· October, 2013

Stories about Freedom of Speech from October, 2013

Egypt: Urban Constitution Document

  30 October 2013

As the “50 member-committee” meets to amend Egypt's constitution, some civil society organizations and urban activists participated in producing what they called the “urban constitution document” [Ar]: We present this document to “50 member-committee” as a comprehensive suggestion for articles we see important in being added to the constitution. What's...

International Organizations Call for a Swift Adoption of Marco Civil in Brazil

  28 October 2013

‘Internet Needs an Uncompromising “Marco Civil” in Brazil!‘, state international organizations that advocate for free speech and freedoms online in an open letter released on October 28, 2013 (on the eve of the vote on Brazil's ‘bill of rights’ for Internet users). Its opening paragraph reads:  The “Marco Civil da Internet” is...

Journalists Fear Japan's Proposed Secret Information Protection Act

  26 October 2013

The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved a bill [ja] on October 25, 2013 to impose tougher penalties on civil servants, lawmakers and others who leak national secrets and harm national security. The so-called Secret Information Protection Act has been unpopular among Japanese press, human rights advocates, and citizens...

Declaration on the Future of Internet Cooperation

  18 October 2013

Representatives of the organizations that manage the technical infrastructure of the Internet meeting in Montevideo,  Uruguay, have released a Declaration on the future of Internet cooperation [es], in which they analyze the problems currently affecting the future of the Internet. Among other things, they mention the importance of globally consistent...

Activists Demand Release of Angola's Youngest Political Prisoner

  18 October 2013

It has been more than a month since a 17-year-old activist from Angola was detained after allegedly having ordered the print of 20 t-shirts saying “[President] José Eduardo out! Disgusting dictator”.  Manuel Chivonde Baptista ‘Nito Alves’ was jailed on September 12, 2013, and is currently at Luanda central prison, after a few days of solitary...