Silenced Podcast Series

"Press freedom around the world is under attack like never before."

This podcast series by human rights organisation ARTICLE 19 tells the stories of journalists and activists around the world who have risked it all to report the truth. Presented by Nicola Kelly, Silenced explores extraordinary real-life stories from journalists and activists who have been arrested, detained, or murdered in their pursuit of the truth. Told in the first-person narrative and through immersive sound, the series takes listeners into the lives of those seeking justice and holding their governments to account.

Commencing its second season in 2024, the following Silenced episodes can be downloaded:

Series 1:

• Episode 1: Richard Ratcliffe (March 2022) - In this episode, Nicola Kelly speaks to Richard Ratcliffe, campaigner and husband of British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, in one of the last interviews before his wife's release. He recounts the day she was arrested, the confused first months, the conditions in which Nazanin was held, and the politics that surrounded her six-year imprisonment in Iran.
• Episode 2: Olga Tokariuk (April 2022) - Ukrainian journalist Olga Tokariuk speaks to Nicola Kelly from a bomb shelter in the west of the country. She describes: the tentacles of the Russian propaganda machine and the sophisticated disinformation war that has been waged in Ukraine since 2014; journalist safety, including the deliberate targeting of journalists and those killed, kidnapped and disappeared; and how best to get impartial information out to the world.
• Episode 3: Maria Baronova (April 2022) - In this episode, former Editor-in-Chief of 'Russia Today' (now 'RT') talks about her years in activism, her decision to join the state-run TV network and why she quit after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February. Maria describes the threats, intimidation and violent attacks against her, and her hopes for a free and independent Russian media.
• Episode 4: Matthew Caruana Galizia (May 2022) - This episode offer and interview with Matthew Caruana Galizia, journalist and son of the late investigative journalist Daphne Caruana-Galizia. He speaks about the day of his mother's murder and his determination to continue her legacy, exposing corruption among Malta's elite.
• Episode 5: Jamal Khashoggi (May 2022) - On October 2 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, arguably Saudi Arabia's most prominent journalist and an outspoken critic of the country's government, walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to collect documents he needed to get married. He never reappeared, and investigators later concluded that Jamal Khashoggi had been ambushed, forcibly restrained, drugged, and asphyxiated. His body was then dismembered, stuffed into bags, and discarded by fifteen Saudi assassins connected to the crown prince, Mohammed bin-Salman. Six months after the murder, Iyad el-Baghdadi, a prominent writer and a friend to Jamal Khashoggi, was visited by the Norwegian Security services at his home in Oslo, where they informed him that there was a credible threat to his life. In this episode of Silenced, he describes what happened and how his life has changed since then.
• Episode 6: Sergio Aguayo (June 2022) - In this episode, Mexican journalist and academic Sergio Aguayo talks about the impact a civil defamation lawsuit has had on his personal and professional life. It all started in 2016 when Aguayo wrote an opinion piece accusing former Coahuila state governor Humberto Moreira of corruption. In a case that rumbled on for more than six years, Sergio was ordered to pay 10 million pesos (more than half a million dollars) to Moreira, who said the piece had damaged his 'honour'. During that time, Sergio experienced multiple threats and intimidation and has had to live under full police protection.
• Episode 7: Zahra Joya (June 2022) - Zahra Joya, an Afghan journalist and the founder of Rukhshana Media, Afghanistan's first female-led media organisation, talks about the day the Taliban retook Kabul, being airlifted to safety, and what it's like running a media organisation while living in exile.
• Episode 8: Alex Chow (July 2022) - In this episode, Alex Chow, a prominent leader of Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement, describes the fight for democracy, his incarceration and life in exile. The Umbrella Movement of 2014 saw scores of people occupying main squares around the city, putting up umbrellas to protect themselves against the pepper spray police used to disperse the crowds. Then, in 2019, pro-democracy protests against a controversial extradition bill were, once again, met with police brutality, arrests, and prison sentences, and many were forced to flee and live in exile. Alex talks about his seven-month prison sentence, his ongoing fight for democracy, and the impact his work has had on his family.

Series 2:

• Episode 1: Youmna ElSayed (May 2024) - In this episode, host Nicola Kelly speaks to Al Jazeera Gaza correspondent Youmna ElSayed. Youmna describes the challenges of reporting on the October 7 2023 Hamas attacks and Israel's bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip in the months that followed. She sets out the personal and professional costs of covering the war, the impact it has had on her family, and the moment the Israeli Defence Forces called her home to issue a threat.

"Silenced" was named Podcast of the Year at the Society of Editors Media Freedom Awards 2022.

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