· July, 2011

Stories about Freedom of Speech from July, 2011

Practicing legal profession in Vietnam

  31 July 2011

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

  31 July 2011

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 their support on Facebook and have created a “Free Azagaia” event. The rapper was questioned in 2008 by police, who...

Guinea: Weekly Newspaper Le Defi Vandalized

  30 July 2011

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, 2011. Those non-identified individuals, after wrecking havoc on equipments, computer and hardwares, left a scribbled message on a sheet of...

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

  29 July 2011

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 has also issued an appeal to take action for her release.

Cuba: MSM Paying Attention

  29 July 2011

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 is much to report, whether it is through blogs, digital magazines, newspapers, television, radio, etc. On a daily basis, dissidents...

Cuba: Internet Restrictions

  29 July 2011

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 of the Internet, restricting government employees’ access to Facebook and on networks that provide ‘illegal’ e-mail accounts.”

Equatorial Guinea: Blogging Political Cartoons

  28 July 2011

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 characters of the Equatoguinean political and social life and some interviews full of satire and parody. President Teodoro Obiang is...

Cuba: Differences of Opinion are Healthy

  28 July 2011

“‘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 Elias Biscet's lack of support, “the debate that the document, and Biscet's disapproval have sparked, are nothing but healthy for...

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 that she was not a law-abiding citizen. He said this to a colleague who used to know the woman and...

China: Double Frontage

  27 July 2011

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, 11 lives are still struggling. Add oil! Be strong. The second version is a commercial. Netizens believe [zh] that the...

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.