Freedom

Rushdie's Attacker Sentenced to 25 Years in US Prison

Hadi Matar, the American-Lebanese man who stabbed Salman Rushdie in 2022, was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison in the United States. Rushdie, a symbol of freedom of expression, sustained serious injuries in the knife attack. Matar, 27, who grew up in the U.S., was found guilty in February of attempted murder and assault by a jury following ...

Cannes: A Festival Rooted in Defiance of Fascism

It was the late 1930s. The Venice Mostra, founded in 1932, was the world’s first international film festival. But by 1938, as global tensions mounted, it had turned into an ideological showcase for fascism. Under joint pressure from Hitler and Mussolini, the jury was compelled to award the festival’s top prize, the Mussolini Cup, to two ...

Boualem Sansal’s Speech for Freedom Published in Bookstores

This speech, given for “the German Publishers and Booksellers Peace Prize” and published in Gallimard’s Tracts collection, was originally delivered in Frankfurt, Germany, in October 2011. "The absence of freedom is a pain that drives one mad over time. It reduces a man to his shadow and his dreams to nightmares," Boualem Sansal declares in ...

Iran: Narges Mohammadi, Freedom in Letters of Blood

Temporarily released for medical reasons since December 4, Narges Mohammadi, the Iranian human rights activist, granted a rare interview to Elle magazine, revealing her literary projects and her relentless struggles behind bars. Winner of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, Mohammadi has been imprisoned multiple times over the past 25 years for her stance ...

'Tyrants Are Great Only Because We Are on Our Knees'

"Tyrants are great only because we are on our knees." This quote about individual and collective voluntary subjugation is attributed to Étienne de La Boétie, author of Discourse on Voluntary Servitude. Published in 1576, the text presents remarkably modern insights into the foundations of tyranny and the reasons for people's submission, ...

When the Media Is Accused of Complicity With Israel

The attitude of the supporters of the pro-Iranian Moumanaa axis or so-called “axis of resistance” is puzzling. There's no doubt that the shock they are experiencing is overwhelming and hard to process. The ongoing war is undoubtedly pushing them to cast accusations in all directions, in a desperate attempt to restore some dignity or shift ...