NEWSLETTER 4 — 2008

Cameroon: Singer sentenced to three years in jail
Lapiro de Mbanga, a popular singer in Cameroon, has been sentenced to three years in jail for taking part in anti-government riots in Cameroon in February 2008. Freemuse and International Pen are campaigning for the release of Mbanga.
Read more:
www.freemuse.org/sw29911.asp

 
Spain: Festival against censorship held in Bilbao
Iranian artists Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat, Chiwoniso of Zimbabwe and Kamilya Jubran are featured artists at this years’ Festival Against Censorship in Bilbao. This is the third consecutive year where the Basque production company Serrano is promoting freedom of expression for artists in collaboration with Freemuse. The festival opens on 18 October and will focus on various aspects of censorship during the following week.
Read more:
www.freemuse.org/sw30308.asp

 
Freemuse report on Somalia:
Killings and attacks on musicians
Several musicians have been killed in Somalia during the past year, and musicians in Somalia suffer in general from communal and religious censorship. This is revealed in a report based on a Freemuse seminar held in the capital Mogadishu in the beginning of July 2008. The report, now available online, gives a unique insight in the conditions of musicians in Somalia.
Read more:
www.freemuse.org/sw29844.asp

 
Three new members of the Freemuse Board
Robin Gross, founder and executive director of IP Justice, journalist Tsigue Shiferaw, and Layla Al-Zubaidi, director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Middle East Office in Beirut, Lebanon, are new members of the Freemuse Executive Committee.
Read more:
www.freemuse.org/sw271.asp

 
Meet Freemuse at Womex in Spain
Freemuse will present the conclusions of the forthcoming 'white paper' on visa issues at Womex Friday 31 October at 11 AM. Freemuse programme manager Ole Reitov will be joined by European Live Music Forum executive director Hans Hjorth.
Read more:
www.freemuse.org/sw30346.asp

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Find more information on freemuse.org

Freemuse.org features new articles and background documents on music censorship every week.
 
 
Recent news stories

• Israel: Paul McCartney defied death threats by militants

• Israel: Conference in October about 'music on troubled soils'

• Turkey: Jail sentence to Kurdish folk singer

 
Recent video interviews
 
• Colombia: Video interview with Bellavista Social Club
Colombian rappers and protest musicians Don Vito and Medina of Bellavista Social Club about their experiences of persecution.
 
• Colombia: Video interview about Pasajeros
Colombian rappers and protest musicians Don Vito and Medina explain why their colleagues in the band Pasajeros were imprisoned and exiled.
 
• Cote d'Ivoire: Video interview with reggae singer Tiken Jah Fakoly
Tiken Jah Fakoly was the first artist to receive the annual Freemuse Award. The interview was recorded in Dublin on Saturday 23 August 2008 in connection with the Freemuse Award 2008 ceremony.

See also video interview in French language:
Freemuse a interviewé Tiken Jah Fakoly en connection avec la cérémonie du prix Freemuse Award 2008
 

 
Connect and interact with Freemuse on 'Web 2.0'
 
• myspace.com/musiccensorship
• facebook.com/profile.php?id=1260628251
• youtube.com/user/freemuseorg

 
 

Kind regards,

Freemuse - The World Forum on Music and Censorship 
Nytorv 17, 3rd floor
1450 Copenhagen K    
Denmark
Tel  +45 33 32 10 27
www.freemuse.org

Freemuse (FREEdom of MUSical Expression) is an international human rights organisation advocating freedom of expression for musicians and composers worldwide.