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Dissident Spotlight

Dissident Spotlight: Roberto Saviano
Roberto Saviano faced a 1,000-euro fine for calling Italy's prime minister a "bastard," a regression of free speech in a "Western" country.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Saied bin Nasser al-Ghamdi
Mohammad bin Salman has targeted Saied bin Nasser al-Ghamdi's family as a result of his outspoken opposition to Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Miguel Mendoza Urbina
A sports commentator became a prominent dissident when he used his platform to speak out against the state's violence against protesters.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Lhamjab Borjigin
For advocating for the Mongolian language and documenting human rights abuses against Mongolians, Lhamjab Borjigin remains in Chinese custody.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Marko Vidojković
Marko Vidojković's 2020 novel was real enough to lead to death threats and legal consequences years after its publication.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Pema Rinchen
Pema Rinchen wrote a book about Tibetans' resistance to China's 2008 crackdown against the autonomous state. He spent four years in prison for it.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Norman Tumuhimbise
Norman Tumuhimbise is one of many victims of a leader's thin skin and quick resort to "offensiveness" as a crime against the state.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Daphne Caruana Galizia
Daphne Galizia's murder shows how journalists can be unsafe even in developed countries if their leaders are accustomed to dangerous levels of…
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Rania al-Assal
Rania al-Assal is an Egyptian journalist who disappeared during her pilgrimage to Mecca. Saudi Arabia released her almost a year after seizing her.
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Walid al-Tabtabai
Walid al-Tabtabai was a conservative theocrat who opposed Kuwait's Emir's dissolution of parliament. That opposition resulted in a two-year prison…
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Armin Shadivand
Armin Shadivand was arrested for spreading "propaganda" online and for "insulting the Supreme Leader," two ridiculous charges that show how afraid…
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Christopher Gerlacher
Dissident Spotlight: Awad Al-Sawafi
Arrested over a tweet, Al-Sawafi's case highlights how the internet can amplify both voices for freedom and tools of oppression.
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Christopher Gerlacher
© 2025 Christopher Gerlacher
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