Stories about Freedom of Speech from June, 2011
Brazil: 40 Cities Make the Freedom March
Forty Brazilian cities had their streets taken over by the Freedom March on Saturday 18 June. A multitude of groups, collectives, movements, entities and outraged people rallied around the country dreaming and fighting for freedom.
Macedonia: Taboo on Protesting Against Police Brutality
Ribaro wrote [mk] that public figures and music “stars” of Macedonia act as if the protests against police brutality are taboo, evidenced by their lack of participation offline and online....
Swziland: AFP Correspondent Phone Bugged
AFP correspondent in Swaziland says her phone is bugged: “At first I believed it must be some kind of mix up at the phone company. People who tried calling me...
Iran: Solidarity with Hunger Striking Prisoners
Protests were organized in at least 25 cities around the world on Saturday June 25, 2011, to show solidarity with the approximately 18 political prisoners who are on hunger strike at two Iranian prisons. The prisoners began their hunger strikes to protest the death of two political activists, Reza Hoda Saber and Haleh Sahabi.
Azerbaijan: Photojournalist detained, deported
whatwaswritten, the blog of Global Voices author Leyla Najafli, translates a story from RFE's Azeri service reporting that Diana Markosyan, a photojournalist from Bloomberg, was detained at Baku airport earlier...
Michael Sandel in China
Last month, renowned Harvard professor Michael Sandel delivered a lecture on justice and morality at Tsinghua University in China. He also talked about how his theories relate to contemporary China in an interview with the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolitan Weekend.
Cuba: Methodist Pastor Replaced
“When Cuba is free, those who accommodated, appeased and apologized for the Castro regime to preserve their own standing will not be absolved”: Uncommon Sense blogs about the actions of...
Kyrgyzstan: Political news website banned
Abulfazal reports that the Kyrgyz parliament passed a bill that bans the Ferghana Information Agency’s web site (better known as Ferghana.ru) in Kyrgyzstan for “subjective coverage of the June 2010...
Tajikistan: A BBC journalist arrested
Tomyris says that Urinboy Usmonov, longtime local journalist for BBC Central Asian Service, was arrested in Tajikistan for suspicion membership in the Islamic Movement Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Turkmenistan: The Tower of Media and Totalitarianism
Emerson writes that a 137 million euro television tower – both state-of-the-art and hypocritical – is set to be inaugurated in October in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. neweurasia’s Emerson...
China: Leaked directives for Taiwanese Internet commentators
China Digital Times translated a leaked directive for Internet commentators to channel online public opinion in Taiwan.
Azerbaijan: Bakhtiyar Hajiyev Video Campaign
Supporters of Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, the Harvard graduate, parliamentary candidate, Facebook activist and Amnesty International prisoner of conscience recently sentenced to two years in prison on what human rights groups consider to...
Cuba: Hunger Striker to Leave Island
Uncommon Sense reports that hunger striker Jorge Cervantes Garcia has ended his protest and “will be allowed to leave Cuba once he has recovered from the physical effects of his...
Egypt: Commemorating the Struggle Against Systematic Torture
As the world marked the International Day against Torture that falls on June 26, eyes were on Egypt where the struggle against citizen abuse has been particularly significant.
Jamaica: Call for End to Anti-Gay Violence
Labrish remembers the life and work of her cousin, who was murdered on account of “his outspoken efforts to bring about an end to homophobia in Jamaica”, saying: “It is...
South Korea: Labor Workers Fight Against Police and Corporation
Hanjin Heavy Industries have violently clamped down its union protest. Twitterer @pmtsjc posted photos of how company-hired gang cut rope to drag down workers protesting on crane top. The clash,...
Syria: Blogging Day for Syria
Today marks the 100th day since the protest movement found its foothold in Syria. A 100 days later, more than 1,400 deaths, and three presidential speeches, the protest movement is still in full force. This Friday is being billed "friday of delegitimization".
A Syrian Solution for North Korea
Libyan and Syrian cases are significant to North Korea's possible change by exhibiting how quickly ruthless totalitarian regimes can become unstable in the face of resistance, wrote Joshua from the...
Belarus: Police Crack Down on Minsk Protest
A non-violent rally in Minsk, organized via a social network, ended up with more than 450 people detained. Arrests, trials and numerous detentions, however, do not appear to have stopped the protesters.
Ukraine: Hanna Sinkova's Case; Yanukovych's Prejudicial Comments
Foreign Notes posts an update on Hanna Sinkova's case and concludes: “In matters of law Ukraine frequently seems closer to Tehran than Europe.” He also highlights some “jarring prejudicial comments”...
Slut Walk is Besharmi Morcha in India
Slut Walk, a fresh feminist movement that originated from Toronto Canada, and had been taking rounds of various western cities, is now coming to New Delhi, the Indian capital. Amidst criticism of the use of the word slut, which is uncommon in India, the event organizers attempted to contextualize the movement by renaming it 'Slut Walk Delhi Besharmi Morcha'.
