Kurdish violinist Nima Mandoumi, 23, was seized by Iranian intelligence in Alborz province on 9 December 2025 and has since disappeared into incommunicado detention. His arrest reportedly followed an international concert in Armenia involving Israeli musicians, underscoring how Iran’s security apparatus is criminalising cross‑border artistic collaboration and using enforced disappearance to silence Kurdish cultural voices
After months of religious backlash, boycott calls and a high‑profile lawsuit led by lawyer Mortada Mansour, Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court upheld the right to screen the already‑licensed feature The Atheist, reinforcing constitutional protections for artistic creativity and limiting attempts by private actors to erase controversial works from public space.
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When Pomme d’amour, a satirical short film by Fares Naanaa, was re-released online in 2025, it ignited a wave of outrage over alleged blasphemy. Yet behind the public uproar lay a deeper story , one of political distraction, fear-driven self-censorship, and the rapid erosion of Tunisia’s post-revolutionary creative freedoms.
Syrian author Khalil Sweileh’s acclaimed novel The Barbarians’ Paradise faces renewed censorship more than a decade after its first Cairo publication. Authorities demanded removal of passages depicting the Syrian conflict and changes to the text, which Sweileh refused. This episode underscores the persistent control over artistic expression in Syria and highlights the limited space for writers to challenge official narratives.
When a Basra fashion show celebrating cultural heritage sparked armed threats, it revealed how non-state actors now dictate Iraq’s moral and creative boundaries. The case exposes the deepening crisis of artistic freedom in a society struggling to reclaim its cultural voice.
When the Saudi historical drama Muawiya aired during Ramadan 2025, it ignited religious and political tensions in Egypt. Al‑Azhar issued a fatwa prohibiting its viewing, citing the portrayal of Prophet Muhammad’s companions as impermissible. Despite bans on local TV, the series remained accessible online, highlighting the clash between traditional censorship, sectarian sensitivities, and digital media’s reach in shaping historical narratives across the Arab world.
On 6 February 2025, Iraq’s Karkh Misdemeanor Court issued a one-year prison sentence in absentia against Iraqi singer and performer Taysir Al-Iraqiya for publishing content deemed “immoral” online. The ruling, based on vague morality provisions in Iraq’s Penal Code, reflects a broader state campaign targeting artists, influencers, and creators. The case highlights growing risks to artistic freedom, digital expression, and cultural diversity amid intensified online content policing.
The 2025 International Film Festival of Kerala was thrown into turmoil after India’s Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting refused screening exemptions for 19 films, including Palestinian works and the classic Battleship Potemkin. The unexplained decision forced last-minute cancellations, ignited protests from filmmakers and cultural leaders, and raised serious concerns about arbitrary censorship, political interference, and India’s commitment to artistic freedom at international festivals.
The censorship of Better than Earth at the 26th Ismailia International Film Festival exposes how informal, undocumented decisions by Egyptian authorities can effectively erase a film from public view. Despite being officially selected, the film was barred through a verbal order, revealing the fragility of artistic freedom under Egypt’s censorship regime and the limited, quiet resistance available to filmmakers and festival organisers operating within state-run cultural institutions.
A groundbreaking Tunisian–Croatian theatre collaboration on migration drew full houses and critical praise, only to be quietly shelved by the Tunisian National Theatre without explanation.
At the 26th Ismailia International Film Festival, Mohammed Salah’s Co-directed with a Ghost won Best Film yet was barred from public screening by Egypt’s censorship authorities, exposing how opaque permit regimes quietly erase celebrated works from local audiences.
On 15 December 2025, a Moscow court designated feminist punk collective Pussy Riot an “extremist organisation,” banning all its activities across Russia after a closed-door hearing. The ruling vastly expands criminal liability for referencing the group, sharing its music or displaying its symbols. Human rights groups warn the decision marks a new stage in Russia’s use of extremism laws to erase artistic dissent, cultural memory and political opposition.
PEN America’s new list of the 52 most banned books in U.S. schools reveals a coordinated campaign against literature addressing race, gender, sexuality, and state violence. With over 22,000 documented bans since 2021 across 45 states, educational censorship is becoming normalized. Award-winning classics and YA titles alike are being removed, undermining artistic freedom, cultural rights, and young people’s access to diverse stories.
The quiet cancellation of Jumana Manna’s solo exhibition at Heidelberger Kunstverein in 2023 has ignited debates on artistic freedom, Palestine, and the use of antisemitism frameworks in cultural institutions. Critics argue that IHRA definitions risk conflating political critique of Israel with antisemitism, limiting Palestinian voices. Manna’s case highlights self‑policing, institutional caution, and calls for alternative standards like the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism.
The Egyptian Musicians’ Syndicate’s investigation of singer Reda El Bahrawi after his July 2025 North Coast concert highlights the body’s growing influence over live performance in Egypt. With only vague references to unspecified “violations,” the case raises ongoing concerns about transparency, due process, and the impact of discretionary cultural regulation on artistic freedom.
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Mohamed Ramadan faces a two-year prison sentence for releasing his hit “Number One, you halves” without Egypt’s required censorship permits, extending state control into music published on global platforms like YouTube. The conviction, though not yet enforced, sends a chilling signal to high-profile artists as authorities tighten oversight of digital creativity and blur the line between stardom and criminalisation.
Iranian singer, Parastoo Ahmadi, 27, stages a bold hijab‑free “imaginary concert” in a historic caravanserai, livestreamed on YouTube with no physical audience but watched by thousands online. Performing in a sleeveless dress with uncovered hair alongside three male musicians, she directly challenges Iran’s bans on women singing publicly. Within 24 hours, the judiciary announces legal proceedings, turning one virtual show into a high‑stakes test of artistic freedom.
As Uganda heads toward the 2026 elections, opposition‑aligned musicians are being drawn into an intensifying crackdown marked by arbitrary arrests, house‑arrest‑style sieges and shootings at rallies. From repeated cordons around Bobi Wine’s home to the arrest of Nubian Li and the shooting of Omukunja Atasera, the state is treating music as a security threat rather than a space for artistic expression
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As President Santiago Peña appears as guest at the Nobel Prize Awards, a darker reality unfolds at home. Paraguay’s independent arts sector is facing mounting pressure through vandalism, court rulings and moral panic. From the violent destruction of Ruth Flores’s artwork to the criminal sentencing of a cultural centre director, artists and managers are paying the price for defending dissent, diversity and free expression.
Chinese actor Yu Menglong, 37, died in Beijing on September 11, 2025. Officially ruled an accidental fall, his death has made speculation online, fuelling debates across China and Taiwan. Suppressed domestic discussion collided with diaspora discourse, highlighting tensions between PRC narrative control and cross-border media scrutiny. The case reveals the limits of digital censorship, the power of global fandom, and the complexities of information in a politically charged environment
