A philosopher says, "There are no such people as Mongolians." Two weeks later, he's in pretrial detention.

Molor-Erdene—a controversial Mongolian philosopher and public intellectual—was detained on September 2nd under Article 19.9 of the Criminal Code, which covers "undermining national unity," a charge carrying a sentence of five to twelve years. His alleged crime: stating on a Facebook talk show that "Mongolians" as a people don't exist, that Chinggis Khan wasn't Mongol, and that Mongolia's historical identity is a construction that holds the country back from thinking about its future.

We break down what Molor-Erdene actually argued, and was his argument were sufficient to be detained. More importantly, we examine what this case reveals about the state of free speech in Mongolia: a "national unity" law loosely used to undermine freedom of speech, a Justice Minister with a pattern of deploying legal power against critics, and a political environment where the chilling effect may already be doing its job.

We also ask: where was the Justice Minister when an MP was on attacking Mongolia's Kazakh minority with racist language? Why is abstract philosophical provocation a criminal matter, but concrete ethnic discrimination is not?

NOTE: Minister of Justice, S Amarsaikhan was dismissed on Sept. 16 on unrelated issues discussed in this episode.

Please comment and rate the show,
And If you have suggestions for the show get in touch at info[at]agulamedia.com

And you can support us at Buy Me a Coffee — buymeacoffee.com/greatstatemural — thank you. or Donate directly to our bank account: MN790015003105153063

Hosts: Anand, Dolgion, Julian

Keywords: Mongolia | free speech | national unity | Molor-Erdene | Amarsaikhan | censorship | authoritarianism | Freedom of Speech | Chinggis Khaan|