The first time the law known as Article 23 was heard about was 21 years ago. In 2003, half a million citizens of Hong Kong took to the streets fearing that the law was a threat to freedom of expression. A couple of Iranian directors and writers with a film competing at the Berlinale festival (February 15-25) had their passports confiscated by the Tehran authorities and are facing legal proceedings. The Berlinale itself denounces this and requests that Maryam Moghaddam and her partner Behtash Sanaeeha be allowed to attend the festival to present their film My Favourite Cake.
After the attack on the Catholic Church of Santa Maria in Istanbul, claimed by ISIS, fear among religious minorities has escalated. There are concerns about the start of a series of terrorist attacks, as occurred between 2015 and 2016. While Christians, Catholics, Alevis, Kurds, and Armenians express their concerns, the Jewish community has chosen to remain silent in order to avoid giving any foothold to the increasingly prevalent anti-Semitic sentiment.