2011 |access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref> and a programme involving artists from refugee and migrant communities in UK, linking with artists from their country of origin, ''Imagine art after'', exhibited at [[Tate Britain]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/imagine-art-after |title=Tate Britain Exhibition, Imagine art after |work=www.tate.org.uk |access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref>

Index has also worked with Burmese exiled artists and publishers on creating a programme in support of the collective efforts of Burma's creative community. Index also commissioned a new play by Actors for Human Rights, ''Seven Years With Hard Labour'', weaving together four accounts from former Burmese political prisoners now living in the UK.<ref>[https://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=18401 "Amnesty hosts hard-hitting performances of real life stories"]. Amnesty.org (UK).</ref> Index also co-published a book of poetry by homeless people in London and St. Petersburg.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

==CEO==
The current Chief Executive of Index on Censorship is Jemimah Steinfeld. She took on this role in May 2024, replacing Ruth Anderson, who left the organisation to follow a political path. 
The Chief Executive of Index on Censorship from 2014 through to 2020 was Jodie Ginsberg, who is now the CEO of the CPJ.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/apr/08/freedom-of-speech-censorship Former journalist to head Index on Censorship], The Guardian, 5 February 2014</ref>

== Freedom of Expression Awards ==
{{Infobox award
| name           = Freedom of Expression Awards
| subheader="Celebrating the courage and creativity of some of the world's greatest journalists, artists, campaigners and digital activists"
| image          = 
| imagesize      =
| awarded_for    = courage, creativity and resilience in tackling censorship
| presenter      = Index on Censorship
| country        = {{GBR}}
| location       = [[London]], [[United Kingdom]]
| year           = 2001
| year2          = 2022
| website        = https://www.indexoncensorship.org/awards
| sponsor        = [[Private Internet Access]], [[Google]], [[SAGE Publications]], [[Daily Mail and General Trust]], [[Daily Mirror]], [[Edwardian Hotels]], [[The Daily Telegraph]], [[Psiphon]], [[News UK]], [[France Médias Monde]], [[Vodafone]], Mainframe.
}}

Index on Censorship annually presents awards to journalists, artists, campaigners and digital activists from around the world who make a significant contribution to free expression over the previous year. Sponsors have included ''[[The Guardian]]'', [[Google]], [[SAGE Publications]] and the London law firm [[Doughty Street Chambers]].{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

The 2020 awards were held online in April 2020 during the [[COVID-19 pandemic|2019–20 COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="IndexOnCens_2020awards_all5" /> In 2022, the awards were presented on 27 October in London.<ref name="2022awards" />

'''2022 winners''': Journalism: [[Huang Xueqin]]; Campaigning: [[OVD-Info]]; Arts: Hamlet Lavastida; Trustee Award: [[Andrey Kurkov]].<ref name=2022awards>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2022/10/winners-of-indexs-2022-freedom-of-expression-awards-announced|title=Winners of Index's 2022 Freedom of Expression Awards announced|website=Index on Censorship|date=31 October 2022 |access-date=23 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105055226/https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2022/10/winners-of-indexs-2022-freedom-of-expression-awards-announced|archive-date=5 January 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

'''2021 winners''': Journalism: [[Samira Sabou]]; Campaigning: [[Abdelrahman 'Moka' Tarek]]; Arts: [[Tatyana Zelenskaya]]; Trustee Award: [[Arif Ahmed (philosopher)|Arif Ahmed]].<ref name="IndexOnCens_2020awards_all5" />

'''2020 winners''': Journalism: [[OKO.press]]; Campaigning: [[Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy|Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei]], [[Veysel Ok]]; Digital: [[7amleh]]; Arts: [[Yulia Tsvetkova]].<ref name="IndexOnCens_2020awards_all5" />

'''2019 winners''': Journalism: [[Mimi Mefo]]; Campaigning: [[Cartoonists Rights Network, International]]; Digital: [[Fundación Karisma]]; Arts: [[Zehra Doğan]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2019/01/awards-2019/|title=Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards 2019|website=www.indexoncensorship.org|date=15 January 2019 |access-date=2 May 2019}}</ref>

'''2018 winners''': Journalism: Wendy Funes; Campaigning: [[Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms]]; Digital: Habari RDC; Arts: The Museum of Dissidence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/11/awards-2018/|title=Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards 2018|website=www.indexoncensorship.org|date=9 November 2017|access-date=2 May 2019}}</ref>

'''2017 winners''': Journalism: ''Maldives Independent''; Campaigning: [[Ildar Dadin]]; Digital: [[Turkey Blocks]]; Arts: [[Rebel Pepper]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2016/11/awards-2017/|title=Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards 2017|website=www.indexoncensorship.org|date=7 November 2016|access-date=20 April 2017}}</ref>

'''2016 winners''': Journalism: [[Zaina Erhaim]]; Campaigning: Bolo Bhi; Digital: [[GreatFire]]; Arts: [[Murad Subay]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2016/09/awards-2016/|title=Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards 2016|website=www.indexoncensorship.org|date=7 September 2016|access-date=20 April 2017}}</ref>

'''2015 winners''': Journalism: [[Rafael Marques (journalist)|Rafael Marques de Morais]] and [[Safa Al Ahmad]]; Campaigning: Amran Abdundi;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/19/africa/amran-abdundi-index-freedome-of-expression-awards-2015/index.html|title=Amran Abdundi: Bringing peace at terror's border|first=Lauren |last=Said-Moorhouse|website=CNN|date=19 March 2015|access-date=4 February 2017}}</ref> Digital:Tamas Bodoky; Arts: [[Mouad Belghouat|Mouad "El Haqued" Belghouat]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.indexoncensorship.org/index-freedom-expression-awards-2015/|title=Index: The voice of free expression}}</ref>

'''2014 winners''': Journalism: [[Azadliq (newspaper)|Azadliq]]; Advocacy: Shahzad Ahmad; Digital: Shu Choudhary; Arts: [[Mayam Mahmoud]].<ref name=":0" />

'''2013 winners:''' Journalism: [[Kostas Vaxevanis]]; Digital Freedom: [[Bassel Khartabil]]; Advocacy: [[Malala Yousafzai]]; Arts: [[Zanele Muholi]].<ref name=":0" />

'''2012 winners:''' Journalism: [[Idrak Abbasov]]; Advocacy: [[Bahrain Centre for Human Rights]], collected by [[Nabeel Rajab]]; Innovation: Freedom Fone by Kubatana; Arts: [[Ali Ferzat]]; 40th Anniversary Award: Research and Information Centre "[[Memorial (society)]]" St Petersburg.<ref name=":0" />

'''2011 winners:''' Journalism: [[Ibrahim Eissa]]; Advocacy: [[Gao Zhisheng]]; New Media: [[Nawaat]]; Arts: [[M. F. Husain]]; Special Commendation: Belarus' Prisoners of Conscience, collected by the [[Belarus Free Theatre]].<ref name=":0" />

'''2010 winners:''' Journalism: Radio La Voz; Advocacy: Rashid Hajili; Publishing Award: Andalus Press; New Media Award: [[Twitter]]; [[Freemuse Award]]: [[Mahsa Vahdat]]; Special Commendation: [[Heather Brooke]].<ref name=":0" />

'''2009 winners:''' Journalism: ''[[The Sunday Leader]]'' – Sri Lanka; Film: [[Ricki Stern]] and [[Anne Sundberg]], ''[[The Devil Came on Horseback]]''; New Media: [[Psiphon]]; Books: [[Ma Jian (writer)|Ma Jian]], [[Beijing Coma]]; Law: Malik Imtiaz Sarwar.<ref name=":0" />

'''2008 winners:''' Journalism: [[Arat Dink]] and [[Agos|''Agos'' magazine]]; [[Mohamed Al-Daradji]] and ''Ahlaam''; New Media: [[Julian Assange]] and [[WikiLeaks]]; Books: [[Francisco Goldman]], ''The Art of Political Murder''; Law: [[U Gambira]]<ref>[http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/1343-u-gambira-to-serve-total-of-68-years-in-prison.html/ "U Gambira to serve total of 68 years in prison"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091209224040/http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/1343-u-gambira-to-serve-total-of-68-years-in-prison.html |date=9 December 2009 }}. Mizzima.com.</ref> and the Monks of Burma.

'''2007 winners:''' Journalism: [[Kareem Amer]]; Film: [[Yoav Shamir]],<ref>[http://www.indiewire.com/article/tribeca_09_interview_defamation_director_yoav_shamir/ "Tribeca 09 Interview: Defamation director Yoav Shamir"]. Indiewire.com.</ref> ''Defamation''; Whistleblower: [[Chen Guangcheng]]; Books: [[Samir Kassir]]; Law: [[Siphiwe Hlophe]].<ref>[http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/documents/BiographiesofSiphiweHlopeandDarlinaTyawanaFINAL.pdf/ "Biographies of Siphie Hlope"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726231833/http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/documents/BiographiesofSiphiweHlopeandDarlinaTyawanaFINAL.pdf/ |date=26 July 2011 }}. Stephen Lewis Foundation.</ref>

'''2006 winners:''' Journalism: [[Sihem Bensedrine]]; Film: [[Bahman Ghobadi]], ''Turtles Can Fly''; Whistleblower:  Huang Jingao;<ref>[http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2004/08/huang-jingaos-open-letter-and-more/ "Huang Jingao's open letter and more"]. China Digital Times. August 2004.</ref> Books: [[Jean Hatzfeld]],<ref>[http://www.lettre-ulysses-award.org/authors04/hatzfeld.html/ Jean Hatzfeld] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723140426/http://www.lettre-ulysses-award.org/authors04/hatzfeld.html |date=23 July 2008 }}. Lettre Ulysses Award.</ref> ''Into the Quick Life: The Rwandan Genocide – the Survivors Speak'' and ''A Time for Machetes: the Killers Speak''; Law: [[Beatrice Mtetwa]].<ref>[http://cpj.org/awards/2005/mtetwa.php/ "Awards 2005: Beatrice Mtetwa"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607035027/http://www.cpj.org/awards/2005/mtetwa.php |date=7 June 2011 }}. CPJ.org</ref>

'''2005 winners''': Journalism: Sumi Khan; Books: Soldiers, Light by Daniel Bergner; Film: [[Final Solution (2003 film)|''Final Solution'']], [[Rakesh Sharma (filmmaker)|Rakesh Sharma]]; Campaigning: Center of Constitutional Rights; Whistleblowing: Grigoris Lazos.<ref name=":0" />

'''2004 winners''': Journalism: [[Kaveh Golestan]]; Music: [[West–Eastern Divan Orchestra]]; Whistleblowing: [[Satyendra Dubey]]; Film: ''Amamdla!'' by Lee Hirsch; Books: ''Slave'' by [[Mende Nazer]] and [[Damien Lewis (filmmaker)|Damien Lewis]]; Special: [[Mordechai Vanunu]]; Censor of the Year: [[John David Ashcroft|John Ashcroft]].<ref name=":0" />

'''2003 winners''': Journalism: [[Fergal Keane]]; Whistleblowing: Tony Kevin; Censor of the Year: [[Jonathan Moyo]]; Circumvention of Censorship: [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]]; Defence of Free Expression: [[Hashem Aghajari]].<ref name=":0" />

'''2002 winners''': Defence of Free Expression: [[Anna Politkovskaya]]; Circumvention of Censorship: [[Şanar Yurdatapan]];<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ifex.org/turkey/2016/10/03/profile_sanar_yurdatapan/|title=A sonata of solidarity: Şanar Yurdatapan – IFEX|website=IFEX|language=en|access-date=4 February 2017}}</ref> Whistleblowing: [[Jiang Weiping]]; Censor of the Year: [[Silvio Berlusconi]].<ref name=":0" />

'''2001 winners''': Defence of Free Expression: [[Mashallah Shamsolvaezin]]; Whistleblowing: [[Grigory Pasko]]; Circumvention of Censorship: [[Lorrie Cranor]], [[Avi Rubin]] and Marc Waldman; Censor of the Year: [[UK Ministry of Defence]] (MoD).<ref name=":0" />

== Controversies ==

=== Theo Van Gogh ===
In November 2004, ''Index on Censorship'' attracted further controversy over another indexonline.org blog post by Jayasekera that, to many readers, seemed to condone or justify the murder of Dutch film-maker [[Theo van Gogh (film director)|Theo van Gogh]].<ref name="Sullivan">{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Sullivan |title=BBC Weeps For Yasser Arafat |url=http://www.nysun.com/opinion/bbc-weeps-for-yasser-arafat/4736/ |work=[[The New York Sun]] |publisher=Ronald Weintraub |date=12 November 2004 |access-date=24 June 2009}}</ref> The blog described Van Gogh was a "free-speech fundamentalist" on a "martyrdom operation[,] roar[ing] his Muslim critics into silence with obscenities" in an "abuse of his right to free speech". Describing Van Gogh's film [[Submission (2004 film)|''Submission'']] as "furiously provocative", Jayasekera concluded by describing his death:

<blockquote>"A sensational climax to a lifetime's public performance, stabbed and shot by a bearded fundamentalist, a message from the killer pinned by a dagger to his chest, Theo Van Gogh became a martyr to free expression. His passing was marked by a magnificent barrage of noise as Amsterdam hit the streets to celebrate him in the way the man himself would have truly appreciated. And what timing! Just as his long-awaited biographical film of [[Pim Fortuyn]]'s life is ready to screen. Bravo, Theo! Bravo!"<ref name="Sullivan"/></blockquote>

There were many protests from both left-wing and right-wing commentators. In December 2004, [[Nick Cohen]] of ''[[The Observer]]'' wrote:

<blockquote>"When I asked Jayasekera if he had any regrets, he said he had none. He told me that, like many other readers, I shouldn't have made the mistake of believing that ''Index on Censorship'' was against censorship, even murderous censorship, on principle – in the same way as [[Amnesty International]] is opposed to torture, including murderous torture, on principle. It may have been so in its radical youth, but was now as concerned with fighting 'hate speech' as protecting free speech."<ref>{{cite news |first=Nick |last=Cohen |author-link=Nick Cohen |title=Censor and sensibility |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1371869,00.html |work=The Observer |date=12 December 2004 |access-date=24 June 2009}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Ursula Owen]], the chief executive of ''Index on Censorship'', while agreeing that the blog post's "tone was not right" contradicted Cohen's account of his conversation with Jayasekera in a letter to ''The Observer''.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ursula |last=Owen |author-link=Ursula Owen |title=Free to speak |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/dec/19/letters.theobserver |work=The Observer |date=19 December 2004 |access-date=24 June 2009}}</ref>

=== Danish cartoons ===
In December 2009, the magazine published an interview with [[Jytte Klausen]] about a refusal of [[Yale University Press]] to include the [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|Mohammed Cartoons]] in Klausen's book ''[[The Cartoons that Shook the World]]''. The magazine declined to include the cartoons alongside the interview.<ref>[http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/wendy_kaminer/2009/12/censorship_at_index_on_censorship.php "Censorship at Index on Censorship"], TheAtlantic.com. December 2009.</ref><ref>Eden, Richard (19 December 2009), [https://web.archive.org/web/20091221221928/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6845549/Any-Questions-presenter-Jonathan-Dimbleby-in-Muslim-censorship-row.html "Any Questions? Jonathan Dimbleby in Muslim censorship row"], ''The Telegraph'' (UK)</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="IndexOnCens_2020awards_all5">{{cite web | title= Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship |trans-title = <!-- trans-title is the English translation --> | website= Index on Censorship |date =16 April 2020 | url = https://www.indexoncensorship.org/awards/ | access-date = 16 April 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200416224401/https://www.indexoncensorship.org/awards/ |archive-date= 16 April 2020 |url-status=live <!-- live|dead|unfit|usurped --> |url-access = <!-- (subscription/registration/limited) default=free -->}}</ref>

}}

== External links ==
*{{Official website|http://www.indexoncensorship.org/}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1972 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Censorship in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Political magazines published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Freedom of expression organizations]]
[[Category:Free expression awards]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 1972]]
[[Category:Magazines published in London]]
[[Category:Works about censorship]]
[[Category:Works about freedom of expression]]