Free Press and Human Rights
Ulysses was banned in America for a short time and so it is fitting that we cast a light on continuing repression of literary expression and honest journalism throughout the world.
We have petitioned in the past on behalf of writers such as Vaclav Havel, Xu Wenli, Aung San Suu Ky, Daniel Pearl, Anna Politkovskaya, and Rael Badwawi, who is still at this writing in a Saudi Arabian prison sentenced to 10 years for merely writing words of dissent.
We have petitioned in the past on behalf of writers as Vaclav Havel, Xu Wenli, Aung San Suu Ky, Daniel Pearl, Anna Politkovskaya, and Rael Badwawi, who is still at this writing in a Saudi Arabian prison sentenced to 10 years for merely writing words of dissent.
Five booksellers disappeared from their homes in Hong Kong only to be revealed in China as “guests of the People’s Republic of China” for the simple act of publishing books critical of the political leadership. Two have been released as of this writing and international pressure continues for the remaining book sellers’ immediate release from detention that is in clear violation of the Hong Kong “one country, two systems” agreement.
Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has charged more than 1800 authors, cartoonists, politicians and ordinary citizens with the crime of “insulting the president” and over a thousand academics were targeted and some detained for speaking out against similar repression and government abuse of antiterrorism laws. Turkey in fact is now ranked 149thout of 180 nations for the protection of press freedoms.
Egyptian-British blogger activist unjustly jailed: Alaa Abdel Fattah is our 2024 Freedom of Expression dedicatee
One of the most important voices for freedom in Egypt, Alaa Abdel Fattah is currently serving a five-year sentence after being convicted of spurious charges of spreading “false news” over his social media posts. He has been on a hunger strike since April 2, 2022, protesting his detention and prison conditions, as well as the refusal of the authorities to grant his consular visit as he obtained British citizenship in 2021 through his British-born mother.
Alaa Abdel Fattah is author of “You Have Not Yet Been Defeated,” a collection of his political essays published during his current detention. He has continued his work despite ongoing efforts by the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to silence him.
Alaa Abdel Fattah is a symbol of resistance and freedom in Egypt, and his continued imprisonment sends a chilling message to other activists.
In 2023 Alaa Abdel Fattah received the Disturbing the Peace Award from the Vaclav Havel Center
