· January, 2011

Stories about Freedom of Speech from January, 2011

Russia: Blogger Released After 14 Months of Penal Colony

RuNet Echo  31 January 2011

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...

Egypt Protests 2011 in Seoul, South Korea.

  31 January 2011

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

  31 January 2011

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”.

Russia: Valeria Novodvorskaya's Blog Hacked

RuNet Echo  31 January 2011

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.

Egypt: Sixth Day of Uprising Tweeted

  30 January 2011

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.

Egypt: Al Jazeera Cairo Bureau Shut

  30 January 2011

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?

  30 January 2011

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

  30 January 2011

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: Filtering Foreign Media Content?

  29 January 2011

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...

Egypt: Videos Are Worth a Million Words

  28 January 2011

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

  28 January 2011

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!”

  28 January 2011

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.