Stories about Freedom of Speech from February, 2009
Morocco: On Sex
Abdelilah Boukili ponders the preaching of abstinence, and sex in general, in this provocative and meaningful post.
Thailand: Australian gets royal pardon
Australian Harry Nicolaides has been granted a royal pardon after spending almost six months in a Thai prison on lese majeste charges. New Mandala posted a statement from Harry's brother. Bangkok Pundit examines the lese majeste law.
China: Closer Look at the 50 Cent Party Member
If you want to take a closer look at the 50 cent party members, read RConversation. Last month, Beijing Association of Online Media held a meeting regarding illegal content, in which “40 representatives of Internet supervision volunteers” had attended.
Russia: Politkovskaya Murder Trial Acquittals
Oleg Kozlovsky, Irina Filatova, Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog, and Window on Eurasia write about the “not guilty” verdict for the three men charged with being involved in the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Iran: Pro Khatami web sites were filtered
According to news sites and blogs, Iranian authorities have filtered two web sites, Yaari News and Yaari, promoting the presidential bid of Mohammed Khatami, former reformist president.
Iraq: YouTube removes video
Iraqi blogger Imad Khadduri complains that YouTube has removed a video he posted, citing a violation of its community guidelines.
Azerbaijan: News site closed down?
Following a recent ban on foreign broadcasts in the country, the content of a leading news site considered more independent than most in Azerbaijan was replaced on Thursday with a message informing readers that the “project is closed.” Although the authorities denied any involvement with the site's disappearance, bloggers were not convinced.
Guadeloupe: Local media under pressure
Guadeloupean CaribCreoleOne is the first blogger to talk about the political pressure put on Guadeloupean media RCI and Canal 10. Some journalists even seem to have been summoned by the Local service of the Judiciary Police [Fr].
Georgia-Russia: Information War
Writing for the Frontline Club blog, Al Jazeera's Matthew Collin comments on a new report by the Committee to Protect Journalists which criticizes both Russia and Georgia of exerting control over the media. In particular, the blog says that coverage of the August war over South Ossetia in both countries...
Cuba: “Boring Home”
The book Boring Home, which was banned at the 2009 Havana International Book Fair, is now available on the Internet. Cuban bloggers talk about it here, here and here.
Russia, EU: “Policy-Media Interaction” and Blogging
Vilhelm Konnander posts his reflections on Russia-focused blogging and “policy-media interaction”: “So, by the end of the day, there is little room for deviance as the public policy-media discourse evolves. When one, to the contrary, gets one's message across, there is no saying how it will be processed by its...
Egypt: Another Letter from Kareem
Jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Sulieman has sent another letter from his prison, reports Free Kareem.
Afghanistan: “Copyright on God’s Words”
Amila Bosnae reacts to the news of a death sentence given to two Afghans who “translated the Quran into one of their country’s languages.”
Belarus: Feb. 14 Peaceful Protest
Belarusan American Blog writes about the dispersal of the Feb. 14 peaceful protest in Minsk.
MENA: Is the BBC Impartial in its Refusal to Air the Gaza Appeal?
Long respected as a beacon of free speech, bloggers across the Arab world and beyond have been left questioning BBC's integrity after its refusal to air an appeal for the victims of the latest Israeli war on Gaza.
French Caribbean: Strikers Bloggers
Nowadays, no mass movement can ignore the importance of public relations and the social crisis in Martinique and Guadeloupe is no exception, according to Collectif5février [Fr, Martinique] and LKP and Elie Domota [Fr, Guadeloupe].
China: Who stabbed the blogger ProState in Flames?
Alice Xin Liu from DANWEI translated three blog posts commenting on the stabbing of blogger “ProState in Flames”.
Russia: Yandex, Anonymity, “Oligarchs”
A few updates from IZO: “Yandex (acronym apparently of Yet ANother inDEXer), which is way ahead of Google in Russian search, is opening an office in Silicon Valley”; Ministry of Internal Affairs demands “an end to anonymity on the internet”; Russian organized crime in Israel; and what awaits “most of...
Thailand: Scholar charged with Lese Majeste
Accused of violating Thailand's lese-majeste law, Bangkok-based professor Giles Ji Ungpakorn fled to the United Kingdom to avoid prosecution. FACT writes that “Thailand seems intent on sending its best and brightest into exile. If no free-thinker stays to fight lese majeste repression in Thailand, only tyranny remains.”
Iran: Bloggers Remember 30th Anniversary of the Revolution
Thousands of Iranians celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution on February 10, by rallying in Tehran and other major cities in Iran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, delivered a speech. Several Iranian bloggers, both citizens and politicians, blogged on this topic.
Egypt: Kareem writes from prison
Free Kareem, a blog set up to rally support for jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Sulieman, posts excerpts from Kareem's latest letter from prison, sent to Egyptian blogger Wa7da Masrya.