Stories about Freedom of Speech from July, 2011
United Arab Emirates: Adjournment of Blogger Ahmed Mansour's Tria
”Poor Arab and Emirati intellectuals and thinkers!” bewails Ahmed Al Mouhareb [ar] while reporting on his Twitter account the deferment the trial of the blogger and activist Ahmed Mansour and...
Practicing legal profession in Vietnam
Attorney Huynh Van Dong writes about the challenges facing lawyers in Vietnam. He reports that an increasing number of lawyers are now in jail for “expressing their own personal opinion.”
Mozambique: Political Rapper Arrested
Mozambicans are reacting to what appears to have been the arrest yesterday of controversial and talented MC Azagaia. While there is no official news, some of his 4,600+ fans showed...
China: Censorship pressure on Wenzhou train crash
Qian Gang and David Bandurski from China Media Project discuss about censorship pressure faced by mainland Chinese media in the reports of Wenzhou train crash.
China: Journalist Beaten by Police for Reporting on Riot
China Digital Times has a translation of a journalist, Lu Chaoguo's account of his experience when reporting the riot in Anshun, Guizhou province. The journalist was detained and beaten by...
Guinea: Weekly Newspaper Le Defi Vandalized
Lamine Camara writes on infoguinee.com [fr]: “The central office of the independent weekly newspaper Le Défi was vandalized and completely ransacked by anonymous looters on the night of July 20- 21,...
SEE: Danica Radovanovic's Interview on Online Social Interactions
At Open Society Foundations’ Blog, an interview with Danica Radovanovic of Digital Serendipities, covering “various topics related to digital use, online social interactions, digital divide, social networks and young adults...
Kuwait: Bidun fly “Freedom Balloons”
A month ago, the stateless community of Kuwait started a 3 day-long campaign of “flipping your twitter avatar” to catch the media's attention and highlight their cause for the world. This Friday, they've made another campaign to set balloons in the air, calling them “freedom balloons". Mona Kareem shares the story.
China: Know more about activist Wang Lihong
Wang Lihong, one of many lesser known activists jailed in China, is facing imminent trial. The blog Free Wang Lihong has published a detailed English biography of her. Amnesty International...
Cuba: MSM Paying Attention
Pedazos de La Isla takes heart in the fact that “various English-language news sources have been brave enough to publish the truth about the Caribbean island”, saying: “In Cuba, there...
Cuba: Internet Restrictions
Uncommon Sense says that despite the arrival of “an underwater cable reached Cuba from Venezuela” designed to improve Internet access to the island, ” the regime has intensified its control...
Equatorial Guinea: Blogging Political Cartoons
The blog of Equatoguinean cartoonist Ramón Esono, Las Locuras de Jamón y Queso [es], denounces the country's political situation with cartoons. Each cartoon of the LOCOStv (MADtv) presents well known...
Cuba: Differences of Opinion are Healthy
“‘The People's Path‘ is…a vision statement of what the movement for a free Cuba should be striving for,” writes Uncommon Sense, who, along with Babalu, thinks that despite Dr. Oscar...
Kyrgyzstan: Government Bans News Websites from the Election Campaign
Ahead of the presidential elections to be held in Kyrgyzstan on 30 October, 2011, the Central Elections Committee (CEC) came out with a controversial decision, barring web-based news media from taking part in the campaign. Eleven news sites were denied accreditation to inform voters on the pre-election developments.
Belarus: Schengen Visa=Guilty
Pyotr Kuznetsov mentions [ru] a Belarusian police officer who interpreted a Schengen visa in the passport of one of the women detained at a protest rally as a solid proof...
Belarus: Overview of Political and Economic Situation
An overview of the political and economic situation in Belarus – by Natalia Leshchenko at OpenDemocracy.net.
China: Double Frontage
On July 27, 2011, Qianjiang Daily's have two versions of its newspaper's frontpage. One is about Wenzhou train crash, the headline said: Today is the fifth day of the accident,...
Cuba: Attacks vs. Women
Pedazos de La Isla blogs about violence against women in Cuba, here, here, here and here.
Russia: Bloggers Find Street Shooter
Bloggers across the Russian Internet were quick to respond with posts and information after well-known photo-blogger Dmitry Ternovsky was shot at recently on a highway in the southeast of Moscow. Ashley Cleek details the story.
Iran: Campaign to Free Last Two Jailed American Hikers
Sarah Shourd spent 410 days in solitary confinement in Tehran, Iran, on charges of "espionage". She now calls on the world to speak up for her two friends, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, who are still in prison in Iran since all three were arrested while hiking in July 2009.
Belarus: East and West and Nothing in Between?
"East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." This chronically misused Kipling phrase seems to catch the realities for an increasing number of Belarusians, who, waking to a wild and hostile world, are asking: "Who cares about Belarus?"
