Stories about Censorship from March, 2015
31 March 2015
Another Blogger Hacked to Death: Is Free Thinking Becoming Fatal in Bangladesh?

A young man named Oyasiqur Rahman Babu was killed in Bangladesh by religious fanatics in the second such incident in a month's time.
30 March 2015
China: Uyghur Couple Convicted of Violating “Abnormal Appearances” Rule for Wearing Beard, Burqa

The 38-year-old husband, member of China's Muslim minority Uyghur community, has been sentenced to six years in prison. Online reporting about the case has since been censored.
News and Search Websites Blocked in Yemen as Conflict Escalates

Several websites, some of which include content critical of the Houthi takeover in Yemen, have been blocked by Yemen's largest ISP.
28 March 2015
Pakistani Journalist and Blogger Remains in Exile, One Year After Violent Attack

March 28 marks the first anniversary of the attack on Pakistani blogger and prominent political commentator Raza Rumi. Once a contributor to Global Voices, Rumi was added to the Taliban's hit...
26 March 2015
Belarus Tightens Grip on Internet With New Data Retention Decree


The new data retention demands are just the latest in a string of restrictive Internet measures employed by Belarus in the wake of the next presidential election.
25 March 2015
India's Supreme Court Axes Online Censorship Law, But Challenges Remain

People in India are cheering after the Indian Supreme Court struck down IT Act Section 66A, calling it a violation of free expression.
Chinese Artist Recounts Being Censored for Selling Ai Weiwei T-Shirt

Artist Wu Tun saw economic rights collide with online censorship when he tried to sell a T-shirt supporting world renowned political artist Ai Weiwei.
23 March 2015
Russia Will Deploy “Digital Fingerprinting” to Enforce Copyright Online


A new intellectual property register, based on the principle of digital fingerprinting, is in the works in Russia to track and protect copyrighted files online.
Internet in Iran: Evaluating Rouhani’s First Two Years as President

Has Rouhani lived up to lofty expectations of more Internet freedom in Iran? This is the question Small Media's latest report seeks to address.
16 March 2015
Government Takedown Requests from Russia Double, Facebook Reports


Facebook restricted access to 55 pieces of content in Russia since July 2014, based on requests from Russian authorities, compared to 29 fulfilled during the first half of 2014.
Human Rights Watch Website Temporarily Blocked at Egypt the Future Conference

A block on Human Rights Watch website was lifted at an economic conference in Egypt after a journalist raised the alarm on Twitter.
13 March 2015
Ukrainian Journalist Detained, Questioned by Russian Security Services in Crimea

Crimean FSB officials detained and questioned a journalist from Simferopol's Center for Investigative Journalism in connection with a criminal investigation on "public calls to separatism."
12 March 2015
Access to Grani.Ru and Other Censored News Websites Restored by Digital Activists

As part of Operation Collateral Freedom, activists used the technique known as mirroring to duplicate the nine censored sites and place their copies on the servers of large Internet companies
The Ban on “India’s Daughter” Brings India’s Sons into Focus
The documentary about the horrific 2012 Delhi rape case wasn't perfect, but any thoughtful critiques were shoved aside when India's government banned the film and asked YouTube to block it.
11 March 2015
Political Pollution Polarizes Public Opinion Over China's Environmental Crisis
Within more politicized circles of online opinion leaders, there has also been a myriad of criticism heaped on Chai Jing’s air pollution documentary "Under the Dome".
10 March 2015
Roscomnadzor Threatens Complete Block of RuNet Encyclopedia


Russian telecom watchdog Roscomnadzor wants to block pages about "drugs and child porn" on RuNet culture encyclopedia Lurkmore.ru, but will instead block the entire website, because it uses https encryption.