Stories about Freedom of Speech from August, 2010
Cuba: Same Old Song
The imprisonment of three Cuban dissidents who were during a protest at the University of Havana proves to Uncommon Sense that “despite its release of some dozen members of the ‘Group of 75′ prisoners, the Castro dictatorship has not changed.”
Cuba: Naming Names
“After all the hubbub about Cuba agreeing to release 52 political prisoners in jail since the ‘black spring’ crackdown of March-April 2003, there still remain in prisons across the island 21 members of the Group of 75″: Uncommon Sense posts their names.
Cuba: Interrogation
Luis Felipe Rojas blogs about his detainment by the Cuban authorities and says: “I think about the path that has brought this country the totalitarian power that is eating away at itself. What will be my next punishment?”
China: Blogger Fang Zhouzi was attacked
Famous blogger or the Science Cop, Fang Zhouzi, was attacked by thug yesterday (August 29). ESWN translated his blog post about the attack.
Russia: Bloggers Outraged by Putin's Interview
Recent interview [RUS] of Vladimir Putin to Kommersant newspaper outraged many bloggers. They accuse Putin of a lie [RUS], ignorance [RUS], deliberate substitution [RUS] of the terms “police state” and a “state governed by a rule of law.” Other bloggers condemn [RUS] his attitude towards protesters: “You went out [on...
India: A Message To Pastor Jones
Raja Basu from New Delhi is shocked by the heinous plan of Pastor Terry Jones to burn The Quran to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 incident. The blogger has this message to the Pastor: “by instigating people to burn The Holy Quran, you have actually brought yourself down...
South Asia: Bloggers On The ‘Ground Zero Mosque’
The recent debate on the planned Islamic Center/Mosque near the site of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, USA has been reverberated in many blogospheres around the world. In this post we will look at snippets of some interesting conversations on this issue by a number of South Asian bloggers.
UAE/Saudi Arabia: Palestinian-Israeli author's cultural site blocked
Arabic Literature (In English) reports that the “new literary and cultural site from Palestinian-Israeli author Ala Hlehel and journalist and culture critic Anton Shalhat, Qadita, is apparently blocked in the UAE and Saudia Arabia.”
Turkmenistan: WikiLeaks-like service in demand
Turkmenistan is a society so veiled in shadows that one wonders whether its own leaders believe in the government’s propaganda. For this reason, the country desperately needs a service like WikiLeaks to help expose the truth, argues neweurasia’s Annasoltan.
Guatemala: Attack Against a Blog?
Luis Figueroa reports [es] that blogger Guillermo Pineda wrote on Twitter, “My blog in WordPress.com was hacked. Anyone knows if I can recover it? #Hacked #Wordpress.” Luis wonders if this is an attack; in June Guillermo received threats [es] both in person and through email.
Russia: Mari Paganism and Charges of “Extremism”
OpenDemocracy.net reports: “In their remote forest republic 400 miles east of the Moscow, the pagan Mari people are once again being harassed by the authorities. […] Ethnically kin to the Finns and Hungarians, their profoundly ecological religious worldview challenges Russian-led designs on their republic’s natural resources.”
Togo: Journalist Didier Ledoux Brutalized Again, Newspaper Fined 90,000 euros
Reporters sans frontières deplores that two weeks after being harassed and threatened by a French Lieutenant-Colonel Romuald Letondot, journalist Didier Ledoux of Liberté Hebdo was brutalized again [fr], by Togolese officers this time because he allegedly took photos of one of them. Liberté Hebdo was also fined 90,000 Euros [fr]...
Madagascar: Radio Soatalily in Toliary Sacked
Tomavana posts on twitter [fr] a report that Radio Soatalily in the town of Toliary (South East of Madagascar) was sacked by 30 members [fr] of the opposition after their meeting was dismantled by police forces. The government also launched “Operation Strike” to curb down banditry and increasing criminality [fr] on the...
Cuba: Double Standard
“On one hand they release some dissidents from prison, on the other those who attempt to say ‘I disagree’ get shoved behind bars”: Crossing the Barbed Wire comments on “the double standard policy assiduously practiced by the government as part of its greater foreign policy.”
Iran: Jailed blogger Goudarzi receives NPC award
The National Press Club has announced the international recipient of the 2010 John Aubuchon Freedom of the Press Award is Iranian blogger Kouhyar Goudarzi, who is being held in Tehran's Evin Prison–notorious for its torture of detainees.
Cuba: Censorship, Technology and Memory
George Gautier writes [es] about censorship in Cuba. He says that technology has helped leak some things, but he hopes that someone is keeping track of everything that is happening in Cuba so that nothing will be lost.
Malawi: Bloggers discuss freedom of speech and 2014 election
Malawian bloggers are currently discussing the nomination of Malawian president's brother as the ruling party presidential candidate for 2014 elections and recent arrest of a Presbyterian senior pastor Rev Levi Njombole Nyondo. He is alleged to have uttered seditious words at a funeral service.
Russia: Noize MC's New Song
RFE/RL's The Power Vertical writes about rapper Noize MC's new song: “After spending 10 days in jail for performing a song mocking police at a music festival in Volgograd, the irrepressible rapper has released a new [song and video, RUS] — mocking the police.” Robert Amsterdam's blog calls the new...
Northern Cyprus: Rihanna's Concert
Greater Surbiton writes about the controversy surrounding Rihanna's upcoming concert in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Hungary: More on Béla Biszku's Case
Hungarian Spectrum writes about Béla Biszku's case (also covered by GV's Marietta Le here and here).
Hungary: Foreign Media on Orbán's Government
Hungarian Spectrum reviews foreign media coverage of Viktor Orbán's government – here, here, and here.
