Stories about Freedom of Speech from September, 2009
Morocco: A Dangerous Flu
At least five Moroccan independent journalists will appear before a judge later this month in Rabat, after having published articles challenging the official announcement about King Mohammed VI's health. It is believed the monarch has contracted "a viral, benign disease." Bloggers have been debating this issue, mostly denouncing the attacks on journalists.
Fiji: Bloggers debate Amnesty International findings
Bloggers in Fiji and around the Pacific are debating a recent Amnesty International report chronicling the island nation’s human rights record since the country’s president abrogated the constitution April 10
Hong Kong: TVB's beaten journalists and brave new voice
The strong condemnation delivered by Cantonese-language channel TVB Jade of the way its journalists were treated in Xinjiang spurred certain criticism and ridicule online, and the antagonistic stance taken towards the mainland Chinese authorities in recent days struck some as such a shift in character as to seem hypocritical.
Azerbaijan: Good news… for a change
Following the detention and prosecution of youth activists in two of the three countries making up the South Caucasus, Thoughts on the Road reports that there is at least some good news for a change. Even if the trial of video bloggers Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli is set to...
Sri Lanka: The State Of Freedom Of Expression
Going Global comments on the state of freedom of expression in Sri Lanka: “Freedom of expression is largely seen as an unaffordable luxury by most of the intellectual crowd in Sri Lanka right now. Journalists are pretty much a oppressed group of people and now bloggers are slowly beginning to...
Ukraine: “Angry Commie MP Dismikes Female Reporter”
Ukrainiana posts and translates a YouTube video of a Communist MP's rude behavior during a TV interview. Peter Byrne writes about the incident in the Kyiv Post.
Russia: Scott Anderson's GQ Article
Conde Nast management chose not to run Scott Anderson’s article “Vladimir Putin’s Dark Rise to Power” – which appeared in the Sept. 2009 issue of GQ – in the magazine's Russian edition. Gawker.com posted the original article and a Russian translation – “as a public service.” LJ user vadda has...
Egypt: Cairo Airport Security Strikes Again
Bikya Masr reported: “First, an American citizen was barred from entering the country last week and sent back to London. Now, a Palestinian-Norwegian mother of two was stopped by security as she attempted to board her flight to Amsterdam on Monday morning, being told she was a “national security risk”...
Cuba: Antúnez Arrested
“No one should be surprised that Antúnez is again in jail,” writes diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense, as he blogs about the most recent arrest of the Cuban human rights activist.
Hungary: Budapest Gay Pride Parade Protected
Marietta Le reports on the blog coverage of the 14th Gay Pride March, which took place in Budapest on Sept. 5 under increased police protection.
Egypt: Bad Boys Who do not Moderate Blog Comments
Journalist and blogger Khaled El Balshy has recently been subpoenaed by State Security and charged of slander because he did not delete a “bad” comment that was left on one of his blog posts dating back to 2007.
Egypt: Prison Awaits Those who don't Fast in Ramadan
For the first time in Egypt, the Ministry of Interior arrests Muslims who eat and drink in public during the fasting month of Ramadan. Marwa Rakha has the story.
Hong Kong: Journalists accused of incitement
Last Friday (Sep 4), three Hong Kong journalists were beaten up and detained by Xinjiang armed polices when they were covering the protest in Urumqi. Yesterday, the authorities in Xinjiang claimed that the three journalists were under the suspicion of inciting public disorder by making hand gestures. The director of...
Egypt: Two Coptic Orthodox Church Channels
After a series of failed attempts to launch a television channel for the Coptic faith in Egypt over the past 15 years, two channels were authorized and four more are in the pipeline.
Egypt: US “Activist” Travis Randall Deported
American journalist Travis Randall has been denied entry to Egypt and then deported. Bloggers react to his treatment in this round up of posts by Marwa Rakha.
China: New real-name requirement
Rebecca MacKinnon from Rconversation discussed the implementation of real name registration in online discussion and pointed out that the system, started from South Korea, is becoming a global trend.
China: Crowdsourcing subtitle translations
Activist Tan Zuoren, little-known outside China, is the inspiration for a new documentary from artist Ai Weiwei and his Sugar Jar posse. Featuring civil rights lawyers Liu Xiaoyuan and Pu Zhiqiang, Chinese netizens have since begun transcribing and translating subtitles for the film.
Egypt: Tune in to the Naglaa El Emam Show
An Egyptian lawyer, with her share of controversy, is making the headlines again. This time it is because of her conversion to Christianity. Marwa Rakha has the story in this post.
Cuba: Political Conscience
Uncommon Sense focuses the spotlight on one of many political prisoners who cannot attend the Juanes concert, saying: “Hopefully, Juanes will…come to understand that without justice for him and other Cubans imprisoned because of their commitment to their consciences, there will be no peace in Cuba.”
Iran: A political prisoner's daughter was arrested
Alefba, an Iranian blogger, reports [fa] that Atefeh Imam, a political prisoner's 19 years old daughter was arrested to increase pressure on her father, Javad Imam.The blogger asked other Iranian bloggers to support this girl.[ she was released after 24 hours]
Thailand: Amnesty criticised on lese majeste issue
The issue of lese majeste is again in the news following the 18 year prison sentence given to Daranee Chanchoengsilpakul. International human rights groups including Amnesty International have come under criticism for their failure to take sufficient action in lese majeste cases. Political Prisoners in Thailand says that Amnesty should...