FreedomOfExpression photos on Flickr

This woman was one of nearly 1,500 people who gathered in Parliament Square on 6 September 2025 for a silent act of civil disobedience. They were protesting the UK government's decision to proscribe the direct-action group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.

By holding a sign declaring support for the group, she was knowingly breaking the law and risking a lengthy prison sentnce under the Terrorism Act. Her determined expression reflects the protest's solemn mood, driven by the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

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Protest and the Price of Dissent: Palestine Action and the Criminalisation of Conscience

Parliament Square on Saturday, 6 September 2025 was a scene of quiet, almost solemn defiance. The air, usually thick with the noise of London traffic and crowds of tourists, was instead filled with a palpable tension, a shared gravity that emanated from the quiet determination of hundreds of protesters, many of them over 60 years old, some sitting on steps or stools and others lying on the grass.

They held not professionally printed banners, but handwritten cardboard signs, their messages stark against the historic grandeur of their surroundings. This was not a march of chants and slogans, but a silent vigil of civil disobedience, a deliberate and calculated act of defiance against the state.

On that day, my task was to photograph the protest against the proscription of the direct-action group Palestine Action. While not always agreeing entirely with the group’s methods, I could not help but be struck by the profound dedication etched on the faces of the individual protesters.

As they sat in silence, contemplating both the horrific gravity of the situation in Gaza and the enormity of the personal risk they were taking — courting arrest under terror laws for holding a simple placard — their expressions took on a quality not dissimilar to what war photographers once called the “thousand-yard stare.” It was a look of weary but deep and determined resolve, a silent testament to their readiness to face life-changing prosecution in the name of a principle.

This scene poses a profound and unsettling question for modern Britain. How did the United Kingdom, a nation that prides itself on its democratic traditions and the right to protest, arrive at a point where hundreds of its citizens — clergy, doctors, veterans, and the elderly — could be arrested under counter-terrorism legislation for an act of silent, peaceful protest?

The events of that September afternoon were the culmination of a complex and contentious series of developments, but their significance extends far beyond a single organisation or demonstration. The proscription of Palestine Action has become a critical juncture in the nation’s relationship with dissent, a test of the elasticity of free expression, and a stark examination of its obligations under international law in the face of Israel deliberately engineering a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

To understand what is at stake, one must unravel the threads that led to that moment: the identity of the movement, the state’s legal machinery of proscription, the confrontation in Parliament Square, and the political context that compelled so many to risk their liberty.

Direct Action and the State’s Response

Palestine Action, established in 2020, has never hidden its approach. Unlike traditional lobbying groups, it rejected appeals to political elites in favour of disrupting the physical infrastructure of complicity: factories producing parts for Israeli weapons systems, offices of arms manufacturers, and — eventually — military installations themselves.

Its tactics, while non-violent, were disruptive and confrontational. Red paint sprayed across buildings to symbolise blood, occupations that halted production, chains and locks on factory gates. For supporters, these were acts of conscience against a system enabling atrocities in Gaza. For the state, they were criminal disruptions of commerce.

That clash escalated steadily. In Oldham, a persistent campaign against Elbit Systems, a key manufacturer in the Israeli arms supply chain, culminated in the company abandoning its Ferranti site. Later actions targeted suppliers for F-35 fighter jets and other arms manufacturers. These were no random acts of mindless vandalism but part of a deliberate strategy: to impose costs high enough that complicity in Israel’s war effort would become unsustainable.

The decisive rupture came in June 2025, when activists infiltrated RAF Brize Norton, Britain’s largest airbase, and sprayed red paint into the engines of refuelling aircraft linked to operations over Gaza. For the activists, it was a desperate attempt to interrupt a supply chain of surveillance and logistical support to a state commiting genocide. For the government, it crossed a line: military assets had been attacked. Within days, the Home Secretary announced Palestine Action would be proscribed as a terrorist organisation.

Proscription and the Expansion of “Terrorism”

Here lies the heart of the controversy. The Terrorism Act 2000 defines terrorism with unusual breadth, encompassing not only threats to life but also “serious damage to property” carried out for political or ideological aims. In this capacious definition, breaking a factory window or disabling a machine can be legally assimilated to mass murder.

By invoking this law, the government placed Palestine Action on the same legal footing as al-Qaeda or ISIS. Supporting it — even symbolically — became a serious offence.

Since July 2025, merely expressing support for the organization can carry a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

This is based on Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The specific offense is "recklessly expressing support for a proscribed organisation". However, according to Section 13 of the Act, a lower-level offence for actions like displaying hand held placards in support of a proscribed group carries a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment or a fine of five thousand pounds or both.

Civil liberties groups and human rights bodies have denounced the proscription move as disproportionate. Their concern was not primarily whether Palestine Action’s tactics might violate existing criminal law. One might reasonably argue that they did unless they might sometimes be justified in the name of preventing a greater crime.

But reframing those actions as “terrorism” represented a dangerous category error. As many pointed out, terrorism has historically referred to violence against civilians. Expanding it to cover property damage risks draining the term of meaning. Worse, it arms the state with a stigma so powerful that it can delegitimise entire political positions without debate.

The implications go further. Proscription does not simply criminalise acts. It criminalises expressions of allegiance, conscience and even speech. To say “I support Palestine Action” is no longer an opinion but technically a serious crime. The state has moved from punishing deeds to punishing expressions of solidarity — a move with chilling consequences for democratic life.

Parliament Square: Civil Disobedience on TrialIt was this transformation that brought nearly 1,500 people into Parliament Square on 6 September. They knew what awaited them. Organisers announced in advance that protesters would hold signs reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” In doing so, they openly declared their intent to break the law.

The crowd was strikingly diverse. Retired doctors, clergy, war veterans, even an 83-year-old Anglican priest. Disabled activists came in wheelchairs; descendants of Holocaust survivors stood beside young students. This was not a hardened cadre of militants but a cross-section of society, many of whom had never before faced arrest.

At precisely 1 pm, the protesters all sat or lay down silently, cardboard signs raised. There was no chanting, no aggression — only a quiet insistence that they would not accept the criminalisation of conscience.

The police response was equally predictable. Hundreds of officers moved systematically through the crowd, arresting anyone displaying a sign. By the end of the day, nearly 900 people were detained under counter-terrorism law. It was one of the largest mass arrests in modern British history.

Official statements later alleged police were met with violence — officers punched, spat on, objects thrown. Yet independent observers, including Amnesty International, contradicted this. They reported a peaceful assembly disrupted by aggressive policing: batons drawn, protesters shoved, some bloodied.

www.amnesty.org/zh-hans/documents/eur45/0273/2025/en/

Video footage supported at least some of Amnesty's report.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZQGFrqCf5U&t=1283s

The two narratives were irreconcilable, but only one carried the weight and authority of the state.

The entire event unfolded as political theatre. The government proscribed a group, thereby creating a new crime. Protesters, convinced the law was unjust, announced their intent to commit that crime peacefully. The police, forewarned, staged a vast operation. Each side acted out its script. The spectacle allowed the state to present itself as defending order against extremism — while in reality silencing dissent.

The Humanitarian Context: Why Protesters Risked All

To see the Parliament Square protest as a parochial dispute over free speech is to miss its driving force. The demonstrators were not there merely to defend abstract principles. They were responding to what they, and a growing body of international experts, describe as a genocide in Gaza.

By September 2025, Gaza had descended into almost total collapse. Over 63,000 Palestinians had been killed, the majority of them women and children. More than 150,000 had been injured, many maimed for life. Entire neighbourhoods had been flattened. Famine was confirmed in August, with Israel continuing to impose and even tighten deliberate restrictions on food, water, and fuel, a strategy condemned by human rights groups as a major war crime. Hospitals lay in ruins. Ninety percent of the population had been displaced.

It is in this context that the term genocide has been applied. Legal scholars point not only to mass killings but also to the deliberate infliction of life-destroying conditions, accompanied by rhetoric from Israeli officials dehumanising Palestinians as “human animals.” In September 2025, the International Association of Genocide Scholars declared that Israel’s actions met the legal definition of genocide.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cde3eyzdr63o

Major NGOs, UN experts, and even Israeli human rights groups such as B’Tselem echoed that conclusion.

For the protesters, then, the question was not abstract but immediate: faced with what they saw as a genocide, could they in good conscience remain silent while their own government criminalised resistance to it? Their answer was to risk arrest, their placards making the moral connection explicit: opposing genocide meant supporting those who sought to stop it.

The Price of Dissent

The mass arrests in Parliament Square were not an isolated incident of law enforcement. They were the product of a broader trajectory: escalating tactics by a direct-action movement, a humanitarian catastrophe abroad, and a government determined to suppress dissent at home through the bluntest of instruments.

The official line insists that Palestine Action’s campaign constituted terrorism and thus warranted proscription. On this view, the arrests were simple enforcement of the law. Yet this account obscures the deeper reality: a precedent in which the state redefined non-lethal protest as terrorism, shifting from punishing actions to criminalising expressions of solidarity.

The cost is profound. Once speech and conscience themselves become suspect, dissent is no longer tolerated but pathologised. The chilling effect is already evident: individuals weigh not just whether to join a protest, but whether uttering support might expose them to years in prison. Terror laws, originally justified as a shield against mass violence, are recast as tools of political management.

The protesters understood this. That “thousand-yard stare” captured in their faces was not only the weight of potential arrest, but the knowledge of Gaza’s devastation, the famine and rubble, the deaths mounting daily. It was also the recognition that their own government had chosen to silence them rather than address its complicity.

In a functioning democracy, the question is not why citizens risk arrest for holding a handwritten cardboard sign. It is why a state finds it necessary to treat that act as a terror offence. The answer reveals a narrowing of democratic space, where conscience itself is deemed subversive. And that narrowing, history teaches, carries consequences not just for those arrested, but for the society that allows it.

Just because they can't see it dosen't mean it ain't there. by sara mattiace

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www.flickr.com/groups/uaeflickrblock/

Julian Assange - Details by Ben Heine

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© Ben Heine || Facebook || Twitter || www.benheine.com

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Enlarge HERE (the third detail is a small part of his nose)

Made with thousands of "@" symbols (the common "At sign" typographic character). It took me a few days of work. I applied each character one by one and used several references for the accuracy of the portrait. Each symbol is made of a single color and tone. (I left the portrait unfinished on purpose, I think it's better this way).

"@" like "@mbitious", "@ctivism" and "@ssange"... Julian is a courageous man fighting for Justice and Democracy despite many criticisms...

Julian Paul Assange is the founder, spokesperson and editor in chief of WikiLeaks (a whistleblower website and conduit for news leaks). He is also an Australian publisher, journalist, software developer and Internet activist.

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For more information about my art: info@benheine.com

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Making of - Julian Assange by Ben Heine

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© Ben Heine || Facebook || Twitter || www.benheine.com

_______________________________________________

Enlarge HERE

Made with thousands of "@" symbols (the common "At sign" typographic character). It took me a few days of work. I applied each character one by one and used several references for the accuracy of the portrait. Each symbol is made of a single color and tone. (I left the portrait unfinished on purpose, I think it's better this way).

"@" like "@mbitious", "@ctivism" and "@ssange"... Julian is a courageous man fighting for Justice and Democracy despite many criticisms...

Julian Paul Assange is the founder, spokesperson and editor in chief of WikiLeaks (a whistleblower website and conduit for news leaks). He is also an Australian publisher, journalist, software developer and Internet activist.

_______________________________________________

For more information about my art: info@benheine.com

_______________________________________________

under the rainbow in a white world by Tu prova ad avere un mondo nel cuore...

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umbrellas, as we see in these two photos (this one and the previous one), do not just repair us from the rain, or hte snow. They can make the world brighter.

Je suis Charlie - Freedom of Speech: Open Mouth - Discussion - Not sewing up the mouthes of others - Offener Mund Diskussion by Ingrid Hedbavny

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#CharlieHebdo #charlie #hebdo #JeSuisCharlie #jesuischarlie #ParisShooting #atheism #freethinker #russell #teapot #teekanne #gebote #dekalog #decalogue

Part of: "an apple a day keeps the doctor away - An ENSO (Japanese: circle, Japanisch: Kreis) a day .... " Aktion Kreis Tagebuch A circle diary - Start of the 365-days Project: 1. September / 14. 1. 2015 - Tag 5 der 6 Tage Aktion mit einem getragenen T-Shirt // Prokrustes

DMC-G2 - P1870924 - 2015-01-14

Je suis Charlie - Freedom of Expression: In 13 Countries Death Penalty for Atheism. In 10 Countries Death Penalty for Homosexuality - Selfportrait Mouth Sewn up - Österreich heute: Lesben wegen Kuß aus dem Café Prückl geschmissen by Ingrid Hedbavny

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They were libertarians - Sie waren Libertäre

Discrimination against Atheism, freethinkers, has a long tradition and is still going on.

Freedom of Thought Report 2013:

"The non religious are discriminated against, or outright persecuted in most countries of the world.

In 13 countries you can be put to death for expressing atheism.

In 39 countries the law mandates a prison sentence for blasphemy."

Because of a kiss a lesbian couple was thrown out of a well known traditional coffeehouse in Vienna.

In 10 countries: death penalty for homosexuality.

In many more countries homosexuality is illegal.

Interesting point: in some of these countries it is not illegal for women, only for men.

T-shirt inside out, selfportrait on transparent paper upside down, newspaper clips, cotton self dyed

Auif dem blauen Boden in der blauen Spiegelküche: Innenseite Baumwoll T-Shirt, Rückseite Selbstporträt auf Transparentpapier, Baumwolle selbstgefärbt rot, Zeitungsausschnitte. Stofffarben, Nähnadel

#CharlieHebdo #charlie #hebdo #JeSuisCharlie #jesuischarlie #ParisShooting #atheism #freethinker #homosexuality #lgbt #lesbian

Part of: "an apple a day keeps the doctor away - An ENSO (Japanese: circle, Japanisch: Kreis) a day .... " Aktion Kreis Tagebuch A circle diary - Start of the 365-days Project: 1. September / 12. Jänner 2015 - Tag 3 der 6 Tage Aktion mit einem getragenen T-Shirt // Procrustes, Prokrustes

DMC-G2 - P1870879 - 2015-01-12

Censura/Sabotaje al montaje by jlmaral

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En castellano:

www.flickr.com/photos/tochis/547452710/

Si tu ID de Yahoo está localizada en Singapur, Alemania, Hong Kong o Corea sólo podrás ver ‘contenido seguro’ (safe search) basado en las condiciones de servicio locales. O sea que no puedes desconectar el filtro Safe Search.

En otras palabras, eso significa que los usuarios alemanes no pueden acceder a las fotos de Flickr a las que no se haya añadido la ‘bandera’ (flag) de ‘segura’... Sólo flores y paisajes para los alemanes.

¡No permitamos que suceda esto! Copia y sube esta imagen a tu cuenta. Haz saber a Flickr quienes somos.

Français:

www.flickr.com/photos/babygraceblue/547461592/

Si votre compte Yahoo! est basé à Singapour, à Hong Kong, en Corée ou en Allemagne, vous ne pourrez voir que les photos qui n'ont pas été marquées comme ayant un contenu qui peut choquer. Toutes les autres ne vous seront pas accessibles. Vous serez donc condamnés à ne voir que des paysages et des fleurs. Il ne faut pas laisser faire ça. Envoyez cette photo sur votre compte pour montrer à Flickr que nous savons nous mobiliser contre la censure !

Deutch:

www.flickr.com/photos/siebbi/548730713/

flickr sperrt uns aus! Und auch dich!

Seit gestern werden für deutsche Nutzer keine Bilder mehr angezeigt, die als 'moderate' oder 'restricted' markiert sind! Es gibt keine Moeglichkeit das umzustellen - das ist eine grobe Unverschämtheit und Frechheit von flickr!

English:

www.flickr.com/photos/mockneyrebel/548226469/

If your Yahoo! ID is based in Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong or Korea you will only be able to view safe content based on your local Terms of Service so won ’t be able to turn SafeSearch off. In other words, german users can not access photos on flickr that are not flagged "safe" ... only flowers and landscapes for germans

Italiano:

www.flickr.com/photos/andrea25/547780824/

Se il tuo ID yahoo è localizzato a Singapore, in Germania oppure ad Hong Kong o in Korea potrai vedere solo foto dal contenuto che è in accordo con il locale

accordo dei termini di servizio per cui gli utenti flickr di quelle nazioni non potranno cambiare da SafeSearch on in SafeSearch off.

In altre parole ciò significa che gli utenti tedeschi e delle altre nazioni citate non potranno accedere a foto su flickr che non sono flaggate "safe" e quindi solo fiori e paesaggi per i tedeschi.

Copia e uploada quest' immagine sul tuo account - mostra a flickr chi siamo!

Türkçe:

www.flickr.com/photos/orhanokay/548222857/

Eğer Yahoo! ID'niz Singapur, Almanya, Hong Kong ya da Kore tabanlıysa, yalnızca yerel Kullanım Şartları/Terms of Service'sinizdeki 'safe/güvenli' içeriğe sahip fotoğrafları görüntüleyebiliyorsunuz, SafeSearch'ü kapatamıyorsunuz.

Diğer bir deyişle, Alman, Singapurlu, Koreli, Hong Konglu kullanıcılar 'safe/güvenli' olarak işaret edilenlerin dışındaki fotoğrafları görüntüleyemiyor... Onlara yalnızca çiçekler ve manzaralar kalıyor...

Bunun olmasına izin vermeyeceğiz! Bu fotoğrafı kopyalayıp kendi sayfanıza yükleyin -flickr'a çok ileri gittiklerini gösterin...

Indonesia:

www.flickr.com/photos/ardi/551611211/

Jika Yahoo ID anda menggunakan Singapore , Jerman , Hongkong dan Korea, kamu hanya kan bisa melihat foto yang aman, terkendalai dan baik-baik saja "safe mode" berdasarkan arti lokal setempat. dan kamu tidak bisa menyalakaan atau mematikan "safe mode" tersebut. dah gak jamannya main sensor sensoran ini kan komunitas global

Dengan kata lain, pengguna dengan ID Jerman tidak bisa mengakses foto di flickr yang tidak memiliki tanda "safe" ... hanya bunga bungaan dan pemandangan saja yang bisa di akses sama orang Jerman tersebut ...nah lo..jadi pencinta alam deh kalo gitu he he

Kami tidak akan membiarkan hal ini terjadi!! copy dan upload gambar ini di account anda--Tunjukan dong siapa kita. he he. Flickr ...mikir atuh ya..jangan sensor sensor lagi ya..

Česky:

www.flickr.com/photos/vincent_vega/546410582/

Ať Flickru zešediví vlasy!

Protest proti narcistickému chování Flickru a Yahoo z průběhu tohoto týdne byl velice úspěšný.

Pokud by teď protestní aktivity pohasly, byl by to velmi špatný signál.

Návrh:

Poté, co se protestní fotografie plné kreativity a fantazie pevně umístily na vývěsce Flickru v "Explore / Interestingness", by je teď měla následovat klidná, monochromatická šeď.

Zase to zabere hodiny favorizování, připisování poznámek a komentářů, ale už jen ta představa, že celý obsah Flickru na chvíli vlastně zmizí, až se stane tím, čím teď vlastně je, by měl stát za to...

日本語:

www.flickr.com/photos/maggot/548257906/

昨日よりシンガポール、ドイツ、香港、韓国の四カ国において、FlickrはSafeSearchフィルターをOffにできない措置がほどこされ、これに伴って、これらの国々のflickrユーザーはsafe flagがつけられ安全だと認証された写真しか閲覧することができなくなりました。

昨晩、フリッカー検閲ポリシー反対キャンペーンの火の手があがり、ものすごい勢いで世界中に広がっています。キャンペーンの主旨に賛同される方、ご自由にこのイメージをダウンロードされ、ご自分のページにアップロードなさり、「ThinkFlickrThink」というTagをお加えになってください。

また、反対賛同のイメージや写真に賛同のコメントを書き込んだり、お気に入りに選んでください。Exploreを検閲反対のメッセージで埋め尽くしましょう。実際に昨日付けのExploreにはかなりのイメージがランク入りした模様です。

検閲反対キャンペーン・グループ（against censorship at flickr)にも、ぜひご参加ください。

キャンペーン賛同ユーザーの写真はここでご覧になることができます：http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/thinkflickrthink/

繁體中文:

somebody from China can read this???

如果你的Yahoo! 帳號是註冊在新加坡、德國、香港或韓國，你將只能夠看見標記為安全的相片，基於你所在地的服務條款，你無法將安全搜尋關閉。

換句話說，新加坡、德國、香港或韓國使用者只能瀏覽標記為安全的相片…僅有花花草草及風景…

我們不會讓這發生！複製並上傳這張圖片至你的帳號 — 對Flickr展現我們異議！

简体中文：

somebody from Hong Kong can read this???

如果你的Yahoo! 帐户是注册在新加坡、德国、香港或韩国，你将只能够看见标记为安全的相片，基于你本地的服务条款，你无法将安全搜寻关闭。

换句话说，新加坡、德国、香港或韩国使用者只能浏览标记为安全的相片… 仅有花花草草及风景…

我们不会让这发生！复制并上传这张图片至你的帐户 — 对Flickr展现我们异议

SEE THE ORIGINAL POST

Ein Bild zum Weiterverteilen gibt es hier: farm2.static.flickr.com/1299/543864623_7aadef1e69_o.jpg

Runterladen, auf den eigenen Account hochladen, fertig

please use the tag: "thinkflickrthink" and join this group www.flickr.com/groups/againstcensorship/

Weitere Infos:

- www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/91085

- www.flickr.com/groups/404938@N23/discuss/72157600347681500/

- www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/42597/

Thanks to Kiff ta race/non à la censure.

Bersih 5, Street Protest by Paul Choo

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"Thousands of anti-government protesters marched in Malaysia’s capital on Saturday demanding the resignation of the prime minister, Najib Razak, over his alleged involvement in a multibillion-dollar misappropriation scandal.

Clad in yellow shirts and unfazed by arrests of activists and opposition leaders just hours before the rally, protesters marched from various spots towards the heart of Kuala Lumpur amid tight security."

www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/19/thousands-call-for-...

www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/world/asia/tens-of-thousands-o...

Dark forces by INNES

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Today in France 12 people were murdered all for the sake of a cartoon. For God's sake it was just a bloody picture.

What senseless, cowardly murder. What religion is it that advocates murder? There is none. What kind of fool thinks you can stop a world of people from expressing themselves, communicating with others, sharing a laugh together by shooting a few?

Through their actions today a few misguided individuals insult their religion and make a mockery of what they believe in, in a far more concrete way than any cartoon could have done whilst at the same time forcing the whole civilised world of free thinking people to turn against them. It's what we call an 'Own Goal'.

Even the Islamic prophet Muhammad is quoted as saying "The ink of the scholar is holier than the blood of the martyr"

In this case the cartoonists with their pens are the scholars, and we all know the terrorists think they are martyrs. What sick losers they are!

"Religion, a mediaeval form of unreason, when combined with modern weaponry becomes a real threat to our freedoms.

This religious totalitarianism has caused a deadly mutation in the heart of Islam and we see the tragic consequences in Paris today.

I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty and stupidity.

"Respect for religion" has become a code phrase meaning ‘fear of religion."

Religions, like all other ideas, deserve criticism, satire, and, yes, our fearless disrespect." Salman Rushdie

See: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2901459/jesuisCharlie-wo... For me, the Dutch cartoonist sums it up best!

Bersih 5, Street Protest by Paul Choo

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"Thousands of anti-government protesters marched in Malaysia’s capital on Saturday demanding the resignation of the prime minister, Najib Razak, over his alleged involvement in a multibillion-dollar misappropriation scandal.

Clad in yellow shirts and unfazed by arrests of activists and opposition leaders just hours before the rally, protesters marched from various spots towards the heart of Kuala Lumpur amid tight security."

www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/19/thousands-call-for-...

www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/world/asia/tens-of-thousands-o...

Ingrid Betancourt by Ben Heine

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© Ben Heine || Facebook || Twitter || www.benheine.com

_______________________________________________

For more information about my art: info@benheine.com

_______________________________________________

Ingrid Betancourt (born 25 December 1961) is a Colombian-French politician, former senator, anti-corruption activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee.

Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008. The rescue operation, dubbed Operation Jaque, rescued Betancourt along with 14 other hostages (three Americans and 11 Colombian policemen and soldiers). In all, she was held captive for 2,321 days after being taken while campaigning for the Colombian presidency as a Green. She had decided to campaign in rebel controlled areas despite warnings from the government, police and military not to do so. Her kidnapping received worldwide coverage, particularly in France, because of her dual French citizenship. She has received multiple international awards, such as the Légion d'honneur. In 2008 she received the Concord Prince of Asturias Award.

Betancourt was born in Bogotá, Colombia. Her mother, Yolanda Pulecio, is a former beauty queen who later served in Congress representing poor southern neighborhoods of Bogotá. Her father, Gabriel Betancourt, was minister for the General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla dictatorship (1953–1957), the assistant director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, then ambassador of Colombia to UNESCO in Paris, and head of the education commission of the Alliance for Progress in Washington, D.C. under John F. Kennedy. The Betancourt family is one of Colombia's oldest oligarchic families, descended from French Norman immigrants who arrived from Grainville-la-Teinturière three centuries before.

After attending private school in France, a boarding school in England as well as the Liceo Francés in Bogotá, Betancourt attended the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (commonly known as Sciences Po).

Íngrid Betancourt launched her presidential campaign on May 20, 2001 next to a statue of Simon Bolivar in Bogotá. She then began a campaign bus trip around the country to attend local community meetings.

As part of her campaign for the presidency in 2002 Betancourt decided to go to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the town of San Vicente del Caguán to meet with the FARC. This was not unusual—many public figures took the opportunity afforded by the DMZ to meet with the FARC as part of the negotiation process. At the time she decided to go, the Colombian Army suggested her not to go, since they would be unable to provide protection, due to hostility in the area after the DMZ had been militarized again. They made her sign a document that said just that, which she immediately signed. The election was eventually won by Álvaro Uribe, who never attended such meetings after having received threats from the rebel group.

The peace talks reached an impasse dead after more than three years of negotiations. From the beginning, the FARC would not agree to a truce for the duration of the negotiations, nor that the peace talks be overseen by different representatives of the international community. Though the DMZ was purported to be a "laboratory for peace", in practice the FARC continued its kidnapping activities, military attacks, purchasing of weapons, and even building roads and airstrips for trafficking narcotics. Critics considered the DMZ to have been turned into a safe haven in which the FARC imposed its will as law launching military attacks and acts of terrorism outside the DMZ before withdrawing back to it, in order to avoid direct confrontation with government armed forces. Also during this time, hundreds of civilians were kidnapped throughout different cities and rural areas of the country. They were then transported back to the DMZ where they were kept in cages, many of them having been kidnapped for economic extortion, others for "political reasons". By the end of 2001 the Colombian government and public opinion (according to different polls) were growing impatient and discouraged at the situation.

In February 2002, a turboprop plane flying from Florencia to Bogotá—a distance of some 1000 km (600 miles)—was hijacked in midair by FARC members. The plane was forced to land on a highway strip near the city of Neiva and then a member of the Colombian Congress was kidnapped. As a consequence, President Andrés Pastrana canceled the talks with the FARC and revoked the DMZ, arguing that the FARC had betrayed the terms of the negotiation and had used the DMZ to grow stronger in military and logistical capabilities. In a televised statement, the president expressed the government's intention of retaking the DMZ, informing that the military operation would begin at midnight, and also urged the FARC to respect the lives and the livelihood of those civilians still present in the DMZ.

Most candidates for political office that intended to do so backed off when authorities warned them of the danger. Ingrid Betancourt, as another one of these candidates, insisted on being taken to the former DMZ by a military aircraft. President Pastrana and other officials turned down this petition, arguing that neither they, nor the Colombian Army, could guarantee her safety during the turmoil that would follow the retaking of the DMZ. Additionally, Betancourt was running for president in the 2002 elections; aiding her in such a request would have meant that the government was rendering its resources to Betancourt's private political interests, as well as that the government was either backing a candidate for the presidential elections or, alternatively, that it then had to assist every single candidate in their demands of using official and military resources for their private interests.

When denied transport aboard this military helicopter that was heading to the zone, she decided to head into the DMZ via ground transport, together with Clara Rojas, her campaign manager who was later named running-mate for the 2002 election, and a handful of political aides. On 23 February 2002, she was stopped at the last military checkpoint before going into the former DMZ. Military officers insisted that Betancourt and her party not continue in their effort to reach San Vicente del Caguan, the village used for the peace talks. San Vicente's mayor was the only Oxigeno elected official in the entire country by then. Intense fighting was taking place inside the DMZ and the security situation was rapidly deteriorating. Betancourt dismissed their warnings and she continued her journey. According to her kidnapper, the later captured Nolberto Uni Vega, Betancourt ended up at a FARC checkpoint where she was captured. Her kidnap was never planned beforehand, said the rebel. Ingrid still appeared on the ballot for the presidential elections; her husband promised to continue her campaign. In the end, she achieved less than 1% of the votes.

Ever since the days of the Pastrana negotiations, when a limited exchange took place, the FARC have demanded the formalization of a mechanism for prisoner exchange. The mechanism would involve the release of what the FARC terms as its "political hostages", currently numbering 28, in exchange for most jailed guerrillas, numbering about 500. For the FARC, most of its other hostages, those held for extortion purposes and which would number at least a thousand, would not be considered subject to such an exchange, as of yet.

The newly elected Uribe administration initially ruled out any negotiation with the group that would not include a ceasefire, and instead pushed for rescue operations, many of which have traditionally been successful when carried out by the police's GAULA anti-kidnapping group in urban settings (as opposed to the mountains and jungles where the FARC keeps most prisoners), according to official statistics and mainstream news reports.

However, relatives of Ingrid and of most of FARC's political hostages came to strongly reject any potential rescue operations, in part due to the tragic death of the governor of the Antioquia department, Guillermo Gaviria, his peace advisor and several soldiers, kidnapped by the FARC during a peace march in 2003. The governor and the others were shot at close range by the FARC when the government launched an army rescue mission into the jungle which failed as soon as the guerrillas learned of its presence in the area.

2002

A day after Betancourt's kidnapping several non government organizations (NGO) under the lead of Armand Burguet were organized in the European Union and around the world to establish an association or committee for the liberation of Íngrid Betancourt. The committee initially consisted of some 280 activists in 39 countries.

One month after her kidnapping, her father Gabriel died of heart and respiratory trouble.

2003

In July 2003 Opération 14 juillet was launched, which both failed to liberate Betancourt and caused a scandal for the French government. A video of Betancourt was released by FARC in August 2003.

2004

In August 2004, after several false-starts and in the face of mounting pressure from relatives, former Liberal presidents Alfonso López Michelsen especially and also Ernesto Samper (whom Ingrid had criticized) backed in favor of a humanitarian exchange, the Uribe government seemed to have gradually relaxed its position, announcing that it has given the FARC a formal proposal on 23 July, in which it offers to free 50 to 60 jailed rebels in exchange for the political and military hostages held by the left-wing FARC group (not including economic hostages as well, as the government had earlier demanded).

The government would make the first move, releasing insurgents charged or condemned for rebellion and either allowing them to leave the country or to stay and join the state's reinsertion program, and then the FARC would release the hostages in its possession, including Íngrid Betancourt. The proposal would have been carried out with the backing and support of the French and Swiss governments, which publicly supported it once it was revealed.

The move was signaled as potentially positive by several relatives of the victims and Colombian political figures. Some critics of the president have considered that Uribe may seek to gain political prestige from such a move, though they would agree with the project in practice.

The FARC released a communiqué, dated 20 August but apparently published publicly only on 22 August, in which they denied having received the proposal earlier through the mediation of Switzerland (as the government had stated) and, while making note of the fact that a proposal had been made by Uribe's administration and that it hoped that common ground could eventually be reached, criticized it because they believe that any deal should allow them to decide how many of its jailed comrades should be freed and that they should return to the rebel ranks.

On 5 September, what has been considered as a sort of FARC counter proposal was revealed in the Colombian press. The FARC-EP is proposing that the government declare a "security" or "guarantee" zone for 72 hours in order for official insurgent and state negotiators to meet face to face and directly discuss a prisoner exchange. Government military forces would not have to leave the area but to concentrate in their available garrisons, in a similar move to that agreed by the Ernesto Samper administration (1994–1998) which involved the group freeing some captured security forces. In addition, the government's peace commissioner would have to make an official public pronouncement regarding this proposal.

If the zone were created, the first day would be used for traveling to the chosen location, the second to discuss the matter, and the third for the guerrillas to abandon the area. The government would be able to chose as the location for the "security zone" among one of the municipalities of Peñas Coloradas, El Rosal or La Tuna, all in Caquetá department, where the FARC had influence. It was speculated by retired military analysts that the FARC could potentially set up land mines or other traps around local military garrisons while the zone is in place.

The FARC proposal to arrange a meeting with the government was considered as positive by Yolanda Pulecio, Íngrid's mother, who called it a sign of "progress...just as the (government) commissioner can meet with (right-wing) paramilitaries, why can't he meet with the others, who are just as terrorist as they are."

2006

In February 2006, France urged the FARC to seize the chance offered by a European-proposed prisoner swap, accepted by Bogotá, and free dozens it had held for up to seven years. Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said it was "up to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to show they were serious about releasing former Colombian presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt and other detainees".

In an interview with French newspaper L'Humanité in June 2006, Raul Reyes, a leader of the FARC, said that Betancourt "is doing well, within the environment she finds herself in. It's not easy when one is deprived of freedom."

2007

In May 2007, a kidnapped Colombian National Police sub-intendant Jhon Frank Pinchao managed to escape from FARC captivity, claiming that Betancourt was being held in the same prison camp he had been in. He also reported seeing Clara Rojas, who had given birth to a son (Emmanuel), while in captivity.

On 18 May, President Álvaro Uribe reiterated his orders for the rescue by military means of Íngrid and other political figures. This happened after he interviewed a police officer captured by the FARC who ran away and told his story saying many of the prisoners were sick.

Shortly after taking office in mid-May, French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked Uribe to release FARC's "chancellor" Rodrigo Granda in exchange for Betancourt.

On 4 June, 30 incarcerated members from the FARC were liberated as a goodwill gesture by the government to pursue the liberation of Betancourt and others. However this did not result in her freedom.

On 26 July 2007 Melanie Delloye, Ingrid Betancourt's daughter, reported two French diplomats had been unsuccessful in confirming that Íngrid Betancourt was still alive according to news agency EFE. President Sarkozy affirmed this to the press. However former hostage Jhon Frank Pinchao (see above) repeated that Betancourt was alive, and had attempted to escape several times from the FARC camp where both were held, but had been recaptured and "severely punished".

In August 2007, reporter Patricia Poleo, a Venezuelan national exiled in the United States, stated that Ingrid Betancourt was being held in Venezuela and that her release was near. The government of Colombia expressed doubts about this information through its minister of foreign affairs Fernando Araújo. Poleo also criticized Hugo Chávez for using this situation to improve relations with France after an impasse with the government of Jacques Chirac in which they refused to sell arms to Venezuela. A few days after Poleo's statements, President Chávez openly offered his services to negotiate between the FARC and the government in an effort to release those kidnapped, but denied knowing about the whereabouts of Betancourt.

On 11 November 2007, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela told French newspaper Le Figaro that he hoped to be able to show Sarkozy proof before their meeting on 20 November that Betancourt was alive, while on 18 November Chávez announced to the French press that he had been told by a FARC leader that she was still alive.

November 2007 FARC video and letter

On 30 November 2007, the Colombian government released information that they had captured three members of the urban cells of the FARC in Bogotá who had with them videos and letters of people held hostage by the FARC, including Betancourt. In the video Betancourt appears in the jungle sitting on a bench looking at the ground. She "appeared extremely gaunt". A letter intended for Íngrid's mother, Yolanda, which was found at the same time, was also published in several newspapers.

2008

In 2008, Chávez, with the initial permission of the Colombian government and the participation of the International Red Cross, organized humanitarian operations in order to receive several civilian hostages whose release had been announced by FARC. The first, so-called Operation Emmanuel, named in honor of Clara Rojas' son, initially failed but later led to the release of Clara Rojas and Consuelo González. Emmanuel was rescued previously after a stunning declaration from president Uribe, where it was discovered the infant was left in a foster home after being severely mistreated by the guerrillas.

On 27 February 2008, a second operation was carried out, freeing four former members of the Colombian Congress. The released hostages were very concerned about the health of Ingrid Betancourt. One described her as "exhausted physically and in her morale ... Íngrid is mistreated very badly, they have vented their anger on her, they have her chained up in inhumane conditions." Another said that she has Hepatitis B and is "near the end". Nicolas Sarkozy said he is prepared to personally go to accept her release if necessary.

On 27 March, the Colombian government, with President Uribe's support, offered to free hundreds of guerrilla fighters in exchange for Betancourt's release.

On 31 March, Colombian news station Caracol quotes several sources saying Betancourt has stopped taking her medication and stopped eating. She was said to be in desperate need of a blood transfusion.

On 2 April, Betancourt's son, Lorenzo Delloye, addressed the FARC and the President, Álvaro Uribe, to facilitate the freeing of Íngrid in order to prevent her death. He quoted the need for a blood transfusion in order to keep her alive and its urgency, saying that otherwise she may die in the next few hours.

On 3 April, an envoy left for Colombia to try to make contact with Betancourt and many of the other captives, who have become ill after years of captivity in the jungle. After two days, the envoy, including a doctor, still hadn't heard from the FARC, but received orders from the French government to wait. Five days after arrival of the envoy the FARC released a press note on the Bolivarian Press Agency website, refusing the mission access to their hostages, because "the French medical mission was not appropriate and, moreover, was not the result of an agreement." Following the rebels' refusal, the French government called off the humanitarian mission and said Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner would visit the region.

On 2 July 2008, news reports stated that Ingrid Betancourt and three American hostages were recovered. Altogether, 15 hostages were freed, among them 11 Colombian soldiers. Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said all the former hostages were in reasonably good health, although Betancourt indicated that she was tortured during her captivity.

2009

In a book titled Out of Captivity, written by American Northrop Grumman contractors, Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Thomas Howes and published in February 2009, they described Betancourt's behavior as selfish, feeling she deserved more than other captors due to her political and social standing. Keith described her as the "most disgusting woman he'd ever met" due to her selfishness which caused resentment among her fellow prisoners, according to a 20/20 interview aired 2/27/2009. The American contractors said Betancourt would take and demand more food because of her political and social status but they wouldn't tolerate her actions.

On 2 July 2008, Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos called a press conference to announce the rescue of Betancourt and 14 other captives. The operation that won their release, codenamed "Jaque" (Spanish for "check" as in checkmate), included members of the Colombian military intelligence who infiltrated local FARC squads and the secretariat of FARC, according to Santos. The rebels in charge of the hostages were duped into accepting a faked request from headquarters to gather the hostages together, supposedly to be flown to guerrilla commander Alfonso Cano. Instead, they were flown by government personnel dressed as FARC to San José del Guaviare. No one was harmed during the rescue. Three American Northrop Grumman contractors, Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Thomas Howes, were among those released.

Military agents spent months planting themselves within FARC, gaining the rebels' trust, and joining the rebels' leadership council. Other agents were assigned to guard the hostages. Using their authority in the group, the agents ordered the captives moved from three different locations to a central area. From this point, the hostages, agents, and about 60 real rebels made a 90-mile march through the jungle to a spot where, agents told their unsuspecting comrades, an "international mission" was coming to check on the hostages. On schedule, an unmarked white helicopter set down and Colombian security forces posing as FARC rebels jumped out. They told the rebels that they would take the hostages to the meeting with the "international mission." All of the captives were handcuffed and placed aboard the helicopter, along with two of their FARC guards, who were quickly disarmed and subdued after the helicopter lifted off. According to Betancourt, a crew member then turned and told the 15 hostages, "We are the national military. You are free." Israeli tracking technology was used by the rescuers to zero in on their target.

On 16 July 2008 it became public that one of the Colombian officials was misusing a Red Cross emblem during the rescue operation.

President Uribe stated that the rescue operation “was guided in every way by the light of the Holy Spirit, the protection of our Lord and the Virgin Mary.” The hostages indicated that they had spent much time in captivity praying the rosary, and Ms. Betancourt, formerly a lapsed Catholic who prayed daily on a wooden rosary which she made while a hostage, attributed the rescue as follows: “I am convinced this is a miracle of the Virgin Mary. To me it is clear she has had a hand in all of this.”

On 21 July 2008, Ms. Betancourt and her family made a pilgrimage to Lourdes to give thanks and to pray for her captors and those who remained hostage.

In August 2008, Betancourt and her family were received by Pope Benedict XVI in a brief audience.

The liberated Betancourt didn't hesitate to give thanks to the Colombian armed forces and to President Álvaro Uribe and even gave her approval to his third term as a president, even though her mother criticized him severely all along. She urged neighbouring presidents Hugo Chavez (Venezuela) and Correa (Ecuador) to help Colombia and rather seek the political transformations in her country by democratic means. And she stated that she will dedicate herself now to teaching the world about the reality of the FARC and their cruel hostage taking policy. It has been recognized that the liberation of Betancourt caused a dramatic change of the political scene.

In an interview on French radio shortly after her return to France, Betancourt distanced herself from Uribe's approach, while accepting that his security policy had been successful. She said the situation was at a point where "the vocabulary has to change" arguing that "the way in which we talk about the other side is very important."

She has not ruled out a return to the Colombian political scene. In fact while she has said that "France is my home" she also was "proud to be Colombian" said hopes to serve her nation in the future. She has not ruled out a future presidential campaign.

Sarkozy sent a French Air Force jet with Betancourt's children, her sister Astrid and her family, and accompanied by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner for a tearful reunion. After paying her respects at her father's tomb she and the family boarded the jet and flew to France where she was greeted by Sarkozy and the First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. She gave speeches and urged the world not to forget and continue for the liberation of the rest of the hostages. She also spent several days in hospital.

On July 9, President Michelle Bachelet of Chile said she would nominate Betancourt for a Nobel Prize. Sarkozy announced that she would receive the Legion of Honor at the Bastille Day celebrations.

On July 20, Betancourt appeared next to singer Juanes at a rally in Trocadero in Paris to celebrate Colombia's independence day and to once more urge the FARC to release all their hostages. Speaking directly to Alfonso Cano she said:

See this Colombia, see the extended hand of President Uribe, and understand that it is time to stop the bloodshed. It is time to drop those weapons and change them for roses, substitute them with tolerance, respect, and as brothers that we are, find a way so that we can all live together in the world, live together in Colombia.”

On 4 July 2008, Radio Suisse Romande reported that unnamed "reliable sources" had told it the rescue took place after a payment of USD 20 million by the United States. According to Le Monde, the French Foreign Ministry denied the payment of any ransom by France.

Frederich Blassel, the author of the Radio Suisse Romande story, told Colombia's W Radio that, according to his source, the release wasn't negotiated directly with FARC but with alias César, one of the two guerrillas captured during the operation, who would have received the payment of USD 20 million. According to Blassel, the two rebels could be given new identities by Spain, France and Switzerland.

The Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos, and Vice President Francisco Santos, in response to these claims, denied any payment. "That information is absolutely false. It has no basis. We don't know where it comes from and why its being said". He also added with a touch of irony that "Actually, it would have been a cheap offer, because we were willing to give up to USD 100 million..." "We would be the first to inform publicly, because it is part of our rewards system policy, and besides, it would speak much worse about the FARC".

According to Colombia's El Tiempo and W Radio, General Fredy Padilla de León, Commander of the Colombian Armed Forces, denied the existence of any payment by the Colombian government. General Padilla argued that if any payment had been made, it would have been better to make it publicly known, to use it as an incentive and to cause confusion within FARC's ranks.

(Text's source: Wikipedia)

Bersih 5, Street Protest by Paul Choo

15

"Thousands of anti-government protesters marched in Malaysia’s capital on Saturday demanding the resignation of the prime minister, Najib Razak, over his alleged involvement in a multibillion-dollar misappropriation scandal.

Clad in yellow shirts and unfazed by arrests of activists and opposition leaders just hours before the rally, protesters marched from various spots towards the heart of Kuala Lumpur amid tight security."

www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/19/thousands-call-for-...

www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/world/asia/tens-of-thousands-o...

Don't Look Away by Toni Blay

39 17

When you’re sad and when you’re lonely

And you haven’t got a friend

Just remember that death is not the end

And all that you held sacred

Falls down and does not mend

Just remember that death is not the end

Not the end, not the end...

Lyrics from the song "Death Is Not The End" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

Originally posted to protest: Let the people of the UAE watch photography on flickr. Deleted all the "picture comments" to clean it up a little bit ;D

edward scissors FALKO by falko splitpiece

20 15

Freedom of Speech by Let Ideas Compete

32 12

I used to respect Islam. I'm rapidly losing that respect. Apparently, these actions are condoned by the bigger Islamic community because, in my humble opinion, the expression of outrage and condemnation is so very weak and unconvincing. Where are the interviews of, speeches by, and editorials by Muslims condemning this senseless terror? Where are the interviews of, speeches by, and editorials by Muslims condemning Boko Haram? I hear in the media that the Islamic world thinks the west is waging war on them. It's just the opposite.

Of all my beliefs, one of the most fundamental is freedom of speech, even if I dislike that speech.

Agujero negro by María José Pablo

16 48

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Éste es el efecto de nuestro políticos sobre nuestra ciudad (Valencia).

No se conforman con ir destruyendo poco a poco patrimonio histórico (el barrio de El Cabanyal), la huerta, poner trabas a leyes (ley de la dependencia), a asignaturas (educación para la ciudadanía), todo esto en favor de una idea de ciudad totalmente anodina y sin identidad, apoyando proyectos faraónicos para salir en las fotos, si no que ahora, también, se encargan de censurar el arte y el trabajo que se expone en el MUVIM, porque no les gusta salir en las fotos. ¿En qué quedamos?...
Ah, claro, es que sólo se permiten las fotos en las que salgan guapos.

¡Qué asco de políticos y de gentuza que se deja manipular por ellos!

POR LA LIBERTAD DE EXPRESIÓN Y TODAS LAS LIBERTADES.

Black hole
It is the effect of our politicians of our city (Valencia).

They have gradually destroyed heritage (the district of El Cabanyal), the orchards,have hampered laws, etc, supporting pharaonic projects to appear in the press, creating a totally bland city and without identity.
And now, in addition, they have censured the art and the work of the Valencian journalists, removing their photos from an expo.

Politicians and people who are left to be manipulated by them, are junk.

FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND ALL THE FREEDOMS!!!!

Qué ésto no quede sólo en una nota de prensa, por favor:

El País

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Politicalamity

pirouette 2 (I wanna be a ballerina) by Joyce Corey

12 98

View On Black

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players

(William Shakespeare)

The Statue of Liberty: Thinking about the Victims of 9/11 by Doyle Wesley Walls

26 1

10 2

My new artwork: "Kiss 19"

Prints and NFT on demand

www.benheine.com

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Ma nouvelle création: "Kiss 19"

Impressions et NFT sur demande

www.benheine.com/fr

Get a discount on Adobe softwares: clk.tradedoubler.com/click?p=264301&a=3240459&g=2...

rue Sainte-Catherine by Gloria

10 2

United by Carlos Bravo

36 103

Kiss 19 - Covid 19 - Art by Ben Heine by Ben Heine

10 1

My new artwork: "Kiss 19"

Prints and NFT on demand

www.benheine.com

---

Ma nouvelle création: "Kiss 19"

Impressions et NFT sur demande

www.benheine.com/fr

Freedom by !Roberto!

18 28

Of Expression

Sale temps pour Charlie et ses amis... by Stef De Ieso

23 4

Un hommage à mes confrères dessinateurs tombés pour la liberté de la plume et du crayon...

Julian Assange by Ben Heine

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Buy prints, canvases and posters of this artwork HERE.

View the work in progress at this link and some close details here.

Made with thousands of "@" symbols (the common "At sign" typographic character). It took me a few days of work. I applied each character one by one and used several references for the accuracy of the portrait. Each symbol is made of a single color and tone. (I left the portrait unfinished on purpose, I think it's better this way).

"@" like "@ctivist" and "@ssange"... Julian is a courageous man fighting for Justice and Democracy despite many criticisms...

Julian Paul Assange is the founder, spokesperson and editor in chief of WikiLeaks (a whistleblower website and conduit for news leaks). He is also an Australian publisher, journalist, software developer and Internet activist.

For more info about my projects, contact: info@benheine.com

20 years dictatorship of political correctness by US-CreativeStudio

18 34

Cooped up by Moondancer (sounds and visions)

22 58

"To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite;

To forgive wrongs darker than death or night;

To defy Power, which seems omnipotent;

To love, and bear; to hope till Hope creates

From its own wreck the thing it contemplates;

Neither to change, nor falter, nor falter, nor repent;

This like thy glory, Titan, is to be

Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free;

This is alone Life, Joy, Empire, and Victory"

(P. B. Shelley, 1820)

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Quiet Defiance by Alisdare Hickson

13

Framed between two police officers, two protesters sit in quiet defiance, embodying the atmosphere of the day on 6 September 2025 when well over a thousand protested in London's Parliament Square against the proscription of Palestine Action.

This was a deliberate and calculated act of defiance against the state, which culminated in 890 arrests. The protesters were a diverse cross-section of society, including clergy, doctors, and military veterans who felt a moral duty to challenge what they saw as an unjust law.

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