Stories about Freedom of Speech from October, 2011
Russia: The Data Leak War and Other Pre-Election Surprises
Current online political activity in Russia points to information warfare occurring between independent civil-society groups or remnants of 'traditional' political opposition, against various government officials and pro-government youth movements.
Saudi Arabia: Poverty Video Vloggers Released
Around two weeks ago, Saudi Arabian authorities arrested three young video bloggers Firas Buqna, Hussam Al-Darwish and Khaled Al-Rasheed for producing an episode of their show Malub Alena about poverty in one of Riyadh's areas. They have just been released.
Cuba: Members of “Las Damas” Detained
Uncommon Sense learns that “ten members of the Laura Pollan Damas De Blanco…were among severa dissidents arrested in Santiago de Cuba as they tried to gather for Mass” yesterday morning.
Colombia: Law 30 and “Operation Seventh Ballot” on Regional Election Day
Through the Facebook group “Operation Seventh Ballot” [es], citizens are inviting voters to deposit a paper in the ballot box with the words “NO TO THE REFORM OF LAW 30″ in reference to the education reform launched by the national government. This initiative, which will be carried out during the...
Myanmar Netizens to BBC: Apologize Now
Some Myanmar netizens are asking BBC to apologize for publishing an ‘inaccurate' map of Myanmar's ethnic groups. BBC has already updated the map but netizens still want a formal apology
Ukraine: “We Are Europeans”
Ordinary Ukrainians are using citizen media and social networks to voice their commitment to European values and organize rallies in support of Ukraine's European orientation. Veronica Khokhlova reports.
Cuba: Dissident Fired
Pedazos de La Isla blogs about a young man whose political views have allegedly “cost him serious impediments such as detentions, threats, and other violations, one of the most recent being that he was fired from his job for being a dissident.”
Tajikistan: Face-saving sentence for the journalists
Journalists Muhammad Yusuf Ismailov and Urunboy Usmonov have been found guilty, but with very commuted sentences following the international pressure on the Tajik authorities, neweurasia’s Alpharabius reports.
South Korea: Warning to Twitter Influencers Fails to Discourage Voters
South Korean capital, Seoul, elected a new mayor on October 26. The mayoral race was a fierce battle between an elitist female candidate from the ruling party and an outsider from democratic party. Despite warnings from the authorities, influential Twitter users continued to encourage people to vote throughout.
Russia: Pre-Election Scandals, YouTube Videos and Semi-Anonymous Protest
Anna Arutiunova at Russia Profile covers recent pre-election RuNet scandals (see also this week's GV coverage here and here). “RuNet has become an essential platform for the dirty business of political campaigning. It’s just that unlike the press or television, where pseudonyms are not the order of the day, the...
Overview of Occupy Southeast Asia
‘Occupy’ protests are also spreading in Southeast Asia. Inspired by the global ‘Occupy’ movement, assemblies were organized this month in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Singapore. Here is an overview of the 'Occupy' actions in the region and their online impact.
Cuba: Lessons from Libya
“Watching the fall of dictators, one after another, thousands of miles away, we can only reflect on the sequel such a process could generate on our own island”: Yoani Sanchez thinks that Qaddafi's death holds some lessons for Cuba.
Russia: Hacked Mailbox of Anti-Corruption Blogger Published Online
Private mailbox allegedly belonging to Alexey Navalny, famous anti-corruption blogger, has been hacked and published at navalnymail.kz by an attacker nicknamed onenavnav [ru]. Navalny hasn't confirmed the authenticity of the leaked e-mails yet. Observers suggest that the leak might be connected to the plan of Navalny's discreditation.
Syria: Blogger Hussein Gharir “Missing”
Prominent Syrian blogger and activist Hussein Gharir, has been missing since yesterday and is presumed to have been arrested by Syrian authorities. A #FreeHussein campaign has been launched on Twitter and Facebook, and a statement [AR] has been issued in the name of Syrian bloggers calling for his release.
Myanmar: Video of Dissident Comedian Blogger Zarganar
Reporters Without Borders posted a video interview with the dissident comedian and blogger Zarganar from Myanmar who was released from jail early this month. Zarganar discussed media freedom and the situation of Myanmar's political prisoners.
Thailand: Government Censored Thaiflood Website?
The Committee to Protect Journalists has issued a statement expressing concern about the reported attempt of the Thailand government to censor the citizen-journalist website Thaiflood which has been provising useful updates about the flooding disaster in the country.
Russia: Ministry of Justice Plans to Monitor Online Content
Russian Ministry of Justice had published a public procurement proposal [ru] to purchase a content monitoring system worth of ~115,000 US dollars. The system is aimed to monitor the information published about the ministry and its representatives as well as about the president and prime-minister. The scale of the system...
Russia: Government Official Tries to Force Websites to Remove Discrediting Video
On October 23, 2011 Kseniya Sobchak, celebrity journalist, had shot a video of Vasiliy Yakemenko, the head of the Federal Agency for Youth, in the most expensive restaurant of Moscow. Criticism followed the video [ru] upload: according to his tax declaration [ru], Yakemenko could hardly afford attending such place. Later Anna Biryukova,...
Chile: State Security Law, Violence Deterrent or Repression?
On October 18, Chilean Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter invoked the State Security Law to punish the persons responsible for the burning of a bus during the protests supporting the student movement. The country's citizens comment on this controversial measure.
Macedonia: Advocating Media Freedom Through Music
On the occasion of the Daniel Pearl World Music Days, the rock band Reporters, composed of prominent journalists, including veterans of critical investigative reporting who are now out of work due to closing of A1 TV, will hold a concert in Skopje (FB event) and present their new song “Freedom”...
Hungary: Live-Blogging Oct. 23 Opposition Protest in Budapest
The Contrarian Hungarian live-blogged Sunday's opposition rally in Budapest, which had been organized through Facebook (hu; en) and drew “many tens of thousands” of protesters.
