Stories about Freedom of Speech from January, 2011
Russia: Blogger Released After 14 Months of Penal Colony
Irek Murtazin [RUS], blogger and former spokesperson of the Tatarstan's president, has been released today after spending more than 14 months in penal colony, “Novaya Gazeta” reported [RUS]. After published a gossip about the death of Mintimir Shaimiev, president of Tatarstan Republic, Murtazin had been accused of defamation and sentenced to 2 years...
Iraq: A Salute to the People of Egypt
Salam Adil rounds up the Iraqi bloggers' take on the demonstrations in Egypt. Read it now before the world changes.
Saudi Arabia: Netizens Support Egyptians in their Uprising
Saudi Arabia's netizens are lending their support to Egyptians in their uprising against president Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Many are watching, reporting on and reacting to the developments on the ground, as massive protests demanding a change in the regime enter their seventh day.
Egypt Protests 2011 in Seoul, South Korea.
Korean and Egyptian activists held a protest together in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Seoul today. Several local media published articles on today's demonstration which titled ‘ A Protest for Mubarak's Withdrawl and Egyptian's Freedom’. The Financial News posted five photos of the protest(Click the black box below article).
Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago: Looking at Egypt
Cuban bloggers speculate that the Egypt protests may set an example for Cubans, issue advice to the Egyptian people and blog about similarities and differences between the two countries, while from Trinidad and Tobago, Globewriter calls social networking “the new human rights weapon”.
Cuba: Arrest & Release #3
A third arrest and release for Guillermo Fariñas in three days: Uncommon Sense has the details.
Russia: Valeria Novodvorskaya's Blog Hacked
Vladimir Pribylovskiy reports [RUS] hi-jacking of Valeria Novodvorskaya‘s (Russian liberal politician and a former Soviet dissident) LiveJournal account [RUS]. “The Brigade of Hell,” dispersed group of generally pro-Kremlin hackers, took the responsibility for the attack. For the time being Novodvorskaya's account has been suspended.
China: Law student almost got arrested for attempt to capture cadre’s privilege moment
A Beijing University student ran into trouble when trying to take some snapshots of a cadre who enjoyed privilege in the train station. Full story see Olivia from China Hush.
Egypt: On Twitter, the Search for Wael Ghonim
On Twitter, friends express concern for blogger and Google staffer Wael Ghonim, who's been missing since January 27 in midst of the demonstrations in Cairo.
Egypt: Sixth Day of Uprising Tweeted
The Egyptian protesters have been defying the night curfew on Sunday, as they continued demonstrating against the 30 year-old rule of Muhammed Hosni Mubarak. In a dramatic day that saw the closure by the Egyptian government of the Al Jazeera TV network's bureau in Cairo, the rapidly changing situation on the ground was largely relayed by social media networks on the Internet, especially on Twitter.
Brazil: Exclusive Internet Interview with the Founder of WikiLeaks
Brazilian netizens were invited to participate in an exclusive and collective interview with Julian Assange, founder and editor of the polemical WikiLeaks. Assange explains why he works with mainstream media – though he never fails to criticize it.
Egypt: Al Jazeera Cairo Bureau Shut
Egypt just shut down Al Jazeera's Cairo bureau, drawing outrage online. This comes after it switched off the Internet, in a bid to stop the world from seeing its people's revolution, where demonstrations against president Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule continue for the sixth day in a row.
Maldives to Egypt: Can a Revolution be Censored?
When the Egyptian government decided to go for a total Internet shutdown of the country to curb the growing anti-government protests, people in the Maldives were reminded of 13 August, 2004, when the government of Maldives blocked Internet in the country following a massive pro-democracy demonstration.
China: Censorship Virus Breaks into PKU Printers
Peking University's Portal Website calls for urgent attention on the recent introduction of censorship mechanism among the campus printing shops: no political sensitive materials can be photocopied inside the campus.
Hungary: New Media Law To Be Modified?
Hungarian Watch reports that “Hungary seems poised to make changes to media law” – but “freedom of the press is still on shaky ground.”
Hungary: Filtering Foreign Media Content?
Hungarian Spectrum reports that the official Hungarian news agency seems to be supplying other media outlets with “wrong translations” of foreign media content, perhaps trying “to conceal some of the bad news–bad that is from the point of view of the government–from the Hungarian public.” Galamus Csoport, however, offers “accurate...
Poland: Blogger Prosecuted for Criticizing Local Mayor
Jakub Górnicki writes about the case of Łukasz Kaprowicz, a Polish journalist and blogger who was sued for defamation after he had criticized the mayor of the town of Mosina in his blog posts.
Egypt: Videos Are Worth a Million Words
The Egyptian government is bracing itself for a fourth consecutive day of demonstrations. Activists have been circulating pamphlets and sharing videos via the Internet. The government has reacted by shutting off the the whole network. A quick roundup of videos posted YouTube urging people to join Friday's planned protest.
Cuba: Second Arrest for Fariñas
On learning that Guillermo Fariñas was arrested for a second time in less than 24 hours, Uncommon Sense says: “Nothing is unusual about what is happening…what is unusual is for the police to move so aggressively against someone with Fariñas’ profile, someone whose arrest will get at least a few...
Egypt: “The People Will Bring the Regime Down!”
People around the world were glued to their television and computer screens today, as Egyptians took to the streets after the noon Friday prayers. The Day of Rage marks the fourth day in a row for Egyptians to demonstrate against president Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Despite an Internet blackout, news continued to flow through satellite channels, with reports being rebroadcast on social networks by netizens.
China: Current Affairs Commentary, the Internet and the Spirit of the Media
Veteran journalist Chang Ping (长平) has been forced by authorities to leave the Southern Media Group, where he has worked as an editor and columnist for years. It is believed that the decision is related to his current affair commentaries, a political act (see ESWN's translation) that he refuses to...
