Stories about Freedom of Speech from November, 2011
Russia: Official List of Extremist (Forbidden) Materials Grows Over 1000 Items
Sova center publishes [ru] another update of the list [ru] of extremist materials (run by the Ministry of Justice). After the update, which includes 1 YouTube video, kavkazcenter.com (radical separatist website), 2 videos dedicated to Tatar nationalism at tawba.info, and radical leftist limonka.nbp-info.ru, the list consists of more than 1,000 items (articles, videos, newspapers,...
Egypt: Commemorating 40 Years of Pope Shenouda on Twitter
Egyptian Copts, among others, decided to criticize Pope Shenouda III on the occasion of his 40th Ordination anniversary. The anniversary coincided with the end of the 40 day mourning period after the Maspero massacre, where 27 Egyptians, mostly Coptic Christians, were killed.
Slovenia: Photography Under Legal Attack
Stefan Geens of Dliberation discusses how photography is under legal attack in Slovenia, since the country's information commissioner has decided that all faces in published panoramic photography should be blurred out – a decision with great consequences for the Slovenian photo scene.
Algeria: A News Site's Founder on the State of Citizen Media
Thalia Rahme interviews Fayçal Anseur, founder of Algerian news site Algérie-Focus about the site's goals and the state of citizen media in Algeria.
Cuba: “Antunez'” Wife Tries To Reach Hospital
Pedazos de La Isla reports that “Yris Tamara Aguilera [wife of the dissident ‘Antunez’] was victim of a brutal beat down at the hands of the Cuban political police” and is in need of medical attention which may prove impossible thanks to the fact that “the dissident couple has their...
Cuba: Illegal Internet Access
Two diaspora bloggers address Cuba's accusations that the United States helped finance “the creation of illegal television and Internet networks that have allowed some Cubans to bypass state-run services” – Uncommon Sense says: “Let's hope so…because limiting access is just another way the dictatorship exercises its control of the population”,...
UAE: Detained Activists Begin Hunger Strike
Five activists held in the UAE since April and currently standing trial for publishing material online, using aliases, have started an open-ended hunger strike to draw attention to their plight and the abuse they are receiving in prison. Mona Kareem checks out netizens' reactions to their cause.
Mexico: Citizen Detained Over Politician Helicopter Crash Joke Tweet
The Mexican Twittersphere exploded on November 13 demanding the release of Mario Flores, who was detained without an arrest order allegedly because of a joke he tweeted last Thursday, November 10. Geraldine Juarez takes a closer look at this case.
North Korea: Did Gaddafi's Execution Scare Kim Jong-il?
Joo Sung-ha is a North Korean defector-turned-journalist who also blogs. This post is his critique of numerous news reports suggesting Kim Jong-il, North Korean dictator was scared to hear of his fellow dictator, and rumoured friend, Gaddafi's fall.
Nicaragua: Opposition Youth Affected by Hacktivism
In The Nicaragua Dispatch, Tim Rogerts reports that opposition youth “have discovered that trying to organize protests using social media networks such as Facebook […] can be harmful to one’s health in Nicaragua. ‘They are monitoring our Facebook and Twitter accounts, and they’ve hacked our accounts and our emails,’ says...
Ethiopia: Terrorists of Ethiopia Unite!
"Terrorists of Ethiopia Unite!," wrote one Ethiopian netizen following the latest terrorism charges against 24 Ethiopians, including senior opposition politicians and an outspoken online journalist. The charges have received condemnation from Ethiopian bloggers, Facebook users and Tweeps.
Brazil: Student Assaulted While Protesting in Brasília
Rosangela Basso, from the blog Maria da Penha Neles, posted a series of pictures and a video of a sociology student from the University of Brasília (UnB) being assaulted by security guards at the Federal Senate while protesting against the new Forestry Code.
Slovenia: Election Campaign Updates
Updates on the Dec. 4 parliamentary elections campaign in Slovenia – at Sleeping With Pengovsky, here and here.
Russia: Interview With LJ User Politrash-ru
A Good Treaty interviews [ru, en] “the author behind one of LiveJournal’s most popular anonymous blogs” – Politrash_ru.
Cuba: Reports from Diaspora Bloggers
Pedazos de La Isla reports that “Antunez” has been released, babalu has what he laments is a “regular” report on “on Ladies in White being arrested by the Castro dictatorship for attempting to attend Sunday church services” and Uncommon Sense suggests that an independent journalist may have been arrested “because...
Cuba: Papal Visit Challenges
Crossing the Barbed Wire suggests that the proposed Papal visit to Cuba next year “presents challenges for three essential actors of the current Cuba”; El Cafe Cubano, meanwhile, says: “I don't believe the Pope's visit will do anything to ‘CHANGE’ things in Cuba.”
Egypt: Plight of Bloggers Continues at Military Courts
A military court today decided to jail blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah for another 15 days, 15 days after first detaining him, pending investigations on what defenders say are trumped up charges. Blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad's trial was also once again postponed until November 27.
Egypt: Why Free Blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah?
A military court judge will decide today whether Alaa Abd El Fattah will be released or will spend another 15 days behind bars, pending investigations on what defenders say are trumped up charges. On Twitter, supporters have been rallying for his freedom under the hashtag #WhyFreeAlaa . Here is a selection of some of the tweets under this hashtag.
Egypt: Free Speech on Military Trial in Post-Revolution Egypt
Bloggers and freedom of speech and human rights defenders are holding their breath as Egypt's military courts decide the fate of two bloggers today.
Italy: Huge celebrations for Berlusconi's resignation
Millions of Italians (worldwide) are celebrating an historic moment: the official resignation of PM Silvio Berlusconi, now on his way to the Presidential Palace. Huge celebrations are also being planned online, with live video streaming from downtown Rome, Facebook pages, YouTube videos, on-going tweets and so on.
Egypt: Feminist Publishes Nude Photograph to “Express her Freedom”
An Egyptian feminist posted her nude photograph on the internet to express her freedom. Netizens react to the move in this post by Tarek Amr.
