A former London bureau chief for Reuters, Jodie Ginsberg, has been appointed as the chief executive of Index on Censorship. She succeeds Kirsty Hughes,

Ginsberg arrives from the think tank, Demos, where she is deputy director of finance. She was previously a foreign correspondent and business journalist and was later head of communications for Camfed, an organisation that works to eradicate poverty in Africa through the education of girls.

The chair of Index, David Aaronovitch, said he was "pleased to have someone of Jodie's experience and talents coming to us.

"Index's work defending freedom of expression... is more important than ever in the face of growing censorship in many countries around the world from Turkey to Russia, from Azerbaijan to India to China.

"I am sure Jodie will build on the great work of her predecessor Kirsty Hughes and all the Index staff, and lead Index into new and important campaigns."

Ginsberg said: "Defending freedom of expression is not an easy task but it is a vital one. If we want to live in a world where everyone is free to speak, write, publish or perform without fear of persecution then we need to champion those rights every day.

"I'm thrilled to be leading an organisation with such an amazing track record in defending free expression and can't wait to start working with our incredible roster of supporters and contributors."

Kirsty Hughes, who joined Index in April 2012, is leaving to pursue new projects and writing in the international and European politics arena.

She was a forceful voice in support of The Guardian when it exposed the use of mass surveillance as revealed by the NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden.

Source: Index