Category: News
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Maryam Namazie and Peter Tatchell honoured for defence of free speech on campuses
On 19 March, the National Secular Society held its annual Secularist of the Year award ceremony. The winner this year was Educate Together which promotes secular education. At the ceremony, two previous winners of the NSS Secularist of the Year award, Maryam Namazie and Peter Tatchell, were honoured for their recent campaigning to defend free…
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The end of free speech?, Bristol Festival of Ideas panel discussion
Here is the audio recording of The end of free speech panel discussion at the Bristol Festival of Ideas on 19 March 2016.
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Towards a Secular European Society
In February 2016, I spoke at the European Parliament on secularism in Europe. Here is a summary of the talk, which can be found on the Euromind Website, a project of MEP Teresa Barbat. The video of my talk can be found here: The second speaker was Maryam Namazie, a British (Iranian-born) human rights activist and…
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2016 IWD: In defence of refugee women
To mark International Women’s Day, this year, I’ve joined 99 other women to defend refugee women. #SetHerFree
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Hijab is sexism not anti-racism
Aliaa Elmahdy, the human rights activist under received death threats for being “the naked blogger” from the Arab spring in Egypt, who since then got asylum in Sweden and who made several discussed Femen actions, today announced her topless message at the hijab-event in Fiitja.
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In Defence of Salman Rushdie
TO SIGN ON TO THIS PETITION, CLICK HERE. We, the undersigned, are outraged to learn that forty state-run media outlets in Iran have raised $600,000 (£420,000) to add as bounty to Ayatollah Khomeini’s death fatwa on the writer Salman Rushdie, because of his novel The Satanic Verses. We condemn the Iranian regime, its fatwa and…
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NUS: Revise Safe Space and No Platform Policies to Facilitate not Restrict Free Expression and Thought
On 17 March 2016 from 5-6pm, we will be holding a protest at the office of the NUS, Macadam House, 275 Gray’s Inn Road, London, WC1X 8QB. Join Us. Also Tweet “I call on @nusuk to revise safe space and no platform policies to facilitate not restrict free expression and thought” or email the NUS…
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We are Raif: UK campaign for human rights in Saudi Arabia launched
We Are Raif: a campaign for free speech and human rights in Saudi Arabia Today, we announce the formation of ‘We Are Raif: a campaign for free speech and human rights in Saudi Arabia’. The coalition has been initiated by a number of human rights campaigners and organisations that have been working together for the…
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Passion for Freedom isn’t western but universal
Passion for Freedom Art Festival is in its 7th year this week. The Art Competition was initially begun by One Law for All to promote secular and universal values, one law for all, and equal rights for all citizens. For two years now, however, One Law for All is no longer associated with the festival…
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Shahrokh Zamani has died
Well known labour activist Shahrokh Zamani died in RejaieShahr prison in Iran on Sunday under suspicious circumstances. The Iran regime is accountable for his death. He had committed no “crime” other than being a labour rights leader for which he was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He continued to speak out whilst in prison.…