Stories about Freedom of Speech from January, 2008
Brazil: Update on the censorship in Pernambuco
PE Body Count [pt] has an update on the case of media censorship that has been going on in Recife, Brazil, following an interview on TV in which the authorities guarantee the population that there is no censorship in place. Diogo Menezes uncovers the lies in their discourse and concludes:...
Morocco: Censorship Update
2006 was a rough year for Moroccan internet freedoms, with several sites being blocked; 2007 wasn't much better with sites that were previously open becoming only sporadically accessible. Moi, dans tous mes états (fr) summarized freedom of internet (as well as other forms of media) in a recent post: A...
Ukraine: Crimean Tatars Protest
Orange Ukraine writes, among other things, about Crimean Tatars’ protests in Simferopol over the long-delayed construction of a mosque.
Turkey again blocks access to YouTube
Again, a Turkish court has blocked access to the popular video-sharing site YouTube over a video clip allegedly insulting the country's founding father, Kemal Atatürk.
Barbados: Blogs in Danger?
Barbadian blogs are some of the most outspoken in the Caribbean, regularly taking politicians and mainstream media to task for issues such as transparency and public accountability. Are they in danger? Barbadian bloggers are talking about it...
Poland, Bulgaria: eDeclarations; AntiCorruption.bg
Information Policy reports on the introduction of electronic tax declarations in Poland and the launch of an “anti-corruption portal” in Bulgaria.
Bahamas, Cuba: Double Speak
“Such obvious double speak is trite in the 21st Century. And to state that in a country that is of the ‘western liberal ilk’ is quite presumtuous”: Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com is unimpressed with the Cuban Ambassador's statement about the island's recently held elections.
Russia: The North
Window on Eurasia writes that “small ethnic groups of Russia’s north suffer […] from abuse in the post-Soviet media which appear to treat them all as one enormous and inappropriate Chukchi joke.”
Japan: Illegal or Harmful?
Blogger Sakiyama Nobuo, a social activist who has covered the area of web censorship in Japan for many years, early last week responded to a conversation initiated by fellow blogger Minakata Tsukasa on the topic of the regulation of so-called "harmful" websites. The blog entry provides a useful overview of the current state of legal controls on Internet content in Japan, something which may come in handy in the future.
China and Hong Kong: Citizen Reporter Exchange
I have written a post on the weekend exchange between Hong Kong and China internet citizen reporters at interlocals.
Russia, Moldova: More on Natalia Morar's Case
More on journalist Natalia Morar's case – at Sean's Russia Blog (plus an interesting discussion in the comments section).
Ukraine: Lutsenko, Chernovetsky, Illegal Land Deals
Ukrainiana offers extensive coverage and analysis of the recent fight between Ukraine's interior minister and Kyiv mayor, and the issue of illegal land deals – here and here.
Brazil: Discrepancy in the crime rates after media censorship
Following yesterday's news that the Secretary of Social Defense (SDS) in Pernambuco, Brazil, has decided to stop providing information on violence and crime rates to the press, PE Body Count [pt] has noticed some discrepancy among the blog's and the official figures for the weekend: the bloggers have counted 48...
Turkey: Crocodile Tears?
Erkan's Field Diary posts an account of attending Saturday's memorial to slain Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor Hrant Dink in Istanbul on the first anniversary of his murder by an ultra-nationalist youth. The blogger says that while he is pleased to see some consensus in Turkish society about the tragedy of Dink's...
Egypt: Free Kareem Campaign in French
Free Kareem, a site launched to rally support for jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Sulaiman, is now available in French here.
Avaaz Launches Free Fouad Petition
Avaaz has launched a petition rallying for the release of jailed Saudi blogger Fouad Al Farhan, writes Esraa from Mideast Youth.
Egypt: Google Blocking Kefaya?
Zeinobia from Egypt claims: “If you try to search for the Egyptian Movement for Change a.k.a Kefaya in Arabic or in English in Google , you will not find its official main website in the results whether in Arabic or in English now !! Well it seems that Kefaya became...
Brazil: No right to information
“Where is the transparency?”, asks PE Body Count [pt] on learning that the Secretary of Social Defense in Pernambuco, Brazil has decided to stop providing information on violence and crime rates to the press. “The attitude, in the most naive approach, may raise suspicion that there manipulation of the homicide...
Turkey: Dink on LGBT Issues
On the first anniversary of the murder of Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Turkey, Unzipped: Gay Armenia remembers the slain newspaper editor and journalist speaking on Turkey-Armenia relations as well as family and gay issues.
Turkey: Remembering Hrant Dink
Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the murder of ethnic Armenian newspaper editor and journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Turkey. Dink was shot outside the office of the Agos newspaper on 19 January 2007. A prolific advocate for civil, human and minority rights in Turkey, Dink was killed by 17-year-old Ogun Samast.
