The BBC has been accused of “political censorship” as it faces increasing pressure to broadcast a film it commissioned about Palestinian doctors working in Gaza, reports the Middle East Eye.
Over 600 prominent figures from the arts and media, including British film director Mike Leigh, Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon and Lindsey Hilsum, the international editor of Channel 4 News, have signed an open letter calling on the corporation to release Gaza: Medics Under Fire, which has been ready for broadcast since February.
The letter, sent to BBC Director-General Tim Davie on May 12, criticises the BBC for withholding the documentary, which tells the stories of Palestinian doctors working in Gaza under Israeli bombardment, despite months of editorial reviews and fact-checking.
“We stand with the medics of Gaza whose voices are being silenced. Their urgent stories are being buried by bureaucracy and political censorship,” the letter reads.
“This is not editorial caution. It’s political suppression. The BBC has provided no timeline, no transparency. Such decisions reinforce the systemic devaluation of Palestinian lives in our media.”
Other well-known signatories to the letter include the actors Miriam Margolyes, Harriet Walter, Maxine Peake and Juliet Stevenson, and the comedians Alexei Sayle and Frankie Boyle. Among 130 anonymous signatories are more than a dozen BBC staff.
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